Roger’s Vintage Selection
Ben Nevis 2012 8 Year Old
My fourth bottling is a new whisky in the Vintage Selection range. This whisky is a nice contrast to my previous Ben Nevis bottling in the same range. No peat or sherry maturation here, but a nice, layered bourbon cask matured bottle. The label is in the same style as the Ben Nevis in Drop 2, but there’s a clear summery vibe to it, as there is to the whisky.
Available right now in the UK and EU, see Retailers for the full list.
The story of this whisky
The label
I wanted the label to fit with the label of my other Ben Nevis whisky, but then in a more summery mood. That’s why it depicts the same scenery with the Ben Nevis mountain in the background, but now with more summer fruits and people relaxing near the lake as if they are on summer holiday.
The colours are also clearly more summery than the previous bottling in this series. But next to each other you see they make a nice complementary set.
My friend Andrew (@whiskyhobo on insta) was the artist for the label, and he did an excellent job again!
The whisky
This is a classic bourbon cask matured Ben Nevis, but with a distinctly summery style to it.
The spirit was distilled and filled in the cask on the 19th of December in 2012. It was bottled on the 20th of August at an age of 8 years, but we can say it’s almost 9 years old.
There were 330 bottles filled from the cask. Each bottle is hand numbered. Of course the whisky is non-chill filtered and not coloured.
The whisky is bottled at a strength of 54%, in my opinion the best strength for enjoying this particular whisky.
What others are saying…
Serge Valentin
Whiskyfun
Ruben Luyten
Whiskynotes.be
Nose: more naked. The classic bready and yoghurty notes are still there, as are the wool and the candied ginger. Some added chalk and green leafy notes. A hint of powder sugar but lacking the caramel side and the fragrant notes of the Thompson release.
Mouth: clean, sweet and slightly spirity. Full of barley and grist, lemons, green banana and lamp oil. A touch of aspirin. Very focused and close to the raw materials. Hints of nutmeg in the end.
Finish: medium, with more barley, grass and bitter lemon.
This shows the proper Ben Nevis character but there’s a naked, austere barley eau-de-vie side to it. Still a long way from the older expression we love so much, but clean and pure nonetheless. Still available from certain retailers.
Score: 84
Amir Ellutiv
@whiskyrabbi
Nose: Leather, stewed apples, toffee, sweetness coming out, more fragrant notes, some roses and floral smells. Very complex, and enticing you to have a taste.
Taste: less sweet than the nose, but long lasting finish, with waves of flavours coming back, then at my second sip, more sweet flavours are coming to the fore. It is smooth, and you cant feel the high abv. Add a drop of water and then the spiciness comes up a notch, spiced apples, talisker style peppery notes.
Overal a pleasant whisky, I am missing Roger’s sherry matured whiskies, but here he shows great skill in choosing the cask which isn’t sherry, and not peated, but does have some slight peat notes to it.
I would put this in the category of a spice bomb if you add water, otherwise a nice plain sailing drinkable whisky.
Thijs Klaverstijn
Words of Whisky
One for the purists, this is all about the excellent Ben Nevis spirit. Craft whisky from a blue chip distillery, and an excellent pick by Roger's Whisky Company.
Nose: Typical sour Ben Nevis notes with touches of copper, but also powdered sugar, vegetal elements, yeast, barley husks and sheep's wool. Then there are some preserved lemons, lychees and just a whiff of chalk. Extremely pure.
Taste: Oily mouthfeel with touches of sweet porridge, a waxy hint and more of those barley husks, but also already some soft fruits like lemon peel and apricots. Finally some spicy notes, think nutmeg and cloves.
Finish: Underripe banana peel, burlap and some lemon. Medium in length.
Score: 86
Noortje Baselmans
Whiskylifestyle
The young Dutch bottler Roger’s Whisky Company is back with two new releases: A Campbeltown blend and a Ben Nevis 2012, which I’ll be reviewing today.
Nose: rather malty, with notes of barley and oats. Then I get unripe pears and vanilla. Lemons in the background. Powdered sugar. A little bit of honey.
Taste: more notes of barley. A hint of melon and apricots. Lemons peels. A faint hint of white pepper and nutmeg.
Finish: mid-long with a hint of honey, a barley note and lemons.
Although older than the previous release, this one feels a bit younger. The nose is good, but I’m just missing something in the taste. Not bad at all, but it just feels a bit too young there. Yes, there is some fruit on the palate, but I would have liked to see that come forward a little more. It’s a nice whisky, but the previous edition remains my favourite.
Score: 84
Roger’s tasting notes:
Nose:
Sweet butterscotch and honey grates. Fragrant and full, perfume like. After even a short time in the glass this then changes into fresh orange juice and orange zest, tropical fruits, lychee, supported again by the butterscotch.
Taste:
Well rounded, milk chocolate sweetness, white grapes and summer fruit.
Finish:
Just a touch sparkly, fresh orange juice and lingering like a nice summer evening.