Balblair 1965 12 Year Old Cadenhead's

Balblair 1997

Very bright golden appearance. The nose is very vibrant with bright oranges and lemons, followed by sweet fig and coconut. The nose is a BIT muted. The palate comes strong with sweet toffee, white pepper and medium body. The finish isn't short, but no new flavors arrive. A very pretty little 10 year.

Score 88/100

Balblair 1997

Nose: clean barley with soft vanilla. Really fresh and minty, with quite a lot of fruity notes (apple, orange, lemon, pineapple). Honey. Also spicy notes (cinnamon) from the oak. I quite like the nose. Mouth: sweet attack, again really fruity (pineapple, apricot, grapefruit). Vanilla. Subtle oak. Very light hints of peat. Evolving on spices and...

Score 80/100

Balblair 1990 Islay Cask 1466

Nose: This is a very different dram than the 1997 , and that can bee deduced from a wee sniff : heavier and darker with BBQed pears, leather , some dried fruit in the form of crushed dates and , smoked apples. earthier and heavier, not as fruity, but quite complex. Palate: Peaty! quite a lot of that actually, much more than on the nose with...

Score 92/100

Balblair 26 Year Old 1965 Cadenheads

This Balblair was one of the discoveries during the Christmas Tasting last year, lead by Michiel Wigman and Jeroen Koetsier. I loved it and left a bit of my sample to retry in the tranquility of my study. Today is the day. By the way: the malt has spent more time in the bottle than it ever did on a cask. Moreover, it was bottled in 1992 which is...

Score 89/100