Ben Nevis 1996 Berry Brothers and Rudd 2 x 70cl / RMW

Ben Nevis distillery was built by "Long" John MacDonald in 1825, and was so popular by the end of the 19th century that at one point the estate employed over 200 people. After a series of closure and re-openings at the beginning of the 20th, it was eventually bought by former Canadian bootlegger, Joseph Hobbs. He installed a coffey still there in 1955, making Ben Nevis Scotland's first dual-operation distillery, and began to blend its malt and grain before filling it to cask. Sporadic closures again followed Hobb's death, with stability finally ensured in 1989 when it was bought by long-term customers, Nikka Whisky of Japan. Its turbulent history means there were few distillery bottlings until the launch of the 10 year old single malt in 1996, but casks had long been making their way to independent labels, and many of them are very highly praised.

This lot includes whisky distilled in 1996 and aged in single cask #1196 for 24 years before being bottled in 2020 and also the 22 year old which was bottled 2 years earlier in 2018.

The 2018 bottling has an abv of 53.8% and the 2020 bottling is 52.1%.

Berry Brothers & Rudd is a firm steeped in history. They were established in the late 17th century, and received a Royal Warrant from King Edward VII in 1903. The company has been bottling single malt whisky from almost as early as that, and produced their first ever blend, Cutty Sark, in 1923.

Bottled exclusively for spirit merchants, Royal Mile Whiskies.