Signatory Vintage has bottled numerous 2013 vintage Ben Nevis. This specific expression is a vatting of two casks: hogsheads 426 and 430, bottled at 46% under SV's staple Unchillfiltered Collection in February 2022, after aging for 8 years. LMDW had a discount code that put this at as cheap as I'd ever see Ben Nevis at this age locally. The only ones cheaper are 5-7yo bottlings, which I feel reflect the massive pressure to churn out Ben Nevis bottles to meet the hype train.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Miso caramel, mascarpone, tinned peaches, vanilla cream, rough ethanol edge even after leaving in air for 15 minutes, edge never quite fades even after half an hour and leaves a whiff of tobacco smoke. A drop of water yields some golden pear notes.

Palate: Unremarkable texture, bitter-sweet, dry and very spicy considering the strength and even after air and water. Angelica root, tapioca, grease and cod liver oil. The oily notes diminish, while the woody herbal notes intensify with water, and a whiff of pear is again introduced.

Finish: Very long, especially considering the ABV, albeit subdued. Tinned peaches, agar jelly, a hint of kombu, pears. Water reveals a more spiced pear, as well as a whiff of birch, rosemary foccacia and malt candy right at the end. But it leaves the tongue numb throughout. The finish with water definitely reminds me of Empirical Spirits' Can 01 - familiar yet different, with some savoury, fishy, bready notes.

It all sounds wonderful. The industrial character is nicely restrained, mostly confined to a hint of grease and the briny overtone of cod liver oil when chewed on. There is significant complexity - herbal-woody, vegetal, umami, maritime, bready, lightly fruity, you name it - that is let down by the thinness of the notes and an abject lack of alcohol integration.

It's not outright metallic and papery like with, say, Glenmorangie 10 - more of a hot, sweet, heady ethanol, but the whisky would still be much better without it. (Much) more integrated alcohol, a little less bitterness, a tad more of the bread and spiced pear notes, much more intensity across the board, would make this really outstanding. As it stands it is the picture of wasted potential, with only a hint of the solid quality that drives the ongoing Ben Nevis hype train, just barely salvaged by abundant water and air. I can only give it 81 - a similar score to an otherwise-good sherried Glen Scotia from Cadenheads I have that wasted its potential with massive amounts of sulfur.

H.Y.