Balblair vertical - sort of...

[opelfruit]

Balblair is an often overlooked and much under rated distillery owned by Inver House Distillers, who also own Old Pulteney and anCnoc (all very good and consistent whiskies that are often higher strength, natural colour and not chill filtered). In 2007 Balblair moved away from age statement whiskies and started to produce solely vantage releases; each bottling is a release from a specific vintage and also contains a bottling date so you can tell hold old it is.
In my view this is a really clever thing they did, it means that the customer will keep coming back time and time again as each new vintage is released. Let's face it, once you've had a distilleries 15 year old (or whatever) then you've had it, but with Balblair there is always a new bottling to try as each vintage runs out and a replacement is bottled.
All Official Bottlings (with the exception of single casks) are now bottled at 46%, not chill filtered and of natural colour.

These are the last 3 bottles I've had.


1997 2nd release (bottled 2013, so 15/16 years old), ex-bourbon barrel matured:

Nose: Tarty and very busy. Citrus (lemon) and tropical fruits (pineapple, papaya, banana), vanilla from the cask. Very summery. Pepper/spicy tingle. Some oak.

Palate: Lemon drops, sweet, malty with a bit of earthiness to it. Rich, mouth filling and quite robust considering the lightness of flavour and the lightness of the nose, some light runny honey. Great delivery and progression of flavours into the finish.

Finish: Spices from the oak, warm fruit breakfast pastries, back to spicy tingle. Long, very long and silky.

Comments: Woah, this is seriously good. The flavour is very intense and the balance is just about perfect with great delivery and transition from the nose to palate to finish. Incredibly complex for a 15 year old.

1990 2nd release (bottled 2014, so 23/24 years old), ex-bourbon for 21 years and olorosso finished for the last 2 years:

Nose: Tangy again, good presentation of house style. Oranges this time and not lemons, raisins, toffee drizzled bananas this time. Vanilla and Christmas spices like in lebkuchen.

Palate: Cirtus forward and sweet, oranges again then the sherry cask influence comes in; gingerbread, nutmeg and cinnamon....yeah it's like sucking a lebkuchen. Moves on the honey as the spice fades. Full bodied and mouth filling.

Finish: Long, honey and raisin, oaky spice tingle, something is just holding it back from greatness and I can't put my finger on it.

Comments: This is how to sherry finish a whisky. It's not a sherry bomb, the sherry really complements the house style and doesn't over power it. It's like the whisky is wearing a well fitted suit of sherry, but there are a few flat spots. I feel like the whisky is saying "here I am, this is me, take me or leave me and I don't care". Superb.

1989 3rd release (bottled 2013 so 23/24 years old), ex-bourbon casks:

Nose: Yep, Balblair. Tangy and zippy again. Lemon and honey lozenges and oaky tingle, some spice, apple and banana.

Palate: Pretty much the same as the nose, but some honey and sultana and flame raisin to keep it going. Vanilla from the cask, not as old in the taste as I was expecting and very alive. Thick, rich and mouth filling.

Finish: Very silky, tingle of spice and fades to sweet. Long and with more honey and vanilla from the oak.

Comments: This is a beautiful whisky, really elegant and well put together. There isn't much progression and it's all very "samey", it lacks and show stopping complexity but still greatly enjoyable.

Interestingly the one I prefer is the 1997. It wasn't by a mile, it just piped the 1990. The 1989 just wasn't complex enough, the 1990 is full of character and is a really honest dram but they both lack the thing that makes a very good whisky an exceptional whisky; true balance. The 1997 is wonderfully balanced, it all works in harmony and just goes to show that it's not always the oldest, the most expensive, the most heavily sherried or peated whisky that's the best.....it's the one that the most well put together, thoughtful and complex that wins the day. Shame it's all gone really, it'll probably end up being one the classic vintages.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Keith]

For a second i thought "Balblair virtical" was a new expression.

Balblair do turn out some good stuff, i dont think it is over looked or under-rated though, perhaps we dont see it martketed as much here in the UK as the other Inverhouse whiskies such as Old Pulteney and anCnoc but most serious malt whisky drinkers will have a bottle or two tucked away in the back of the cupboard.

[opelfruit]

Spelling never has been my strung poynt

As you say, people in the know buy it but your average malt drinker down to the mass market drinker probably over look it, I find it crazy that some of these vintage releases sit on the market for a year or 2 before selling out (given there is only usually 30 casks or so in a release), if it was something more well known then it'd go within weeks. Suits me though as it means I can still get my hands on it at a good price. A 23yo OB, unfiltered and uncoloured at this quality level for £80? Long may it continue.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Gregor]

I agree Keith, i wouldnt say Balblair is over looked at all you just dont see much of it in the big high street shops where the majority of people will buy their whisky, you have to visit a whisky specialist shop to explore the Balblair range at any length.

[Alexppp]

Great tasting notes - I have a Balblair 2002 (bottled 2012) and 1995 (also 2012) on the go, and both are excellent. I've often had them together and to be honest there's no clear winner, the younger one more than holds its own.

[William]

In 2011 and 2012 part of Balblairs production was heavily peated, a phenol specification in the barley of 52 PPM, I am not aware of any further peated production plans for the near future but i am sure we will see a peated Balblair some time in the future.

If anCnoc is anything to go by they started producing heavily peated spirit back in 2004 and only released some anCnoc Peaty whisky last year for the first time in modern times. Whether we will have to wait around 10 years or not will probably be determined by how the peaty Balblair matures, we may never see it if it doesnt turn out well and it could all be dumped into blends. Time will tell.
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There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

[James T]

[opelfruit]

In 2012 they also upped the bottling abv from 43% to 46%, so they do seem interested in giving drinkers what they want.


I've had a half bottle share of a 1990 cask strength single cask that was used to previously mature Islay whisky. Not a peated Balblair but it picked up the peat from the cask during maturation and it worked really well. The spirit can definitely handle peat so if they are to produce a peated whisky I'm sure it will live up to urgent standards in the range.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."