Distillery: Ben Nevis

Here’s the first in a set of three Old Particular whiskies from one of the great indy distillers, Douglas Laing. Each bottling of the series is from a single cask so number of bottles available are quite limited.

Ben Nevis is a distillery I don’t often come across on my travels. I love the area, particularly following the A82 up past Ben Nevis and through Glencoe. I can’t really imagine a more picturesque place for distilling (or drinking) whisky.

Let’s see what the liquid’s like…

Nose: Boiled sweets and dessert apples with mint leaves. There’s a faint whiff of rubber, chalk, and menthol cigarettes. Takes me right back to my school days…

Palate: Pear juice and plums in custard with a rising taste of Cayenne pepper and ash.

Finish: Bitter grapefruit and a touch more menthol.

Great nose on this, but the finish spoils the experience a bit. It starts well and then falls flat into a wall of bitterness on the tongue.

Hey ho. This is part of the thrill of drinking single-cask whisky! Next in the series is the Bowmore 16…

You can get samples (and bottles) of the Old Particular range from www.MasterOfMalt.com.