Ben Nevis 24 Year Old 1996 The Whisky Jury

Wait... Another Ben Nevis from The Whisky Jury? That's already the fourth! But... the previous three were excellent, so I’m not complaining. And it's Joeri’s '2nd Anniversary Bottling', so let’s indulge him. The big difference with the previous releases is the cask type. The three Ben Nevis that Joeri selected earlier were all refill hogsheads, but this time he chose a sherry butt that yielded no less than 354 bottles at cask strength. Notice how the font of the official bottlings were subtly incorporated into this label. You have to have the guts.

Very sweet and deliciously sherried nose on red lace candy, blood oranges, gooseberry and melon, a cartload of dark, liquid honey and a beautiful touch of – do not laugh – cola! Then Café Noir cookies, soft cloves, hint of saffron and chocolate with praline filling. Boy oh boy, this is another belter.

Oh, my! On the palate, it offers much more than what the nose already promised, really. Nice and oily and sweet, but with a nice, warm spiciness. Think cola, fig jam, orange marmalade and even a hint of red fruit. Slightly drying maybe, but I’m already having too much fun to be bothered.

The finish is long, warm, dark, sweet and drying, but oh so satisfying.

I was able to busy myself with this glass for half an hour, it’s that complex a Ben Nevis. And still I felt my glass was empty too soon.