Excellent review very informative.

In USA here and have tried the original versions with the bird bottle and some later ones with the barrel design. The original bird design at 43% i thought was really excellent. I think your inclination to score it higher than "B" was correct. I really loved that version. Then i got the rebranded with the barrel and it was good but not exceptional like the previous bird bottle batch. Was lighter in color also. Recently found 3 dusty bottles of the bird bottle at 43% in a small liquor store and bought them all. They are all darker than my open barrel bottle is, like the ones i originally got a few years ago. My theory is when they originally released the 43% blended malt in the bird bottle they released their best effort to get people hooked. The barrel redesign was likely accompanied with a lesser quality product which i think was a poor choice on their part all around. The bird bottle is a masterpiece of modern whiskey bottle design i think. The barrel looks like it belongs on a bourbon product not fine blended malt, Sherry finished scotch such as this.

I really think it deserves a Solid B. Considering the flavor and compared to Johnny black it's better , to me . Yes the 12 is better in Cardu . The Jonny green it almost as good ..but too smokey . Cards is Unpeated and Im a fan of that too BTW. Mitchell & Sons is my overall favorite..(Errrin aka Irelend ).

I bought a small bottle of it hoping it was as good as said. No. It tasted and smelled like rubbing alcohol. It's dog shit.

Finally located a bottle. I’m looking forward to a dram later tonight on a cold New England evening! Great review. Slainte

You said it perfectly; I also enjoy peated whiskies where the peat is one of the flavours rather than the main flavour, or even just an underlying flavour complex that underpins and supports the other flavours rather than something you can taste directly. Don't get me wrong, I like a good peat monster when it's cold outside or when I'm sitting around a fire, but that's more of an occasion thing, much like a heavily sherried flavour profile. At the very least, distilleries that produce both unpeated and peated distillates should have a go at blending the two to create light-to-medium peated whisky. It doesn't even require a separate run of the stills and you get an entirely new product line for not all that much extra work. I've been doing this at home over the past few years and the results have been very pleasing, so you'd think the distillery should be able to do a better job with all the casks they have, compared to some random guy at home with two bog standard core range bottles to blend with.

Just purchased a batch 15 from Amazon at a Black Friday deal of £55.20 👍

I’m not sure whether it’ll make it to any retailers, as it was a ballot release (some of them do - I know the recent Deanston did), but look out for the 14 year old Ben Nevis from Thompson Bros, it sounds like an amped-up version of this from your description, maybe a bit juicier. The 10 year old from Decadent Drinks is still available in some places too but it is about £90 from memory, so that’s probably why.

While I’m really a smoky/peaty fan myself, the festive period always draws me towards malty and creamy whisky - so I’m really intrigued in trying that one, thanks for sharing! Also, two notes: You really seem to enjoy and appreciate the aromas, your reviews feel like you’re sharing your thoughts while we’re sipping in the same room, keep up the excellent work. Lastly, I admit (after having tried… probably between 75-100 whiskies), I never looked at the 4 bingos. With your comments, I will always do from now on, and keep your advice close to heart. Thanks for that.

I will say for me this is my daily sipper.

At the end of the day this is a very solid 10 year old whisky and the sort of rough whisky that many of us like. I kind of think Ben Nevis get away with it because I still think it's not as good as it should be but it's still a good one. I prefer it to the Nikka and you get a bit more. Cheers WT

Great review, I just finished a bottle of Ben Nevis 10, one that I picked up in the distillery. It is a great whisky. I disagree when it comes to corks, they are not perfect and have many flaws (I had a some broken ones), but for me not everything has to be perfected and changed. I love to uncork a bottle, the sound and feel is part of the experience - especially when it is a substantial and well made cork like the Ben Nevis 10 cork. A screw top feels cheap and emotionless (I know the Japanese crew tops are great and can't be compared to cheap screw tops in the UK). I recently bought an older Glenfiddich 12 at auction (from the 1990ies) and was surprised to find this one with a screw top. Also a 'better' screw cap, it seals well and I guess a cork might have broken for such an old bottle. So certainly pros and cons, but I am 'team cork'. 🙂 Of course all personal preference. Great reviews, please keep them coming.

I've only ever tried the MacDonalds Traditional Ben Nevis which I really enjoyed and it's quite peated.

A whisky of character. Then getting into the contrasts and facets. Sounded excellent. Thank you for sharing!

Great video!! There's an IB Ben Nevis 16 from First Editions at my local liquor store that have been debating on buying for awhile now. It ticks all the boxes for presentation and is 51% abv. It's just the price is $190 US. I can't bring myself to pay that much. Cheers 🥃

So a comment before watching. After Ralphy’s hatchet job I have 🤞🙏 hopes…….

I have an 8yo Signatory Vintage 46% Ben Nevis which I'm enjoying. I haven't seen that 10-year-old here but then I think most of the Ben Nevis we get here are indie bottlings. Cheers!

Perfect timing on the review Shane! Royal Mile started a free worldwide shipping promo today and I was trying to find some goodies to add to the cart. I've never seen a Ben Nevis 10 in the wild here in the US and RMW just happen to have it in stock (~47GBP ex-VAT). Looking forward to receiving it in ~20 days - just in time for Xmas. Cheers!

Thank you Shane for reviewing the not so known whiskey I noticed you're now using more the Copita , is it the Glencairn 5 oz copita or the 7 oz Copita Thanks

Thanks for reviewing Shane. Spot on as usual. Only downside I find of the Ben Nevis 10yo is the availability. Other than that, great stuff. And I prefer it over the Nikka, as there is less sherry influence in the Ben Nevis. Slàinte mhath

Great comparison Shane! Cheers 🥃

So which is the better presentation of Ben Nevis? Ben Nevis 10 or Nikka From The Barrel?

Great review ! Definitively NFB is an excellent whisky. The milk chocolate is amazing here. Very rich, complex and juicy and the price is very good for such quality .

Cheers

I think the bottle I have came from the same batch as Ralfy's.

Independent cask strength Ben Nevis that is 18-25 years old is glorious. The choir of angels sing. The younger stuff is good, but just don't have the magic. Cheers

🥃👍😀

Saw an old review by Phil (W.Wednesday) on this and have always been curious.... I think I share some preferences with you palate-wise, as your call on the Wild Turkey 101 was spot on - delicious stuff.... so much so i pulled the trigger on a Rare Breed which I plan to open on Friday.... Think its time to see what this Ben nevis is like. thanks for the review.

I bought 2 signatory bottlings recently, a highland park and a Ben Nevis which were both fantastic. I also tried a kilhoman which was fantastic. The 3 bottles only cost £140

I bought it a Germany online market forr 97 euro ..I think its expensive,,but i liked. Slante !!

Another good review. I am so glad I ignored Ralfy's review of the Ben Nevis 10. Whilst in Fort William I popped into the distillery and bought a bottle at £50 which I think is a decent price for a characterful whisky. I would definitely buy it again if I saw it for that price. I will also seek out the Nikka on your recommendation. Will you be doing your Xmas whisky advent this year? It has become part of me and the wife's Xmas build up.....we hope so 🤞🤞

Dang, I just orderered something at the Dutchman's (d12) but I didn't put the Nikka in the bag - it's bloody €30...

To be honest, although I understand the marketing/branding elements that influence those rebranding decisions (and they do make sense, the future market usually points the way), I tend to dislike the new ones; Glenmorangie and Talisker being the most obvious ones. Unfortunately it is rare to see a classic rebranded in a way that respects tradition, and also looks to the future.

Loved the video and the great insights, always thought it was 100% Japanese. Nevertheless, my sentiments don’t change; I sincerely believe it’s the best NAS blended I’ve tasted, and JW, Chivas, etc. at a higher price tag have real trouble comparing their offerings to this one, was really surprised when I first tasted it.

I’m looking at this as my first bottle from the distillery. Heard a couple places about the distillate oxidizing faster or seeming flat after being open a bit. In your experience have you ever noticed? This bottle of yours is probably gone by now since it’s a two year old review.

kon nichiwa, sidd finch ere on a new account as i got locked out my email . sounds pretty amazing but thats to be expected from the peerless master japanese blenders. i may buy one of these for my bro's christmas present. i am very interested in the made in japan tenjaku whisky at sainbo's for 24£ sale price.

Same style of bottle here in the US, but it's a 750 ml size, not 500 ml.

Hi Shane I love this whiskey,so much so that I bought 4 bottles of it when I got the chance, it was a 96 in the whiskey advocate magazine, I really love this expression. The bottles I have are 750ml, I can't remember what I paid for each bottle but I don't see it anymore on the shelves, I have to drive 100 miles to go to my nearest liquor store, which is a bummer, but I usually buy several bottles of different scotches, I like your reviews alot, and watch them all,thanks for sharing your content and reviews, cheers brother, I drank this as I was watching your review, it's bang on good whiskey !!!

Hahhah brilliant intro! This is a solid solid dram and like you said it seems to be exempt from quality drops, at least for now. Cheers!

Sometimes I just want the whisky to lie to me and let me enjoy it. I love this. Will re-buy until the quality clearly drops. Then I will just be sad. Thanks for sharing!

IMO most things improve with a good slug of Ben Nevis in them, including me 😊

Thanks for the informative video. Educational about the issues regarding the origin of what makes up the blend (which I hadn’t previously been entirely clear about and some of the marketing seems deliberately misleading), but as you say, the actual drink is absolutely delightful. It’s rich and varied, and I know “smooth” is a bad word, but this is smooth considering the high ABV, and *that*’s a good thing. A friend gave me a bottle as a gift, and I’m likely to replace it.

£35 in Jeff Bezos warehouse 👌

I bought a 10 year old hatozaki for £70 which was non chill filtered and natural colour. This was the best Japanese whisky I have found that was good value.

love the Man'o'Words' bourbon cask....shame its got the hefty price tag otherwise would prob buy it more often

I don"t often comment but I watch most of your reviews and along with another bloke in a cap , you are the most informative reviewer on KZbin!

I haven't tried this one as the 50cl bottle size put me off. I've tried a few Japanese whiskies, all NAS and most overpriced for the quality. The best one I've had is the Nikka Yoichi which I paid $110 NZD (approx. 51 pounds) for but has increased in price since. Cheers!

Thanks for yet another excellent review Shane. Have tried the Nikk quite a while ago. Decent stuff. Slàinte mhath

Enjoyed the content Shane! Cheers 🥃

Interesting that the quality has dropped since they stopped allowing the use of Scottish Single Malt…