Like The Glenrothes, Balblair prefers to release their whisky with vintage rather than an age statement. The "First Release" has been discontinued (isn't that always the case?), but the "Second Release" is still available.
This leads me to a side note - you might ask yourself why I bother to review whisky that you might not be able to try yourself, due to availability. Remember that first and foremost I write this review more for educational purposes that I do to fill the page with lengthy, overly-descriptive and hard to understand reviews. I merely add my own tasting notes to help you learn about how to taste whisky, the whisky in question, and what you might be able to expect from that particular distiller or bottler in the future.
Balblair is a distillery that has been around since 1790 in the Highland region of Scotland. Balblair prides themselves on releasing their whisky at the precise moment that it is ready. This is why they prefer vintages vs. age. They view this as an art, being able to judge whisky straight from the cask and determine it to be "ready". There is a decent amount of different Balblair bottlings to choose from, but I would determine this to be the one you would likely find in a pub, currently. There are newer vintages, the 2001 and 2002 that have been released; I assume that I will see those on the local shelves soon. Sometimes whisky takes a while to get to my area.
This whisky bathed its glass in a light golden glow. Coming to me recommended and with medium legs, I looked forward to this tasting. The nose was strong, spicy and fruity with not much of a burn. I could detect apricot and citrus. Tasting the whisky, which boasted a decent viscosity, I decided that if I had to sum up the flavor in one word, it would indeed be fruity. I was surprised that the immediate aftertaste was a bit dry, but the overall finish was, although subtle, quite lengthy. This is a whisky that I would recommend to both sexes as well as beginners and veterans of drinking whisky.
Rating: 4.5 out of a possible 5 Casks
Reason: I enjoyed this. As I have indicated in the past, the whiskies that I enjoy most are the whiskies that I can pull individual flavors from; this did not disappoint. I liked the viscosity, the nose, the taste, and how long the taste lingered with me after tasting. It is also always nice to discover a whisky that would be an easy 'sell' to a guest who might not be an established scotch drinker. I'd say grab a bottle or at least a glass if you have the opportunity. The Second release runs about $80-$90a bottle, a glass cost me $13.
Until next time, cheers!
Charles
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