Chorlton Whisky Ben Nevis 14yo 277 bottles 53.1% 70cl

It’s always a delight to return to one of my favourite distilleries. Happily old Hector McDram has been keeping busy collecting the dew from the mountaintop.

The nose has waxy lemons, chalk, buttercups, warm bales of hay, orange boiled sweets and roast pineapple jelly. The palate has a lovely texture, with olive oil and soft butteriness cut through with splendid lemons. There are hints then of tropical fruits, spearmint, minerals and camphor, before a finish all about sweet citrus oils and juices.

It’s Ben Nevis and it’s wonderful. No other malt is quite like this, and there’s even an echo of some of those revered 1996 vintages in this one. You can’t go wrong.

This 2nd-fill barrel produced 277 bottles at a cask strength of 53.1%