Ben Nevis Distillery

Ben Nevis’ story

The Ben Nevis distillery is located on the outskirts of the town of Fort William in the western Highlands. It is one of only two distilleries currently in operation in this remote and rugged area of Scotland, with Oban being the other. The distillery has a yearly capacity of two million litres and takes its name from Ben Nevis – the UK’s highest mountain at 1343 metres (4406 feet) tall. It sits at the foot of the mountain in one of the most scenic settings of any distillery in Scotland.

The water used in the whisky production at Ben Nevis is collected from a local spring. This is replenished by rain or melted snow that has fallen on the mountain. Bottlings by the distillery are few and far between with just one 10 years old as the only regular single malt release. It is occasionally joined by limited edition special releases of higher age from the distillery and is also popular with independent bottlers. The company also produce two blended whiskies at the distillery – Dew of Ben Nevis and Glencoe – which accounts for much of the production.

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Ben Nevis’ history

Ben Nevis was founded in 1825 by John McDonald, who was known as ‘Long John’ locally, and remained in his family until the 1940s. Then Canadian businessman Joseph Hobbs took control and revolutionised Ben Nevis by installing a Coffey column still (a type of still used to produce grain whisky) – this made Ben Nevis the first Scottish distillery able to produce single malt and grain whiskies at the same location.

Prior to that, a second distillery was built nearby to help with demand for Ben Nevis’ whisky. This was simply named Nevis and was established in 1878. These were merged together in 1908. Fast forward, the late 1970s and 1980s were difficult for Ben Nevis and it was closed for varying reasons for most of this period, especially between 1978 and 1984 (major renovation) and 1986 to 1989 (financial and operational issues). The Japanese distillers Nikka bought it in 1989 and set about restoring Ben Nevis. Nikka is a subsiduary of the Asahi Brewery Company and they restarted production in 1990 and Ben Nevis has been operating under their ownership ever since.

• How to pronounce Ben Nevis? ben-nev-is
• Country: Scotland
• Region: Highlands
• Founded: 1825
• Current owners: Nikka
• Production capacity per year: 2 million litres
• Mash tun: 9 ton
• Washbacks: 8
• Stills: 4
• Visitor centre: Yes

Ben Nevis Distillery
Loch Bridge
Fort William
PH33 6TJ
tel – +44(0)1397 702 476
www.bennevisdistillery.com

Did you know?

Aonach Mor (summit 1120m), one of the highest mountains in Scotland, sits two miles east of Ben Nevis distillery. It is one of Britain’s few ski resorts featuring the the highest ski lift and the longest lasting snow patch in the UK.