{"product_id":"ben-nevis-10-year-old-2013-decadent-drinks-single-bourbon-cask-quarter-cask-finish-whisky-sponge-ed-85-highland-single-malt-scotch-whisky-2024-70cl","title":"Ben Nevis 10 Year Old 2013 Decadent Drinks Single Bourbon Cask Quarter Cask Finish Whisky Sponge Ed. 85 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2024) 70cl","description":"\u003ch2\u003eBen Nevis 10 Year Old 2013 Decadent Drinks Single Bourbon Cask Quarter Cask Finish Whisky Sponge Ed. 85 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2024) 70cl\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 of 327 bottles drawn from a single bourbon cask then finished in bourbon quarter casks for an extra buttery concentrated flavour. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is Whisky Sponge Edition 85 and it is a 10 year old Ben Nevis, distilled in 2013, aged primarily in a refill butt, and then finished in refill quarter casks for around six months and bottled at 52%\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor this bottling, we wanted to round the whisky off with exposure to more air and to manage the reduction from cask strength in stages. We re-racked this refill butt evenly into four refill quarter casks. This exposed more of the spirit to air and enabled us to bring down the ABV slowly to 52%, which is where we felt the sweet spot was that maximised the Ben Nevis distillate character. The refill quarter casks also rounded everything out nicely while preserving the distillate character and without adding in yucky, vulgar woodiness!  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis whisky tastes like cliffs and tidal waves. Please enjoy while wearing only a pair of hessian swimming trunks. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout Ben Nevis\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Macdonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis was launched in 2011, it was said to be an homage to old-style whiskies, but to be honest that is what Ben Nevis has always made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe washbacks are wooden and, more significantly, brewer’s yeast is used, making this the last distillery in Scotland to insist on this old way of inducing fermentation. Distillation is slow and steady, giving a rich, deep distillate which matures well in ex-Sherry casks where a ripe, chewy texture is produced.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was in 1825 that ‘Long’ John Macdonald took out a licence for his Ben Nevis distillery on the outskirts of Fort William and close to Britain’s highest mountain. His son Peter took up the reins soon after and built a significant business. By the end of the 19th century, when blended Scotch was becoming the fashion, Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis was a successful single malt brand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch was the popularity of the MacDonald’s whisky that Peter built a second distillery, ‘Nevis’, which ran in tandem with the original unit. At one point, over 200 people were employed in this virtual whisky city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis golden age was not to last. In 1908 Nevis closed and its sister plant operated intermittently until 1941 when the colourful Canadian entrepreneur (and former bootlegger) Joseph Hobbs bought the firm. The Long John brand name had already been sold to Seager Evans, and Hobbs sold off the former Nevis site to Associated Scottish Distilleries. Closed during WWII, Hobbs restarted production in 1955 when he installed a Coffey still. He then started to blend his malt and grain together before maturing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery fell silent in 1978, but production started again, along with much needed refurbishment, in 1981 when it was bought, appropriately enough, by Long John International – by then the whisky division of the brewer Whitbread. In 1989, Long John sold it to the Japanese distiller Nikka which had been buying malt and grain from the distillery for a number of years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBen Nevis has continued in production and has split its whisky between bulk supplies for Japan, the Dew of Ben Nevis and Macdonalds of Glencoe blends, and single malt bottlings, which start with a 10-year-old expression but in recent years have been extended to include Macdonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis which includes smokier components. Whisky from one of the last ‘Blended At Birth’ casks appeared as a 40-year-old in 2002.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e52% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ben Nevis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56095187435845,"sku":"BNEV10DDWS85","price":145.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9495\/8661\/files\/BenNevis10YearOld2013DecadentDrinksSingleBourbonCaskQuarterCaskFinishWhiskySpongeEd.85HighlandSingleMaltScotchWhisky_2024_70cl1.jpg?v=1761744569","url":"https:\/\/b1yyjg-bk.myshopify.com\/products\/ben-nevis-10-year-old-2013-decadent-drinks-single-bourbon-cask-quarter-cask-finish-whisky-sponge-ed-85-highland-single-malt-scotch-whisky-2024-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation Old","version":"1.0","type":"link"}