Ben Nevis 5 Years Old 2015 Cask #398 + 1741 (Rolf Kaspar GmbH)

Bottled by Rolf Kaspar GmbH in 2021 as a 5 year old single cask release drawn from cask 398 + 1741 of 2015 vintage Ben Nevis with 287 bottles distributed to the German market at high cask strength of 61.7%. Rolf Kaspar is a German specialist retailer and independent bottler based in Essen, focused on hand selected 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 rum cask for 5 years of on site maturation.

Early stage maturation showed rum cask chemistry. Rum casks carry residual cane spirit esters including ethyl propanoate and ethyl octanoate, alongside brown sugar and caramel notes from extended molasses spirit aging. The combination layers tropical fruit and warm sweetness over Ben Nevis's heavy, oily Western Highland character at 61.7%.