Wemyss (pronounced more or less like “wims”) is a family with a longstanding tradition in malt whisky. In fact John Haig built his first distillery on Wemyss land. Their selections are done by Charlie Maclean among others, and they tend to have a certain epitheton for each whisky. In this case it’s Red Berry Cream, a 21 years old Ben Nevis.
Ben Nevis 21 yo 1990 ‘Red Berry Cream’ (40%, Wemyss Malts 2011, 865 btl.)
Ben Nevis 21 yo 1990 ‘Red Berry Cream’ (40%, Wemyss Malts 2011, 865 btl.)Nose: quite a mashy and milky nose. Rosewater. Cranberries. Strawberry yoghurt. Soft spices. Quite some damp wood too. Not my kinda dram, not really fresh and I don’t like milky notes in my whisky.
Mouth: not too powerful nor thick. Fruits like raspberry and blackcurrant, with a big wave of oak spices in the middle (cinnamon, pepper). A kind of fruitiness that I associate with wine finishes. Turkish delight. Flakes of dried coconut. Hints of oily / resinous oak as well.
Finish: medium long with an eau-de-vie type of fruit/alcohol combination.
A strange one, you might think fruity notes are always appealing in a whisky, but this is a slightly synthetic fruitiness that quickly put me off. Around € 90.
Score: 76/100