Ben Nevis 2012 Cadenheads 9 years old Warehouse Tasting Single Malt Highland Whisky 56,7%

The Warehouse Tasting bottles are drawn straight from the Cadenhead warehouse in Campbeltown and filled for the tastings held on site. You rarely meet them anywhere other than with a glass in hand between the casks.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 2012/2021 Cadenhead's 9 years Warehouse Tasting is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in a Manzanilla hogshead, finished from 2020 and bottled at 56.7 % cask strength without chill filtration and without added colour.

Wm Cadenhead is the oldest independent bottler in Scotland, founded in Aberdeen in 1842 and based today in Campbeltown next door to Springbank. The Warehouse Tasting series consists of a small handful of casks each year, chosen for the tastings the house runs itself, and they are bottled raw and unadjusted.

Manzanilla is a dry sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda on the Atlantic coast, and the cask gives a saltier, more mineral influence than an Oloroso would. The Ben Nevis went into the cask in 2020 after eight years in its original wood, and the combination of dry sherry and the oily weight of the distillery is unusual.

Tasting notes

Nose

Salted almond, dry hay and a sharp mineral note. Behind it sit oily malt and a touch of green apple.

Palate

Powerful and dry with salted nut, lemon peel and an oily middle. The cask strength bites, but the whisky has the body to carry it.

Finish

Long, dry and salty with a lingering mineral edge.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 2012/2021 Cadenhead's 9 år Warehouse Tasting
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Cadenhead's
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 9 years
ABV: 56,7 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Manzanilla hogshead, finished from 2020
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2012
Bottled: 2021
Edition: Warehouse Tasting

Flavour profile

Dry · Maritime · Mineral · Nutty · Cask strength

Investment potential

High. Warehouse Tasting bottlings are made in very small quantities for the Cadenhead tastings and rarely reach normal distribution. The combination of Ben Nevis and a Manzanilla cask makes it harder still to replace.

Did you know?

Cadenhead has never put a distillery logo or house colours on its labels. The firm uses the same sober template for everything, whether the contents come from an obscure distillery or from one of the best known names in Scotland.

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Frequently asked questions about Ben Nevis 2012/2021 Cadenhead's 9 years Warehouse Tasting

What is the Warehouse Tasting series?

A small run of casks that Cadenhead draws each year straight from its own warehouse in Campbeltown and bottles for the tastings held on site. The bottles exist in very small numbers and are distributed only sporadically.

What kind of sherry is Manzanilla?

A dry sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda that matures under a film of yeast called flor in the humid Atlantic climate. It gives saltier and more mineral notes than the darker sherry types, and casks of this kind are rare in whisky.

How strong is it?

Fifty-six point seven per cent, meaning full cask strength with no dilution. That is high, but the whisky has the oily body to take it, and it settles nicely after a couple of minutes in the glass.

Should you add water?

Here it makes sense. Pour a little into a whisky glass and taste it neat first, then add a couple of drops at a time. At this strength even a small amount of water shifts both nose and palate clearly.

Who is Cadenhead?

The oldest independent bottler in Scotland, founded in 1842 in Aberdeen. The house is owned today by the same family as Springbank and bottles consistently without colouring and without chill filtration.

How does it differ from a standard Ben Nevis?

In the cask and the strength. An official Ben Nevis sits at 46 % with bourbon and sherry underneath. This one is dry, salty and mineral from the Manzanilla cask and bottled at full cask strength, which gives a markedly rawer expression.