Balblair 1979 26 Year Old Bourbon Cask

Balblair 1975 batch #2

Last week Balblair distillery has released a 2nd batch of their 1975 vintage. The new expression has been matured in American Ex-Sherry casks (rather than European ex-Sherry casks of batch #1 ) and is bottled at 46% , NCF, and no additional colouring added. Nose: Starting quite zesty with orange peel, some old bookshelves, Like entering a very old...

Score 90/100

Balblair 12 Year Old Discovery Gordon & Macphail

A few years ago Gordon & Macphail introduced the Discovery series in which they bottle affordable malts at drinking strength. This 12 years old Balblair matured on a bourbon cask. My buddy Pat sent me a sample. Lovely spring fresh nose on apples and pineapple. Green grass and a mild minerality (oh, I do love my alliterations). Citrus and...

Score 80/100

Balblair 1966

This old Balblair was bottled in 2004, long before the distillery started releasing their so-called vintages. This one came from refill sherry butts. It is the oldest Balblair I have tried to date, produced before I landed upon this planet, which is always a bit of a treat. Ha! At this age, you would think that the nose would show loads of wood,...

Score 93/100

Balblair 2003

I wanted to give this one a go, but I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of the stuff. So, luckily, I somehow bumped into a miniature and having no idea what to expect from the whisky, this is what I discovered... NOSE: alcoholic, raw, grappa-like. It's mellowed out a little bit by some vanilla. Bitter grapefruit rind and lemon pith. A hint of...

Score 73/100