Ben Nevis 5 Year Old 2015 for Loch Fyne Whiskies

Loch Fyne Whiskies is a Scottish retailer in Inveraray, that also has a shop – albeit a small one – in Cockburn Street in the capital. They regularly bottle casks exclusively for their shops. In my glass is a good example: a young Ben Nevis from a first fill oloroso cask. At cask strength, of course.

Tunisian marmalade of dates, thyme, oregano, sea salt… marmite! There is not much left of the distillery character here, I’d say. This is s young malt that has been completely taken over by an over active oloroso cask. Feels like I’m sniffing a bowl of chicken broth.

Very alcoholic at first sip, to be honest. I’m gasping for breath! Again very salty and spicy, but now some lovely round, dark fruits kick in. Think banana and raisins, plums and dates. From the second sip forward it actually starts to become quite lovely. But just a tad too salty to my taste.

The finish is very long, spicy, sweet versus salt in which the latter if easily victorious.

Well, this went uphill! Difficult start, but along the way it convinced me completely.

Find where to buy Ben Nevis whisky