The Bailie Nicol Jarvie tasting notes

[bifter]

If you've read any of my reviews you'll know that I like a bit of provenance! I love to look into the history of an expression or the details of the production process to find a nugget of information that puts some context around what you find in your glass. This review is of the Bailie Nicol Jarvie (BNJ), a blend produced by Nicol Anderson & Co. who are owned by Glenmorangie plc (and thereby LVMH). So, here's the history bit!

BNJ was first produced by Roderick MacDonald and Alexander Muir of Leith in the late 19th century (dates vary). It takes it's name from a character in Walter Scott's novel, Rob Roy. Bailie Nicol Jarvie was a magistrate who arrived at an Aberfoyle pub with his travelling companions only to be faced with some belligerant Highlanders one of whom draws his sword on the bailie. Finding his own sword rusted to its scabbard through disuse, Jarvie uses a hot poker to set fire to one of the clansman's 'new bonnie plaid'. Honour satisfied and with no blood shed, Jarvie then purchases a round of fine whisky for all.

BNJ was particularly popular at the start of the 20th century, gaining a reputation among officers in the Boer war but sales slumped by the 1980s. The brand was relaunched in 1994 by Nicol Anderson & Co. Ltd, also based in Leith, with a new recipe. The modern version of the blend contains just eight single malts from the Highlands (including Glenmorangie), isle of Islay and Speyside (including Glen Moray). The malt content accounts for 60% of the total, the highest proportion of any commercial blend. The grain content is acquired from the Girvan distillery in Ayrshire. The age statement is eight years (many Web sources state six so I wonder if this has increased).

I like the bottle. It looks very traditional, printed up in Victorian style black and white and with plenty of flowery bumpf proclaiming the high malt content, the 'careful' maturation and the 'honour' of the aging process. The presence of a cork rather than a screw cap continues the traditional theme and is a rarity on a bottle that costs less than £20. Anyway, on to the tasting notes!

The colour is pale straw. When swirled in the glass, the liquid practically takes up residence on the sides of the glass, most of it slipping down the side in a wave before some late beads appear. Quite incredible for such a young blend.

The nose is sharp! Lemon and fresh barley notes dominate with some honeyed and fruity elements lurking behind - pineapple? The taste is tart! The bitterness of the citrus zest battles it out with honey on buttered toast. I also detected ginger and almonds. The smoke comes through later to dry things out with the finish being a ballet of sweet honey notes and lip smacking dryness with light smoke .

It's hard to describe how succulent this whisky is. Although light (a characteristic of Glenmorangie of course) the mouthfeel is butyric and the lemon notes just cut right through everything making one simply salivate. Very, very drinkable and incredible value. My only criticism is that the 40% bottling strength should be a little higher.
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"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]