BEN NEVIS DISTILLERY
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Macdonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis, introduced in 2011, was described as a tribute to classic whiskies, although Ben Nevis has always produced such traditional styles.
About
The washbacks are made of wood and, notably, brewer’s yeast is used, marking this as the last distillery in Scotland to maintain this traditional fermentation method. The distillation process is slow and deliberate, resulting in a rich, deep distillate that matures excellently in ex-Sherry casks, producing a ripe, chewy texture.
History
In 1825, ‘Long’ John Macdonald obtained a licence for his Ben Nevis distillery located on the outskirts of Fort William, near Britain’s highest mountain. His son Peter soon took over and expanded the business. By the end of the 19th century, when blended Scotch was becoming popular, Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis had established itself as a successful single malt brand.
Due to the high demand for MacDonald’s whisky, Peter built a second distillery named ‘Nevis,’ which operated alongside the original facility. At its peak, this whisky hub employed over 200 people.
However, this prosperous era was short-lived. In 1908, Nevis closed, and its sister plant operated intermittently until 1941 when Joseph Hobbs, a colorful Canadian entrepreneur and former bootlegger, purchased the firm. By then, the Long John brand name had already been sold to Seager Evans, and Hobbs sold the former Nevis site to Associated Scottish Distilleries. The distillery remained closed during WWII but resumed operations in 1955 when Hobbs installed a Coffey still. He began blending malt and grain before maturing them.
The distillery ceased operations in 1978 but was revived in 1981 after being purchased by Long John International, the whisky division of brewer Whitbread at the time. In 1989, Long John sold it to the Japanese distiller Nikka, which had been sourcing malt and grain from the distillery for years.
Ben Nevis has continued production, dividing its output among bulk supplies for Japan, the Dew of Ben Nevis and Macdonalds of Glencoe blends, and single malt bottlings. These bottlings start with a 10-year-old expression and have recently expanded to include Macdonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis with smokier components. In 2002, whisky from one of the last ‘Blended At Birth’ casks was released as a 40-year-old.
Highland Region
Highland is the greatest of all whisky regions and provides a huge variety of different flavours and characters. It goes from the lighter whiskies all the way through salty coastal malts. While malts from the West Highland distilleries tend to have a sweet start and dryish finish, the far North Highland malts character are greatly influenced by the local soil and the coastal location of the distilleries giving light bodied whiskies with a spicy character and a dryish finish, sometimes with a trace of saltiness. Central, Southern and Eastern Highland malt whiskies are generally quite a mixed bunch. Fruity and sweet. They are lighter bodied with a tendency to have a dry finish.