We mentioned the week before about giving out a gift for the Christmas season (we know it’s April, friends in other states does this), and this is the companion piece – the gift to the lounge. We are willing to admit that in a blind buy we got better than we gave. While there are some niggling details here to stop this from being a darling, it’s a fine gift.
As always when we have to type out so much text (it’s bespoke enough to not be able to find) we will be short with our words before the scores here. Overall well done. It’s nice to have an above average Highland scotch again even if one aspect lets us down.
What they Say: “Bottle: Distilled, Matured & Bottled in Scotland. 1st Release. Natural colour, Non Chill-filtered.
Box Exterior: ‘There’s something quite special about a perfectly matured, Highland single malt whisky. About the essence of a Vintage year, captured in a bottle. About tasting it. Feeling it. ~John MacDonald, Distillery Manager.
Box Interior: Vintage Timed to Perfection – Balblair whiskies are uniquely Vintage, our bottles are not marked with an age statement, but simply with the year that the whisky was laid down. Every year, our Distillery Manager John MacDonald, tastes, judges, and selects straight from the cask. And at exactly the right moment, when the balance between the age and the character of the whisky is just right, we bottle it. Each Vintage represents an exact moment in time. A moment of perfection. It’s the ability to judge that precise point in time that makes Balblair so special.
Tasting Notes – The first release of the Balblair 2003 is golden amber in appearance. On the nose, there are the signature Balblair aromas: floral and fragrant punctuated with citrus fruits, apricots, and honey. The American oak, ex-bourbon barrels used in maturation impart toffee, butterscotch, and vanilla notes. On the palate, it is full-bodied, with notes of oranges, lemon, honey, and spice. The long-lasting finish is sweet yet spicy; a superbly well-balanced dram.
A Vintage Story – Established in 1790, Balblair distillery is one of the oldest working distilleries in Scotland and the oldest working distillery in the Highlands. It is strikingly situated by the beautiful Dornoch Firth on the sweep of the Cambuscurrie Bay within sight of the ancient Clach Biorach standing stone. The original source of its water is still used to this day. The delightful and winding Allt Dearg burn flows fresh and clear from the surrounding hills.”
Taste: 6.5 – Here is where the oak from the barrel actually shows up. You get a bit of the citrus and honey from that aroma, but that oak and smoke add much more complexity to it. The issue is here that while you get all of these they are not working in step with each other and it’s almost like they’re fighting in your mouth.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – That is a combo of sweet and spicy almost peppery like flavor. And that spiced wood smoke lasts for a damn long time, which is very well received.
Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – Just a bit of burn, and it sort of tingles with that pepper like spice. All of that aside it is rather smooth, and the warmth accompanies that very long aftertaste.
Aroma: 7.5 – There are at least starting off strong by the truth in the combo of both flowers, citrus, and honey smells because that exactly what it’s like. There’s honey, but then like a bit of orange and then the lighter flavor from the floral stuff. (The other stuff from the barrel is nearly bunk though). It doesn’t smell like a nice sturdy highland whiskey mind you, but it is very pleasant to smell.
Honesty: 6.0 – Okay let’s not mince words – they go on. Add that to the box interior (magnetic lid, and odd placement) and you have something very ostentatious. They do earn a bit of that bark though by how they actually produce their whiskey, and how that’s explained. They, however, do start throwing around the p-word (perfect) and while their tasting notes are likely the most accurate we’ve ever seen – it’s a bit too much.
Mixability: 3.0
W/ Rocks: 3.0 – It begins to harmonize some of the flavors going on, but not terribly well. You also lose far too much of the complexity, and the long and well-loved lingering aftertaste.
Value: 5.5 – For us, while that is terrible on rocks – it’s a worthy price for a neat highland scotch, and while it’s unlikely we’d buy this again the allure of other years is very much present.
Google Shop Average: $62
Website: https://www.balblair.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.5
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Metric Score: 42.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.07 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.5
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Final Thoughts: Needless to say – yes we wish this on rocks became an entirely different animal, or blended together with the chaos of the taste, but alas. That aside this is delicious dram, and deserving of deeply devoted deference. It’s nice to see a distillery buck trends and do what they’ve always done well – make whiskey and choose when it’s ‘right’ – even if they do jack off to that ideal a bit too much.
