BEN NEVIS

Acquired by the Japanese group Nikka in 1989, the Ben Nevis distillery was, under the ownership of Joseph W.Hobbs in 1955, one of the only distilleries in Scotland to have its own traditional pot stills and a Coffey-style column still. Bought by Long John Distillers in 1981, the Coffey stills were subsequently dismantled. Although the majority of its whisky is aged in ex-sherry casks, some ex-bourbon cask bottlings have recently appeared on the independent market. It’s worth noting that the distillery was mothballed for six years at the end of the 1970s, and then again in 1984 and from 1986 to 1989.