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Balblair
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Balblair distillery
was
founded by John Ross in 1790 and now lays claim to being the
oldest working distillery in the Highland region and one of the
oldest in Scotland. It remained within the Ross family until the
end of the 19th century was bought by Alex Cowan in 1896.
Balblair was closed between 1915 and 1947 when it was
reopened and then purchased by Robert 'Bertie' Cumming in 1949
but he retired in 1970 and sold it on to what became Allied
Distillers.
Inver
House bought the distillery in 1996 |
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Balblair distillery is situated in Edderton and within sight
of the Clach Biorach standing stone. In fact some of the
detailed pattern in the Balblair logo takes its design from
faults visible within that stone.
Balblair is one of the few distilleries
to now bottle only
vintage expressions and not aged statements, but thankfully, to
save future confusion, the year of bottling is also declared.
"Our
whisky tells us when it's ready, not the other way round" Explains Balblair Manager John MacDonald |
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Vintages (and new
make) |
General whisky characteristics: Light, gentle, fruity,
smooth. Sometimes light toffee or butterscotch and outdoors. |
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Glass: Glencairn
Colour: Clear, like
water
Nose:
Oily and fruity whilst retaining a very fresh and light
background.
Palate: A very smooth
new spirit, especially undiluted at 68%. It has extreme fruit
and also a light and floral complexity which makes it
extremely drinkable.
With 4 drops of water:
Even lighter and more open with a suggestion of heather.
Finish: Long, oily and only gently
fading after some minutes.
Overall impression: A
wonderfully light, smooth and fruity new make. I love it! |
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Balblair,
New Make, 62% ABV
I acquired this
sample during one of the Limburg festivals where I was assured
this was New Make from 1960. Can this really be....? |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Clear, like
water
Nose:
Really quite mild and warming with suggestions of grasses &
hay alongside malty biscuit-iness.
Palate: Lots of
maltiness with that biscuit-iness from the nose but also
plenty of fruitiness with hints of peach and banana stem.
Finish: Medium to long.
Overall impression:
Generally I find Balblair to be a lovely fruity whisky and
this older new make is no different although it does also have
lots of maltiness running through it. Most enjoyable. |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour:
Bright yellow gold
Nose:
Very aromatic and light with a sweetness reminding me of candy
floss.
Palate: Mildly peppery
and very fruity with a tendency towards pineapple, but not
quite.
Finish: Long and fruity
Overall impression: A
lovely fresh and fruity whisky which belies its age as it seems
a little younger.
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Glass: Glencairn
Colour:
Rich 21ct gold, or even light amber.
Nose:
Wood and fresh ginger with a hint of lime zest whilst trying to
suggest savoury red pepper corns.
Palate: Rich
again with pepper and ginger alongside ripe mango.
With 4 drops of water:
Slightly lighter and fresher with a little more fruity pepper.
Finish: Long with sweet fruit
and a touch of dark chocolate orange.
Overall impression: A delightful vintage.
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Glass: Glencairn
Colour:
Light (yellow) gold.
Nose:
Light and floral with faint wood, in fact I'm thinking 'early
morning walk on a remote Scottish hillside with bracken and
heather, all before breakfast.
Palate: Once again
there's lots of Scottish outdoors and countryside here, with a
hint of light toffee or butterscotch. Very smooth too.
With 4 drops of water:
Fresher and more complex, or more depth as it expands on the
palate.
Finish: Everlasting.
Overall impression:
Light, complex, all the best attributes of the Scottish outdoors
and countryside. Excellent! This really has so much to offer.
On
Wednesday 10th November John MacDonald, Manager of Balblair
Distillery led an online twitter tasting of Balblair 2000 &
1989, so here it is revisited a week later, but in the comfort
of my own home rather than its natural habitat:
Dram-atics live twitter report.
Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Light (yellow) gold
Nose: Light and floral with a hint of
toffee or butterscotch as in my above review, but this time
there's also some banana which combines well wit hthe slight 'outdoors'
effect to remind me of a fruity picnic on a Scottish hillside in
Autumn.
Palate: The light toffee or
butterscotch is again evident but is joined by a hint of black
cherry and then the banana leads into the finish.
Finish: Very long.
Overall Impression: This really
reminds of selecting toffee and butterscotch delights in a
childhood sweetshop, but also with a few chewy fruit salad
sweets thrown in for good measure. In fact I could even imagine
it being created into a new liquorice allsort; Liquorice in the
middle, wrapped in banana and black cherry and then coated in
dark chocolate. A very good whisky! |
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Balblair,
1989 (bottled 2010),
43% ABV
2nd fill bourbon
cask, Natural colour, chill-filtered
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
Reviewed (blind) as
part of MMA 2011 |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale sunny yellow
Nose:
Light aromatic wood alongside heather, sweet flora and lots of
fresh countryside air. The floral elements expand much further
with time in the glass.
Palate: Slightly herbal
butterscotch and certainly not as sweet as the nose, but there
is some gentle flora present on the palate. A hint of coconut
leads into the finish.
Finish: Long, herbal and lots of that
countryside freshness.
Overall impression: A
very good whisky, I like it.
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Balblair,
1989 (bottled 2013),
46% ABV
Natural colour, Non chill-filtered
Original
cost of this bottle; €€€€€
Bottle received as
entry to MMA2013 |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale but bright yellow gold.
Nose:
A somehow mildly metallic and strong (exotic) fruitiness. Some
hints of new wood too.
Palate: It begins with a
mild fruitiness which soon becomes more concentrated and focuses
on an exotic style with suggestions of pineapple. A gentle
pepperiness then leads into the finish.
Finish: Medium to long with a fruity
pepperiness.
Overall impression:
Tasting this whisky has proven to be a very interesting exercise
as it was bottled in 2013 as opposed to my previous 1989
bottlings which were 3 years younger (bottled 2010). It has
definitely changed with the extra age as the herbal butterscotch
notes have disappeared and been replaced with more exotic
fruitiness. Don't let my metallic comment about the nose put you
off, this is a very good whisky.
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Dark straw, light gold.
Nose:
Lots of outdoors again with hay, straw, heather, bracken and
fresh air.
Palate: Fresh and
lightly floral, in fact this is real partnership or twin-town
concept between countrysides as the Scottish hills meet an
Alpine meadow in Spring-time.
With 4 drops of water:
More floral and much more intense.
Finish: Long, light and floral.
Overall impression: Anyone
who can capture the Scottish countryside and an Alpine meadow in
a single bottle has to be a genius..
Wonderful! |
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Glass: Glencairn
Colour:
Straw left out to sunbathe.
Nose:
Very fresh and fruity with apple, pear, star fruit and a hint of
biscuit.
Palate: Smooth and
creamy with some mango and soft banana alongside the apple which
is now the only surviving fruit from the nose. It's very good,
but a surprise from what was suggested in the nose.
With
3 drops of water:
A lighter and softer nose give way to a more complex palate with
more depth.
Finish: Long and slightly peppery.
Overall impression:
Light, fresh and fruity, a really enjoyable dram!
On
Wednesday 10th November John MacDonald, Manager of Balblair
Distillery led an online twitter tasting of Balblair 2000 &
1989, so here it is revisited a week later, but in the comfort
of my own home rather than its natural habitat:
Dram-atics live twitter report.
Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Light straw in the midday sunshine
Nose:
Lots of fruit (apples, star fruit, a hint of pear) but also
a faint hint of aromatic lavendar. In fact I have described this
as picking up one of Munich's exotic fruit stalls from
Viktualienmarkt and depositing it amidst heather and bracken on
a Scottish hillside, with a small lavendar cushion for company.
Palate: Slightly sweeter than the nose with a rich, creamy
mouth-feel. Some slightly stronger mango and banana join the
apple and star fruit from the nose.
With
3 drops of water: The nose is a little more reserved and the
palate is lighter, but still with plenty of fruit.
Finish: Long, even longer with water.
Overall Impression: Very light and fruity. A most
enjoyable whisky! |
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Balblair,
'Elements',
40% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
This presentation
is a slightly earlier one than in my notes |
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Nose: Very maritime;
salty with hints of cream and malt.
Palate: Smooth and
creamy with malt and heather. No sign of the salt.
With 4 drops of water in 4cl:
Now the salt comes out, it really opens up into a very drinkable
maritime-style dram.
Overall impression:
Another dram from which I expected very little, but I was very
pleasantly surprised, especially with the salty maritime nose
which opened onto the palate with a drop or two of water. An
enjoyable evening-time dram! |
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Balblair,
10y, 70° Proof, 26 2/3 Fl Oz (75cl)
An older bottling.
Typical cost of
this bottle; Unknown |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour:
Dark oak
Nose:
Dry aromatic leafiness, perhaps also grassy or hay. Mild
suggestion of banana stem over a kind of meatiness, roast pork?
Palate: Dry and slightly
thin mouth-feel but full of flowery flavours including a faint
suggestion of lavendar over creme brulee. Yes, amazingly flowery
but rest assured we're not talking FWP!
Finish: Long.
Overall impression:
Amazingly different to today's Balblairs. Wonderful. |
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Some
older
Balblair
Presentations
by kind
permission of John MacDonald |
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