Today young Balblair


July 12, 2021

	Summer Duets Today young Balblair
	Let's see if more recent distillations have retained that 'fruit bomb' side that we all loved a lot. Balblair's probably the fruitiest northern Highlander, is it not?

Balblair 8 yo 2011/2020 (54.8%, Dram Mor, 1st fill PX, cask # 359004)

It's first fill PX but according to the very light colour, it did not go into extremes. Phew. Colour: white wine. Nose: boy is it hot, raw and eau-de-vie-ish! Isn't this actually artisanal kirschwasser straight from an old Holstein? Also blackcurrant buds, hot porridge (50% porridge, 50% moonshine, a perfect breakfast), sour cherries, grape stalks… I suppose water would be mandatory here. With water: typical whiffs of rubber and paraffin, plus fresh leaven bread. This is really raw, but I rather like leaven bread. Mouth (neat): more raw kirsch spirit, this time with pears as well, raw wine brandy, marc… all that with a long cut. With water: there, garden fruits, around green plums and more sour cherries. A touch of lemon skin, green pears... Finish: medium, grassier. Stalks, stems and pips. Comments: totally raw style, with a PX that's as expressive as Bill Wyman. PX, really? Needs water.
SGP:361 - 80 points.

A few more years of maturation please…

Balblair 2005/2021 (48.5%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, cask #213, 180 bottles)

The earlier official 2005/2016 was very good but it was too young too and rather akin to eau-de-vie de barley indeed (WF 83). A few more years may have helped… Colour: white wine. Nose: well, it is still raw and indeed eau-de-vie-ish, without the kind of fruity bonanza that used to happen with earlier Balblairs, on the other hand these notes of coconut balls, marzipan and thin mints work very well, they 'lift' it. Some hops too, pink grapefruits… in moderation. No fruit bomb here, but it keeps improving, getting even to gentian and other rooty/earthy delicacies. Mouth: same feelings as with the nose, starts a little raw and grassy, if not a wee tad feinty, but vanilla, coconut, zucchini flowers, crystallised violets and once again pink grapefruits and hops are soon to come to the rescue. A two-step malt, really, so please do not rush it. Finish: some rawer grassiness is back and would come together with green, bitter pears and apples. Barley syrup in the aftertaste, perhaps even agave syrup. Or there, gentian syrup! Comments: this one loves to play with you, it's a real kitten. A kitten with long claws…
SGP:461 - 86 points.

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