Ben Nevis
The legendary ‘Long John Macdonald', all six foot four of him, a descendant of a ruler of the ancient kingdom of Argyll, and after whom the very popular blend was named, founded the Ben Nevis distillery in 1825. It was one of the first ‘legal’ distilleries in the Highlands. The distillery stayed in family hands until 1941 when it was purchased by an eccentric Canadian, Joseph Hobbs, who at one time also owned Bruichladdich.
Hobbs introduced Coffey stills to the Ben Nevis distillery in order that he could keep up with his blending activities, thereby making Ben Nevis one of the first to produce malt and grain whiskies simultaneously.
With the great slump in demand for whisky in the 1970s. Ben Nevis was mothballed, opening briefly under the ownership of brewers Whitbread, but it is only under the stewardship of Japanese whisky company, Nikka, that the brand has been in continuous production since 1990 and flourished ever since.
Vintage Bottlers, we are delighted to be making available a 27-year-old rendition from these early years of the Ben Nevis renaissance. Bottled at 44.2 ABV (Cask Strength), our offering has a short, smooth, gently warming finish; think butter sprinkled with smoked paprika.
Towering above the distillery is of course Britain’s highest mountain. Ben Nevis not only provides a dramatic backdrop to the picturesque distillery nestling in its shadow, but also the cool waters of two springs which flow into Allt a Mhulinn and thence into the distillery.
We are confident you will enjoy this highly approachable and flavoursome whisky.
