
July 22, 2016

Butts, no ifs at Blair Athol

What? Anyway, apéritif first…

Blair Athol 8 yo (40%, OB, +/-1987)

A bottle roughly from when Blair Athol joined the Classic Malts, which did not last very long. That was when Diageo’s predecessors had bought owners Arthur Bell & Sons. Funnily enough, this one did say both ‘Single Malt’ and ‘Pure Malt’ on the label. Colour: gold. Nose: certainly old style, and more or less midway between the distillery’s previous ‘fat fruity’ style and their more contemporary ‘lighter malty’ side. A little dust, a feeling of copper and tin, certainly some kind of camphor (tiger balm?) and then rather freshly squeezed oranges and apples. A little unusual but there may be some OBE at play. Parsley. Mouth: malty and stouty (?) arrival, with a lot of toasted oak and bread, then rather cashews and peanuts. A very dry maltiness, with even a little soy sauce and walnuts. Dry sherry. Finish: medium, extremely malty, as if you had just quaffed some lukewarm Guinness. Comments: good but not as splendid as earlier official Blair Athols, especially as the black labels at 46% vol. SGP:451 - 80 points.

Blair Athol 20 yo 1995/2015 (50%, Hunter Laing, Old Malt Cask, sherry butt, cask #2537, 597 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: this is funny, there are similar metallic touches at first nosing, especially copper (nosing a cold still, haha), then rather lovely kinds of mentholated oranges. The sherry’s very obvious, as this baby does nose like, well, sherry. Walnuts, touches of mustard, green apples, all that. With water: bread crumbs, toasts, drops of Guinness indeed, and a chalkiness. Mouth (neat): once again we’re not far from the old OB, but of course this packs more punch, with some peppered walnuts and almonds plus a large bag of Seville oranges. Nice bitter feel, with some Fernet Branca or something. With water: good malty development, with also a little mint sauce or something, well, English. I’m sorry, Scotland. Finish: rather long, just as dry as the OB. Roasted malt, bitter oranges, leather, a bit of gingerbread. Comments: just good, just good. Nice dry sherry. SGP:461 - 83 points.

Blair Athol 27 yo 1988/2016 (55.7%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange, refill sherry, cask #6845, 565 bottles)

I like these coloured labels that they also use for La Maison du Whisky. Colour: gold. Nose: perhaps a few used matches at first nosing, but those do go away and quickly. After that, it starts to resemble the 1995, with some dry sherry, walnuts and all that, but a fruitier side then appears, with dates and raisins, fruitcake, and a je ne sais quoi that makes me think of… artisan cognac. Also toasted croissants, while I’m in France. With water: oh, green tomatoes and autumn leaves! Changes a lot once reduced. Mouth (net): excellent, even if it’s a tad rustic at times. Bitter oranges, white pepper, pipe tobacco, triple-sec, old rancio, perhaps one Turkish delight, orange zests… All that works in sync. With water: still a notch rustic, leafy and leathery, but the dried fruits – dates first – just lift it. A wee glass of marc de gewürztraminer may have been thrown into that butt. Finish: rather long, with good balance between the leather and leaves, and the dried fruits. Comments: much to my liking, but if this was a refill cask, they mustn’t have kept the first whisky for very long in wood. SGP:561 - 86 points.