Blair Athol distillery is part of Dieageo, however it isn’t one of their single malts that is so well known in these parts. That said, if you’ve ever had Bell‘s, you’ve had Blair Athol whisky.
We were fortunate to try a 16 year old from an independent bottler… read on…
Blair Athol 16 year (Old Malt Cask) 50%
- Colour – Deep gold
- Nose – Heather, saddle ready to go horseback riding, subtle caramel, more distinct matured cheese, sour curd, citrus orange, in the ‘rancio’ category
- Taste – Coconut oil, sweet and clearly an older whisky from a bourbon cask
- Finish – Long, delayed spice
- Water? Too enamoured with the full flavours to be distracted by a drop of pani (water)
Reactions – An excellent winter whisky without smoke
Quote of the eve – As though an elegant lady sauntered in the room, then turned out to be completely wild!
The reveal – Part of Hunter Laing & Co’s Old Malt Cask series. From May 1997, bottled in Oct 2013, 1 of 545 bottles.
We first sampled this in Oct 2014 together with Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu ‘The Floor Malted’ 3 year and Glen Deveron 20 year.
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Whisky Lady 
Nice notes! I have fond memories of visiting Pitlochry as I child so I have plans to go back and take a trip down memory lane in combination with visiting the Blair Athol distillery. It’s a whisky I haven’t really tried yet but the dram you had certainly sounds lovely! FYI, it gets 85.5/100 in the Whisky Bible 2015. 🙂
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I’m terrible in that I don’t have the Whisky Bible and don’t pay attention to ratings when selecting whiskies. So had no idea Blair Athol had that rating – thanks for sharing! Alas also haven’t been to the distillery either and have a funny feeling you will get there sooner than I! 🙂
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You rarely go wrong with an Old Malt Cask. I have yet to try a Blair Athol my self – hasn’t piqued my interest just yet. Good to see that you had a good experience with it. And I concur with your quote of the evening. I’ve met many a distinguished dame who is a wildcat in bed — I’m speaking of whisky, of course 😉
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Hahaha! Naturally you MUST be speaking of whisky. 🙂 I must admit this is one I wouldn’t have tracked down but that is the beauty of having a tasting group – someone else did and I was the beneficiary.
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