Such great memories. Ben Nevis from the mid-nineties that was sort of affordable. And by sort of affordable I mean it still set you back north of € 200, but at least it was just shy of € 500, which seems to be the trend now.

Anyway, apart from starting the year with a complaint about things, I remember this whisky fondly. I emptied my bottle around Christmas, when I also wrote the review. I got it a couple of years ago from The Old Pipe, which is a shop I’ve not been to for ages. A shame, really.

Ben Nevis from 1996 is known for its massive fruity notes of lovely citrus and green apples. Sometimes accompanied by some funky things that seem to come and go with this distillery. Let’s see where this one ends up!

Sniff:
A very light fruitiness and a lot of focus on barley and straw. Surprisingly so, for a 1996 Ben Nevis! Apples, star fruit and lychees. Slightly dusty too, maybe even a hint of chalk. With some time it becomes slightly more rich and more sweet.

Sip:
The palate packs a punch and the dustiness changes to white pepper. There still is some light fruitiness with the same notes as before. A bit of grape seed bitterness on top it. Still quite focused on straw and barley.

Swallow:
The finish is suddenly a lot more fruity. A lot more typical for the distillery and vintage. It still is dry and dusty, quite fierce, but a lot more fruity. Apples, lychees, star fruit. The light green things, so to say.

So yes, those fruity notes are present, but not as much as I’ve come to expect from other, similar bottlings. This one is far more barley driven, which is not overly surprising, but still atypical for this vintage from the distillery. In the end it makes for a really, really good whisky that probably scores a little bit lower than it should based on the fact that it is unfavorably compared to similar vintages from the same distillery. I really enjoyed my bottle, and if it was still available, I could be tempted to get myself another one.

88/100