Single Malts of Scotland Ben Nevis 23 Year Old Scotch Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A-

Single Malts of Scotland’s bottling of a 1996 Ben Nevis 23 Year Old
(Credit: Elixir Distillers)

Sometimes an independent bottling brings us a single malt from a distillery that otherwise unavailable, either because it is defunct or lacks brands of its own; and sometimes these bottlings simply put a spin on a malt that the distillery’s own brands do not. In the case of Elixir Distillers’ Single Malts of Scotland series Ben Nevis 23 Year Old, it is the latter.

Ben Nevis was founded in 1825 by one “Long John” MacDonald, for whom Long John Scotch is named. The distillery itself takes its moniker from Scotland’s highest mountain, and the distillery sits in the shadow of that Western Highlands mountain. The distillery saw its twists, turns, ups and downs over the almost two centuries of its existence, and in 1989 was purchased by the Japanese whisky-maker Nikka. From that time, quality improved noticeably.

Ben Nevis has a 10 and a 21 Year Old under its own banner, and many independent bottlers have released not just Ben Nevis malts, but 23 year olds at that. The Elixir Distillers spin came from a Sherry butt filled in 1996, and was bottled at cask strength, 52.7% ABV.

The Scotch
This aged, strong Ben Nevis has a golden look, verging on copper. I thought that a bit peculiar, seeing as how the whisky spent almost a quarter century in a Sherry butt and is 52.7% ABV. The liquid isn’t as dark as I expected, which suggested off the bat that it isn’t a Sherry bomb. No detailed information about the cask is available, so perhaps it was a second-fill cask.

The nose, however, spoke to a strong Sherry influence. I still wouldn’t call it a Sherry bomb, but the time and wood definitely made their presence known. The scent was a well-balanced basket of dried apricots, figs, half-dried tobacco leaf, chamomile and meadow grass.

A sip revealed a rich whisky, shifting the flavor profile over just a touch, into chewy dried fruits, marzipan and freshly cut green hay, with a dash of dry spices to round things out. The finish followed from the spicy note, gathering up some dry straw as it lingers.

As said before, this is no Sherry bomb. Instead, this particular Ben Nevis 23 is a rich-but-subtle sipper.

The Price
Expect to pay about $230 for this single malt.