Scotland, Northern Highlands. Distillery operational. Owners: Ben Nevis Distillery Ltd, Nikka Whisky Distilling.

Founded in 1825, Ben Nevis' story is closely linked to that of the internationally renowned blend Long John. In 1831, Ben Nevis became the property of John MacDonald, who was nicknamed Long John due to his exceptional height. From 1955 to 1981, a Coffey still was installed at Ben Nevis, enabling it to distil both a grain spirit and a malt spirit. It was a production method dear to many Japanese distillers, including Nikka, who bought the distillery in 1989. To mark the occasion, the oldest cask of Ben Nevis was bottled, leading to the release of the highly sought-after Ben Nevis 1926 63 Year Old Under Strength, a limited edition of 98 bottles. Since then, Ben Nevis has continued to develop its individuality and maintains its exclusive character by offering extremely rare editions of its vintage single casks (1966, 1967, etc.) and small batch versions, such as Ben Nevis 1966 21 Year Old. Like Karuizawa, Ben Nevis is a robust malt that takes well to long maturation in ex-sherry casks.

A Ben Nevis 34 year old single cask (#7439) distilled in 1975 and bottled by Signatory Vintage. Signatory Vintage was founded in 1988 by Andrew Symington, who previously worked at Prestonfield House, Edinburgh, where he would select casks specially for the hotel. He also launched the brand Prestonfield Whisky Co to play on the hotel’’s renown and enable him to work with several distributors in the same country. In 2002, he bought the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry, in the Highlands of Scotland and moved Signatory Vintage vintage to the site, including the warehouses opposite the distillery. Limited edition of 146 bottles.