Past Future obviously sounds weird. This is the first of a triptych by, I want to say, The Whisky Exchange. But it’s bottled for The Whisky Show of last weekend. Bottled by Speciality Drinks or Elixir Distillers. I’ve lost track of all the brands.

Anyway, the ‘Future series’ is based on what ‘the industry’ expects the future of whisky to be. Past Future refers to them thinking what the future would be in the past. So, what they’re trying to say is that this is what people thought the future of whisky was going to be some time ago.

Of course, this also means there’s a Present Future and a Future Future. Quite gimmicky, but at some point there’ve been enough randomly chosen semi-Gaelic names, so you’ve got to come up with something new, right?

This 21 year old Ben Nevis fits right in with the last couple of  years in the world of Single Malt, since Ben Nevis is quickly becoming a favorite distillery of many people out there. Rightfully so, I might add. This particular bottling was matured in a sherry butt.

Sniff:
Lots of gentle oak and jars of apple sauce. Quite some fruit, and vanilla. Quite crisp, even though there’s a hint of nutmeg.

Sip:
Gentle, with a whiff of pepper and nutmeg. Vanilla, sugary grain, Frosties, and oak. Some fruit, sweet pears and stewed apples.

Swallow:
The finish is very focused on the barley sugar. Slightly less fruity than before. Some spices like nutmeg and crushed black pepper.

This actually is quite a nice whisky. There’s quite some cask influence which makes it slightly more generic than what Ben Nevis is getting vastly popular with. The fruitiness is quite lovely, and the hints of nutmeg makes it stand out.

88/100

Ben Nevis 21, 47.5%, Sherry Butt, 144 bottles available initially. They might pop up online, if there’s any left after The Whisky Show.