In my continual search for a bottle of Ben Nevis 10, I decided to contact the distillery directly. A few weeks ago, I wrote to Colin Ross, the managing director at Ben Nevis, and told him of the difficulty I’ve had in finding the 10 year expression here. I just heard back from him today, and here’s an excerpt of the reply:

“Since our U.S.importer went into liquidation/receivership a few years ago we have, sadly, not been able to find another so currently we are without a presence in your country. I have been suggesting to other enquirers from the U.S that they may be able to obtain stocks of our whisky through www.thewhiskyexchange.com or Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, both of whom have the necessary agreements in place to be able to supply whisky directly into your country. You may find that Loch Fyne Whiskies are the less expensive option and I know that they do provide a good service.
We would love to supply you directly from the distillery or through an agent in the U.S. but for the moment this is just not possible.”

I found this information worth mentioning in case you, too, are also unable to find a special bottling unavailable stateside. I visited the Whisky Exchange site and it looks like a great collection. Loch Fyne will ship to the US, but they have a lot of caveats as a result of the trials and tribulations of shipping liquors overseas through customs. For Ben Nevis 10, Loch Fyne is about $10 less than Whisky Exchange. Loch Fyne is at www.lfw.co.uk.

Does anyone have experience with buying direct from the UK? I plan to take my chances with Loch Fyne and will let you know how it goes.