When planning our Chorlton Bold & Beautiful whisky evening, I knew that Blair Athol would make the cut. Whilst often underestimated, there are many reasons why Blair Athol has been around since 1798 – known for a rich, robust, nutty, and full-bodied character. Most expressions will have some maturation in sherry casks, however there are a few – like this one – which was matured exclusively in ex-Bourbon cask.
It was first up for our quartet…
Blair Athol 12 year (2022) 54.9% 290 Bottles ~Eur 79
- Nose – Sugar on toast, scrambled eggs, waffles with a drizzle of maple syrup, vanilla custard, caramel, gulkand – a sweet preserve of rose petals, then a little orange zest…. it shifted into green pepper, becoming more vegetal, a few folks even found gerkin – pickle juice, red earth after it rains, leaves, mustier over time
- Palate – Initially came on full force, lots of tannins, raisins and rum, very dry, became plummier and nuttier on the next sip, marzipan joined by gingerbread, even a hint of lemon sherbert!
- Finish – Dry, long and tasty, more of that capsicum, then a delightful teasing ginger
- Water – Worth trying with a generous amount of water – whilst it loses some of the complexity, it amps up the sweetness and fruits, with the overall impression of ginger tea
It began like breakfast, then shifted into savoury, herbal, a hint sour, and autumnal dessert! One taster remarked how it reminded them of samahan – a herbal, gingery tea one often has to help with a cold.
We set it aside, and discovered a lovely combination of dessert and sour plums, blackberry leaf team… with even more time in the glass, it took on more toffee, becoming super sweet with toffee, with substance too from tobacco leaf, a bit woody, ending with a dry finish. Overall, it was delicious and well worth exploring!
As for Chorlton tasting notes? Here’s what was shared when this whisky was launched in 2022:
…we have a 12-year-old Blair Athol from a first-fill bourbon hogshead. This whisky actually has more colour on it than the sherry and marsala ones above, and fits in with the recent-ish Orkney 15 and Caol Ila 12 bottlings in terms of slightly aberrant bourbon casks!
So, on the nose I find toffee pennies, fruit jellies, hay bales and shoe polish. Also rum baba, various dried fruits and peels, and orange sponge cake. It’s even cakier with added water, and softer too, with some marzipan and even a nibble of Fondant Fancy.
The palate is really big and nutty (walnut liqueur? is that even a thing?), with dark plum jam, marmalade, tea-soaked raisins and maple syrup. Some anise-y herbal liqueur notes develop, and there’s a distinctly mineralic, even salty, finish. With water everything feels cleaner, with lots of stone fruit popping up.
A lovely dram this, with some stout Highlands spirit standing up nicely to the active cask, and even soaring above it when water is added. It’s been quite a hit with people who’ve had a preview.
Whilst released by Chorlton in December 2022, I waited until it became available via WhiskyBase – only purchasing it in July 2023 for Eur 79 + tax + shipping.
It then patiently waited for the right opportunity to join a special Bold and Beautiful Chorlton quartet – bringing the Whisky Ladies and Bombay Malt & Cigar gents together with:
Plus we enjoyed a bonus with a revisit of a few bottles opened previously:
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