Ben Nevis Distillery
Lochy Bridge, Fort William
History: Ben Nevis Distillery is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland, with a history dating back to 1825. Owned and run by the Macdonald family for more than 100 years it was, by the end of the 19th century, one of the most respected whiskies around. Like many of Scotland's distilleries, Ben Nevis fell on hard times at the start of the 20th century was closed for a period, before being bought over by a Japanese company in 1989. It's a beautiful distillery in a stunning location and despite ownership by an overseas company, it still feels traditional and true to its heritage producing one of the world's most respected single malts.
The whisky: Ben Nevis single malt has a real cult following among lovers of the spirit. The house style is hard to pin down due to the many different bottlings that come out of the distillery. The packaging is old-school and is not everyone's cup of tea but I quite like it. The 10-year-old is the main whisky in the portfolio and has lovely toffee and orange notes with a touch of smoke.
Favourite dram: Some of Ben Nevis’s older offerings, such as the 1968 bottling, are amazing but pretty expensive. Try and seek out the Ben Nevis 20-year-old 1996 bottling from independent bottling company Douglas Laing, which you can pick up for around £78.
Geek alert: As with most of Scotland's distilleries, most of the malt whisky that is distilled here goes into blended Scotch whisky brands, including their own Dew Of Ben Nevis. Because of the whisky’s Japanese ownership, Ben Nevis has long been one of the top 10 brands in the single malt whisky segment, punching way above its weight against some of Scotland’s biggest single malt brands.
Why visit? A year after the distillery was bought by the Nikka Whisky Distilling Company, it opened a visitor centre. Today the tour is based around The Legend Of The Dew. The visitor centre, which is built into an old warehouse dating from 1862 in a former bottling hall, retains some of its original features. Visitors will encounter the mythical giant Hector McDram who we are told will reveal the legend of the Dew Of Ben Nevis. There are three, good-value tours, priced from £5 to £30 for the Executive Tour (for which you need to book ahead).
Interesting fact: Located at Lochy Bridge, Fort William, the distillery sits just at the base of Ben Nevis: the highest mountain in the British Isles, at 4,409 feet, and climbed by around 100,000 people a year.
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