Ben Nevis 1990 Ruby Port Cask 21 Year Old Decanter / The Ben Charity Lot

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 closures 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.

This Ben Nevis was distilled in 1990 and initially matured in refill hogsheads #905-919, then re-racked into fresh ruby port bodega butts in February 2003. Of those, cask #4 was bottled in 2012, and elegantly presented in a crystal decanter alongside two branded tumbler glasses.

Though the cask yielded 825 bottles, only 200 were presented in these decanter gift sets.

Please note due to the size and weight of this lot, it will carry a two-bottle shipping fee.

Whisky Auctioneer is delighted to have partnered with Scottish drinks industry charity, The BEN, to hold a spotlight charity auction. They have received bottle donations from companies across the industry, with all funds raised to go to supporting those in the drinks industry.

The charity supports people of all ages who have worked in the licensed trade with beneficiaries receiving annual financial assistance as well as discretionary one-off grants for emergency situations. The BEN charity bottles are available exclusively through our December 2024 auction.