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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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February 7, 2022 |
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Little Duos, today Balblair
medium-aged vs. old |
Lovely Distillery, on the way to Brora (kind of). We've had some lovely time up there, especially when those stunning official 1966s and 1969 that they were having were still available for a price of, ach, well, £100. Lovely people, at that. We love to try Balblair. |
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Balblair 17 yo (46%, OB, travel retail, +/-2020) 
This one was finished in ex-Spanish oak sherry wood, a rather Glendronachian set-up. Let's see if it hasn't lost a part of its usual fruity and floral brightness. Colour: gold, surprisingly pale given that it was sherried-up. Nose: walnuts and bitter almonds a bit in the way at first, but it's soon to go through to the pastry hall, with some nougat and macaroons (that almondy side again), plus really a lot of marzipan, turon and just sesame oil. Fruit Loops, also quite some beeswax. Awesome nose, I think. Mouth: a little bit on the spicy side this time, and that's possibly the Spanish oak. Moves towards speculoos and gingerbread liqueurs (indeed, some folks make ans sell gingerbread liqueur), with also good pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom powder, then we have zests and bitter orange marmalade. What you won't find and which was in those old Balblairs I was mentioning are tropical fruits. Or perhaps just banana skins? Finish: rather long, spicy and almondy. A tiny touch of rose jelly or Turkish delight in the aftertaste, but don't quote me on that. Comments: a slightly intermediate Balblair, which I find very good even if I would tend to like the brighter ones a little better.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Balblair 33 yo 1988/2021 (54.4%, OB for LMDW, bourbon, cask #2249, 102 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: I could simply write 'Balblair' and call this a tasting note. Pink bananas, dandelions, beeswax, papayas, mirabelles and acacia honey. Caraway and fennel seeds are chiming in after a short while, also juniper, also some old resinous woods, thuja, 'old Buddhist temple'… Beautiful – and peaceful. With water: a wonderful wee sourness (morello cherry juice) plus almonds, fruit stones, dunnage, old hessian, earth and the largest bag of bananas ever. We're talking proper fruits, not sweets or gums. Mouth (neat): I'd swear I get echoes of Bertie Cummings' cask (Balblair afficionados ahoy). Bananas, honeys, peppermint liqueur, cedarwood, touches of mangos, cinnamon powder… With water: swims perfectly despite all the many grassy oak spices that are coming to the surface. More on fruit peel, perhaps. Maybe a touch of cardboard. On second thought, do not add any waters. Finish: medium, brighter again, almost citrusy. Peppery oranges. The aftertaste is more on Alpenöl, Ricola and 'stuff like that'. Verbena. Comments: absolutely superb, I'm just not totally sure water should be added. Should we ask the temperance league?
SGP:661 - 90 points. |
Remember, as someone once said (can't remember whom, might be, err, your truly), 'If music is a way to decorate time, whisky is a way to celebrate it.' Right, not sure I was in full form on that very day. |
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