Ben Nevis 1990 La Première Fois Especially Bottled for the Velier 70th Anniversary 26 yo

 

 

 

60,5°

Distillery : Ben Nevis - Highlands 

Sherry Butt

Independent Bottling 

By Signatory Vintage 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2017

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Almost Unpeated

 

 

 

Velier is a legendary italian trading company, specialised in Rum, created in 1947. They started to work with Signatory Vintage in 1990, because Andrew Symington wanted to age whisky in Rum casks, which was quite bold at that time. The collaboration was fruitful and in 2017, Andrew Symington bottled this Ben Nevis especially for the 70th Velier Anniversary. He chose this one since it was distilled on the year they began working together. He called it "La Première fois" (in french?) in remembrance of the first time he and Luca Gargano, the owner of Velier, met. Besides, the bottling is subtitled "G Family", G means Gargano for sure. There is something like a beautiful bromance here. It was released in 644 bottles reserved for the italian market, there is even a little text in italian on the back label, so cute. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Very woody at first, freshly cut young wood, I feel like being inside the wood, emerging from the veins. Then the fruits settle. The Sherry is not intrusive, it's more of yellow peach, very ripe apricot, with some exotic fruits, papayas and bananas, maybe a hint of pineapple. An ounce of peat, but barely noticeable, slightly cereal and ethereal length, almost iodized, a field of wheat, dry hay. On the palate, the cereals stand out, there is vanilla, then back to exotic fruits, married with various spices, ginger, cloves and pepper, a touch of cinnamon. Really strong finish, you have to add water, and it becomes much nicer, quite long, almost farmy, even sweet, pastry cream and hot chestnuts. Olives.

 

In Short, 

A good Ben Nevis, but not flawless. The finish is a bit aggressive, and must be soothed with water. The spices are strong too. All in all it's still a very nice dram, but does it deserves the price it is sold? As for an answer, we can see that some bottles are still on sale, six years after the release. 

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

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