Ben Nevis 13 Years Old 2012 Cask #3645837 (Duncan Taylor)

Bottled by Duncan Taylor in 2025 as a 13 year old single cask release drawn from cask 3645837 of 2012 vintage Ben Nevis with 80 bottles distributed to the European market at cask strength of 52.5%. Duncan Taylor is a Scottish independent bottler founded in Glasgow in 1938, with focus on single cask releases at natural strength.

Distilled at Ben Nevis distillery in Fort William at the foot of the highest mountain in the British Isles, founded in 1825 by John "Long John" McDonald and owned by Nikka Whisky Distilling under Asahi Group since 1989. The wash uses unpeated malted barley with soft Allt a'Mhuilinn burn water from springs on the slopes of Ben Nevis, fermented for around 48 hours with brewer's pressed yeast in eight washbacks of stainless steel and Oregon pine. Ben Nevis runs two wash and two spirit stills, the wash stills tubular with plain deep bases, the spirit stills cone shaped with deep bases, all steam heated through shell and tube condensers. The spirit was filled into a single Moscatel sherry cask for 13 years of on site maturation.

Patient cask interaction drove Moscatel cask chemistry. Moscatel sherry casks carry Muscat grape terpenes including linalool and geraniol, alongside concentrated fructose from the sweet fortified wine. The combination delivers floral honey, candied citrus, and rose petal, integrated with Ben Nevis's heavy, oily Western Highland character at 52.5%.