Category Archives: Blair Athol

Blair Athol 12yo “Flora & Fauna” (43%, OB, LIH3504447, Circa 1996)

Onward, with yet anther expression from Diageo’s Flora & Fauna series. A series that just doesn’t stop giving. Around since 1991 (started by United Distillers), when Aberfeldy 15yo, Aultmore 12yo, Balmenach 12yo, Benrinnes 15yo, Bladnoch 10yo, Blair Athol 12yo, Caol Ila 15yo, Clynelish 14yo, Craigellachie 14yo, Dailuaine 16yo, Dufftown 12yo, Glendullan 12yo, Glenlossie 10yo, Inchgower 14yo, Linkwood 12yo, Mortlach 16yo, Mannochmore 12yo, Pittyvaich 12yo, Rosebank 12yo, Royal Brackla 10yo, Teaninich 10yo and Speyburn 12yo made up the first line up. A lot has happened since 1991. so several of these expressions ceased to exist within the Flora and Fauna series, Like Balmenach (Distillery was sold) or like Pittyvaich (Distillery was closed) or like Mortlach that got its own special release and line-up. Also in 2001 (Diageo by now) four new offerings were brought into the fold: Auchroisk 10yo, Glen Elgin 12yo, Glen Spey 12yo and Strathmill 12yo. The series still exists and has quite the history behind it, too much to tell here in a nutshell.

Four of the five reviews I did from this series were Sherried bottlings, with only Teaninich being a clear example of a Whisky matured in Bourbon casks. However, this Blair Athol is again a Sherry matured expression, is that a coincidence? No not really. I already knew that the Mortlach 16yo had the reputation to be the best expression of all, and when buying alternative bottlings from this series, I thought it would be fun to first find the next best Sherry bottling within the series.

Color: Chestnut Orange Brown

Nose: Nice fruity old skool nose. Smells like steam and black coal age with hints of fresh air. Chewy, sappy wet wood and there is some spiciness to the wood as well. Hardly any woody bitterness. Hints of leather and super dry raisins. Very distant tar and some unexpected cooked vegetables and a tiny hint of petrol, akin to that of a good Riesling. I wonder if I would pick up on that every time around. Old batch of paper, which works well right now. The whole is so “historical”. Every time I am smelling this, I have this feeling this is a very old Whisky, nothing modern at all. Old style and you might call it dusty. It’s not heavy, yet also not very fruity either, it is somewhere in the middle between lively (fresh and slightly acidic red fruits) and an old leather couch standing in a room with a fireplace. Very well balanced and the nose projects a lot for a 43% ABV Whisky. Remember the days Whisky came in screw top bottles? So old skool, very good but also not all that complex. Highly “smellable”. Something for a Sunday treat.

Taste: On entry it shows old skool again, with some sort of restraint sweetness to it, like from old caramel candies. Also the ABV is noticeable right away. On entry is seems to have a low ABV, however if sipped some more, this thinness, gets out of the way, like its building upon itself. Two times one is two (and not one). It’s still not a heavy hitter in that regard. In a way it does remind me a bit of old Cognac or a light Armagnac. The Blair Athol is very well balanced and very tasty as well. This is an easy drinkable Whisky and I guess that has always been the goal with the Flora and Fauna series, apart from showcasing the many distilleries in the portfolio of Diageo and its predecessors. Again, not very heavy since it is easily drinkable because of the fruit having this slight acidic touch to it as opposed to the over ripe and sweet fruits you can also get sometimes. Now I know! This acidic fruitiness is reminding me of Calvados and apples! This is stuff you would like to pour over and over again, nice complexity and very interesting stuff since it reminds me of Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados. Is this all cask influence? These casks held quite some Sherry if it is. The aftertaste focuses on the slightly tarry and oily industrial notes. Remember the steam and the black coal it started with in the nose, Well you have it in your mouth now, after swallowing it.

Since this is by now a long running series I do have to point out that all expressions in existence are released on a regular basis and they can differ quite a lot. As we have seen earlier, not all Benrinnes 15yo from within this series are created equal. With the 2001 expression scoring higher (88 points) than the 2008 expression (84 Points). 4 points is quite a lot on the enjoyment scale.

Points: 87

Blair Athol 25yo 1988/2014 (46%, The Ultimate, Refill Sherry Butt #6918, 712 bottles)

Here is another Ultimate bottling I tried recently. Dutch outfit Van Wees are getting some pretty good bottles released recently and there is a buzz going on about this 25yo Blair Athol. Blair Athol isn’t a very popular distillery, so when something like this is “buzzin'” we can’t ignore it now can’t we? This is from a refill Sherry Butt number 6918. More casks from this series are bottled this year by Van Wees: 6922, 6927 and 6928. All reduced to 46% ABV. Meanwhile in Scotland…

In 2014 Andrew Symington is releasing 25yo Blair Athol’s from 1988 too. Signatory Vintage, his company, is releasing some pretty good Cask Strength Blair Atholls with the following cask numbers: 6914, 6919, 6920+6924 and 6925. Seems like some sort of gentleman’s agreement doesn’t it? Well nothing wrong with having some good friends. I’ve tried one of these and it was very good. Now let’s see how Blair Athol behaves when Van Wees add some water to it…

Blair Athol 25yo 1988/2014 (46%, The Ultimate, Refill Sherry Butt #6918, 712 bottles)Color: Copper gold.

Nose: Intense Sherry nose, and I don’t mean Fino people. Floral and perfumy. Nice and laid back. Funky wood and also some sulphur. Hard candy powder. Toffee and black fruit. Blackcurrant and blueberries. Nice fruity sherried Whisky. Well balanced nose. Dry and aromatic and with some hints of soap. No sight of raisins or cloying sweetness in this dark-colored malt. Otherwise a typically dark sherried nose, with some acidic oaky notes.

Taste: Toffeed Sherry, yet it doesn’t seem sweet. It does have its Sherry-sweetness but that is pushed back by the dryness of the wood. The taste is quite dry (the wood again) but all seems to be in check. Not a very sweet and cloying malt. In the distance some notes of coal and elements of old malts. The dark fruits return in the finish, which makes for an excellent finish. Still it’s not over the top. It’s not overly woody, and the fact it’s not sweet makes for an easier drinkable Sherry malt.

This is a pretty funky Whisky, if you ask me. The funkiness is there when it’s freshly opened, but also when it’s freshly poured into a glass. I hope you don’t drink your Whisky from the bottle now don’t you? This tells us the Whisky needs some air, and time, to breathe. The air gives it a more elegant feel, but also more balance, the aroma’s tend to fit better to each other. I must say, al be it from a sister cask, I like this one, way better at higher strength, but this reduced one is also pretty good by itself, uncompared. Recommended!

Points: 86

Blair Athol 20yo 1993/2013 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, First Fill Sherry Butt, DL REF 9908, 477 bottles)

The Glenglassaugh I reviewed recently was a first on these pages, but so is this Blair Athol. Blair Athol puts more than 90% of its new make into Bourbon Barrels and/or Hogsheads, and most of those are used for the Bells Blended Whisky. Less than 10% of the new make winds up in Sherry Casks and eventually most of those are used for the 16yo Flora and Fauna expression. Official expressions of Blair Athol are scarce. A long time ago there were a 8yo and a 12yo, and more recently a version of Blair Athol found its way into the Rare Malts series (a 27yo with distillate from 1975), and in the Managers Choice series (a 13yo with distillate from 1995).

When visiting the stand of Douglas Laing last year at the London Whisky Show, Chris Birthday Boy Leggat, gave me a sample of this and told me he was very curious what I would think of it, so let’s have a look…

Blair Athol 20yo 1993/2013 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, Sherry Butt, DL REF 9908, 477 bottles)Color: Golden nectar with the slightest red hue.

Nose: Malty and full. Dusty and sweet. Sweet wine. Hints of cookie dough and warm apple pie. Hard to detect the fruitiness through the dough and the pie (and the apparent sweetness). Funky (in a Bootsy Collins kind of way) with the occasional whiff of fresh air. Aroma’s here are from the low-end of the spectrum, heavy and sweet, as opposed to acidic and fresh citrus fruits. With some breathing the oak finally emerges.

Taste: Sweet with pie again, but lots more wood than the nose suggested. The wood gives it character and hardly any bitterness. Very creamy, more like clotted cream than plain vanilla. There is however a little strange hint of acidity that affects the balance a bit, this acidity continues into the finish. It is strong enough to get in between of the sweetness and the cookie dough and cream. If you ask me more a kind of acidity from the wood, than the Sherry. With extensive breathing more wood emerges, just as in the nose, as does the smallest hint of fresh cola. The balance picks up with breathing, so don’t be too quick drinking this. Salty lips.

I’m guessing from a Fino Sherry Butt (or maybe even Manzanilla, which also seems a bit salty). Blair Athol isn’t one of those distilleries with a huge following and almost never is truly great. This one is as good as Blair Athol can be. Nice.

Points: 85