Here is my last whisky/booze review of the month and also of the year. (Yes, there are five Mondays this December but I’m sticking with my regimen of only opening four bottles each month). I’ve not chosen anything particularly special to close out the year but I’m looking forward to this one anyway as well-aged Ben Nevis from a bourbon cask is usually a good bet. This one was distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2018 by Maltbarn, who’d then been on the indie bottling scene for almost a decade and had built a strong reputation over that time. They’re still around but, as I’ve not kept up with the whisky world in the last few years, I’m not sure if they’re still releasing whiskies at the clip they had been at the end of the previous decade. For that matter I’m not sure how many of the other stalwart European indie bottlers who came to prominence in that decade and the one previous are still as active as they used to be. I’m no longer in the whisky accumulating business and no longer a good source of information—if I ever was one—on what’s being released and by who. But I am glad to have a number of good bottles on my shelves from my whisky accumulating days to drink now. Let’s see if this is one of them.

Ben Nevis 21, 1997 (49.7%; Maltbarn; bourbon cask; from my own bottle)

Nose: That very Ben Nevis mix of yeast, mineral notes, bitterness (lime peel) and tart-sweet fruit (lime, dragonfruit, a hint of passionfruit). The bitter note recedes here with time but not much change otherwise. With a splash of water the yeast and bitter notes fade and the fruit expands.

Palate: Comes in as indicated by the nose but with more of the bitter note; the fruit expands as I swallow. A very good drinking strength; rich texture. Gets more acidic with the next few sips, picking up some chalk in the process. More fruit here too with water and it’s more tart than sweet—I’d been hoping that passionfruit note would expand.

Finish: Long. The bitter note transitions from lime peel to oak extract but it’s not out of balance with the fruit, which keeps pace. As on the nose and palate with water.

Comments: A very nice, very quintessential Ben Nevis. I have a feeling the more exuberant fruit will expand with more air in the bottle. I’ll report if it does. But it’s very nice even as it is now.

Rating: 87 points.