After two teasing whisky flights of 20 ml each at The Single Cask in Singapore, it was time to have a full and proper dram.

To narrow the choices, I by-passed “smoky” or “sweet” to settle on “salty”… as a contrast to the mostly lighter drams we’d just sampled…

And the choice? A whisky from Ben Nevis distillery bottled by The Single Cask. This distillery joins the lot which were opened then closed and re-opened again – in Ben Nevis case – re-opened in 1991 under the new owners – Nikka.

Ben Nevis 19 year (09.07.1996/16.06.2016) Cask No 871 45.1% Bottle 6 of 68

• Nose – Salty – not sea breeze but more leather with salty caramel, as it opened up took on a sour curd quality
• Palate – More chewy, soft spice, character
• Finish – Bit of smoke and spice, with a nice milk chocolate at the end

A few drops of water brought out the spice and a much longer finish with sweet cinnamon.

Apparently this whisky came from a leaky cask, hence why there were only 68 bottles.

What also makes this out of the ordinary for Ben Nevis is that it was matured in bourbon not sherry casks.

And the best part? It was paired in a truly spectacular fashion with a salty caramel chocolate – locally hand crafted and absolutely the perfect accompaniment!

My earlier whisky flight experiences can be found here:

• The Single Cask, Singapore – “Whisky guessing game” with Cask Islay 46%, Dun Bheagan Islay 43%, Finlaggan Cask Strength 58%, Islay Storm 40%
• The Single Cask, Singapore – Deanston 15 years (1997/2013) Cask No 1958 45.8%, Glen Moray 21 year (1991/2013) Cask No 9980 46%, Glentauchers 18 years (1996/2014) 46%, Miltonduff 21 year (1995/2016) 45.8%

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