Ben Nevis 5 Years Old 2015 Cask ##399 , #4 (Rolf Kaspar GmbH)

Bottled by Rolf Kaspar GmbH in 2020 as a 5 year old single cask release drawn from cask #399 , #4 of 2015 vintage Ben Nevis with 306 bottles distributed to the German market at high cask strength of 61.4%.

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 ex-Bourbon American oak with Port pipe finish cask for 5 years of on site maturation.

Early stage maturation showed layered cask character. The American oak stage built vanillin and cis and trans oak lactones, with vanilla, coconut, and char derived furfural. The Port pipe finish then added residual tannins from Portuguese grape varieties, anthocyanin pigments, and oxidative aldehydes for figs, plum, cocoa, and leather. Integrated with Ben Nevis's heavy, oily Western Highland character at 61.4%.