This was a 10yo SV Cask Strength Ben Nevis bottled for Miles Whisky Bar in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is said that LMDW sold this cask on. This will be fun considering I found an 8yo UCF Ben Nevis I previous bought a bottle of quite the challenging dram.

Distillery: Ben Nevis

Region: Highland

Price: ~18USD/20ml dram

Cask Type: Bourbon barrel

ABV: 61.7%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: [0.4, jonquil/ripe corn](https://i.imgur.com/CIl8iNs.jpg) (natural colour)

*Drammed after 15 minutes in air, out of a nosing glass, with the pour out just past the shoulder.*

Nose: Sugary peach tea, monkfruit, liquorice, so chiselled and well-defined even when freshly poured, and just deepens when left in air, with a bit of oregano, and leather, but more of lighter thinner vellum than thick hides, coming in.

Palate: Viscous, and slightly less hot than the Aloha Ben Nevis. Peach tea again but less peach and more black tea in the mix. Also joined by rooibos tea, one of my favourite notes to find in Scotch. Pear cider.

Finish: Medium length, gradually tapering. The mineral character comes out here, almost chalky, white/green grapes and lemonade, then a bit of five-spice.

Conclusion: Now this is quite beautiful. There's a whetting sweet-savoury meatiness, intermingling with fruit tea notes and a little bit of herbality that defies the fact of bourbon maturation. I like this a lot, but I feel like the finish is not quite memorable. I don't get the strong mineral oil/cod liver oil/butterscotch notes I typically get from younger bourbon-matured Ben Nevis and adore. Ultimately still very well-made though.

Score: 87

If the SMWS named this: Practicing What It Peaches

H.Y.