BEN NEVIS 1996 25 Year Old Douglas Laing / X.O.P.

BEN NEVIS 1996 25 Year Old Douglas Laing / X.O.P.

Ben Nevis distillery was built by “Long” John MacDonald in 1825, and was so popular by the end of the 19th century that at one point the estate employed over 200 people. After a series of closure and re-openings at the beginning of the 20th, it was eventually bought by former Canadian bootlegger, Joseph Hobbs. He installed a coffey still there in 1955, making Ben Nevis Scotland’s first dual-operation distillery, and began to blend its malt and grain before filling it to cask. Sporadic closures again followed Hobb’s death, with stability finally ensured in 1989 when it was bought by long-term customers, Nikka Whisky of Japan. Its turbulent history means there were few distillery bottlings until the launch of the 10 year old single malt in 1996, but casks had long been making their way to independent labels, and many of them are very highly praised.

Douglas Laing & Co was established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, affectionately known as “FDL.” The company started out as a blending business, but over time their focus shifted towards independently bottlings single malts. Fred died in 1982, leaving the business to his two sons, Stewart and Fred Jr, who eventually carved it up in 2013, with Stewart leaving to establish Hunter Laing. Fred Jr and his daughter Cara now run Douglas Laing, which continues to bottle single malt and has also revived its blending business. Additionally, the company has recently moved into distilling as well, announcing plans to construct the new Clutha distillery in Glasgow, and taking over Strathearn in Perthshire in 2019.

Old Particular is Douglas Laing’s flagship label, and was launched in 2013 after their Old Malt Cask series became part of the portfolio of the newly established Hunter Laing. Xtra Old Particular is the premium version of the brand, and is reserved for casks the company considers the Laing “family jewels.”

This Ben Nevis was distilled in November 1996 and matured in single refill hogshead #DL15941 for 25 years.

RESERVE PRICE $1100