
October 12, 2021

Little duos, today Balblair

The fruitiest malt in the north of Scotland! Lovely place, people and whisky, we still have the tastes of that insane official 1966 in our mouth (38yo/2004), surely a bottle to watch at auctions. No wait, please don't…

(Photo Balblair)

Balblair 25 yo (46%, OB, +/-2021)

I believe, but I could be completely wrong, that this is a newer batch of the 25. We've never tried the 25 anyway, by the way, but all things come to him who waits (yeah, in books or movies). Colour: deep gold. Nose: herbal teas, overripe apples and pears, and a little metal polish, then the expected bananas and papayas. Some kind of Chinese spiciness too (or is that jasmine?) and greengage jam. Long story short, it is a lovely nose, complex, mature, elegant and fresh. Mouth: starts with a little mentholy oakiness, pinewood perhaps, fir honey… Gets geared towards the trademark tropical fruits after that, as well as hectolitres of various herbal teas, some of them pretty mentholy. There really is a feeling of good old wood in this one, which would make you believe it's pretty older (like 35). The aforementioned 1966 was brighter and fruitier, for example. Dried figs and dates joining the fiesta after a good minute or so. Finish: medium, with a touch of salt, chestnut jam, herbal teas and a rather lovely earthiness in the aftertaste. Comments: perhaps not as utterly brilliant as some other old Balblairs – so perhaps not Concorde-quality - but we're already flying very high.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

Balblair 40 yo (42.8%, Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #1346, 152 bottles, +/-2010)

I tried this baby when it came out but I think I kind of missed it (WF80, no proper tasting note). Let's try it again, eleven years later… Colour: gold. Nose: certainly a tropical fruit bomb, with papayas, mangos and passion fruits upfront, candlewax just behind them, and then wormwood, or artemisia, angelica, green tea, pine needles… I am, at times, reminded of that old 1966 that I may have mentioned before (you already did twice, S.) Mouth: the oak's more prominent, giving it a mentholy/piney arrival that's not without remind me of the newer official 25. Goes on with banana and peach skins, as well as these tiny touches of paraffin once again. Artisanal citron liqueur, a wonderful Corsican thing that I would wholeheartedly recommend you (they call it 'cédrat' instead of 'citron'). Finish: good length, fresh, tropical, citrusy, with more tea again in the aftertaste. Comments: much better than I remembered it. We tried it during an Old & Rare masterclass last year, we may try it again around the year 2022.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Check the index of all Balblair we've tasted so far