Balmenach 8yo
That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Batch 13 | 57.7% ABV
Unobtanium vs Value
I spent the last two days of September going to the 20th edition of Whisky Live Paris.
If you don’t know, this is just the largest whisky festival in the world. As always, it took place in the Grande Halle de la Villette, a beautiful 19th century market hall made purely of steel and glass, as was the fashion back then.
A grandiose building that was originally erected to be a bovine market, part of the bigger complex that was la Villette in the 19th and early 20th century, with slaughterhouses, markets and auctions for all sorts of cattle. It was closed in the seventies to be refurbished as a hall that now houses exhibitions, concerts and trade shows, at the heart of the park of la Villette, the only remaining witness there of a very different past.
Though Whisky Live Paris has taken place here for ages, this is to my knowledge the first time the whole building was fully used. Quite a feat for a whisky & spirits show, to fill the entire 20,000 square metres - the Hall is almost 300 metres long - as well as the balconies, with stands, some bigger than others, and most importantly, thousands of visitors over the course of three days.
Anticipation was even higher this year, as there surely were going to be fantastic drams to be had, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show. Let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint. I spent the Sunday afternoon as well as the full monday tasting beautiful whiskies, without even scratching the surface. In fact, I think I only managed to visit about 50% of the Scotch whisky stands, in two days, completely bypassing the rum, agave, armagnac and saké sections, and even the “world” whiskies, of which there were a lot, especially from my countrymen of course. I just managed a wee visit to Armorik. The new Armorik 15 for 2024 is brilliant by the way, and fills me with joy and excitement at the prospect of mature French malt. It is well and truly a festival on a massive scale.
I managed to snag free tickets for Sunday, for my dad, sister and I, but these did not include the “VIP” section, where everything is super expensive and usually - almost - equally good. Still, this was a great afternoon spent with family, and it allowed me to taste the new iterations in the ranges of brands I already knew, or rekindle with some I looked past in the last couple of years.
We tried some fantastic whiskies at the Loch Lomond stand, including a cheeky, under the table dram of 45yo Littlemill, on top of Loch Lomond 18 and Glen Scotia’s latest festival bottling, all thanks to their wonderful brand ambassador Ross. A quick visit to Raasay just to say hello to my fellow compatriot Adèle - thanks again for the branded beanie, it’ll keep my giant head warm all winter - then onto Jura to quickly try the new natural 16yo. It’s not mind blowing but it is definitely the best official Jura I’ve tried. Ben Nevis’ core range is too expensive and somewhat disappointing, whereas the Aberlour stand, manned by none other than Coldorak, has some gems, notably a delicious small batch cask strength 17yo.
But quick, there is no time, so on we go, only to stumble on the Murray McDavid stand. Just enough time to try a few whiskies and recommend a few good importers, in hope they’ll be distributed here soon. With my dad and sister being irrecoverable peatheads, we had to then tackle the smoke bombs. I had my first taste of Meikle Tor, which was damn good, and we headed to the Elixir distillers stand while it wasn’t too crowded. They bottled a beautiful 15yo Caol Ila for La Maison du Whisky, but too expensive unfortunately. The Elements of Islay range on the other hand offers wonderful value, and the revamped Port Askaig bottlings are pretty good as well. Especially the 28yo!
Kilchoman 16 is really underwhelming for the price asked (more than 250€ here!), but a quick visit to Torabhaig and Lagg puts us back on a delicious value track. The folk at Douglas Laing have bottled a beautiful Talisker 12 in the Old Particular range, but we are now nearing the end of the first day. My notes for the Strathearn inaugural read as such: “Too late in the day”. I guess if you want a whisky that tastes like 11p.m., go for the acorn! Or read Wally’s review instead, that should do.
We had one more thing to attend though, as earlier in the day Coldorak scheduled us three for a private tasting in the centre of the Pernod Ricard stand. Subject of said tasting: the Secrets of Speyside collection. Oh boy. Now we’re getting real. Hosted by Aurélien, brand ambassador for Chivas’ premium malts, and fabulous both in his warm welcome and outfit, we could sample four whiskies among the six available to taste. I constructed myself a flight you might qualify as “not too shabby”: Longmorn 23yo at 48%, Longmorn 25yo at 53,7%, which I actually liked a bit less, Braes of Glenlivet 30yo at 48,8%, a simply stellar, fruity, mature, ex bourbon dram, and an equally nice Caperdonich 30yo bottled at a cask strength of 46,9%.
Thanks again to Coldorak and Aurélien for the wonderful opportunity, as it was a perfect way to end the day, and a sign of the great things to come for the next one. After a family dinner consisting of a massive pizza and double helpings of tiramisu, as well as a good night’s sleep, it was time to wake up for the second day.
This time, I was not messing around. I met Lucas, our in-house cheesemonger and fellow whisky enthusiast at 9:15 a.m., which is excruciatingly early for a spirits retailer might I add. The reason for such an early wake up call is that every Whisky Live lasts three days, the last day being reserved to professionals. During this day, the VIP stands are accessible to everyone, and we intended on making sure we could try as much as we wanted.
We met on time, ate a sub par croissant in the queue, and at 10 a.m. precisely, rushed through; in a civilised way of course. Bracelet n°78, right on track. I left my bag in the cloakroom, grabbed a copita, and then we entered the pit.
Straight away, we crossed the full length of the hall and climbed the stairs to reach the mezzanine where the VIP stands were located, overlooking the peasants who are simply content drinking 25yo Loch Lomond - sarcasm here, don’t throw rocks at me. This is the story of our journey in Unobtainiumistan.
First, we start with Decadent drinks, as it’s what I always start with. Julie and Angus are here, as well as another lady I didn’t get the name of. Warm welcome from Julie as always, who complains they don’t have more of the special type of candy they had yesterday. It’s an early start for everyone. We taste the whole range, starting with a bourbon matured Mortlach, a spicy Ardna, a 50 blended grain and a meaty 17yo ‘tauchers. Not bad. No time to waste though, and Julie pours us a delicious old Aberlour, from vintages 1989 and 1991 which is stellar, on mirabelles, dried old apples and banana. Burnside 31yo isn’t bad either. A quick break with a delicious 1977 Aurian Armagnac and 1988-91 Calvados from Drouin. I ask Angus a question about the casks and he runs to Christian Drouin’s stand to get the answer. Any excuse to taste an old gem from Normandy. A few more great whiskies and rums are tasted, like a 33yo Uitvlugt - try to pronounce that right - and the 26yo Springbank, which is really thick and rich, but me and Lucas both fall in love with the 20yo Bowmore in the Whiskyland range. It is exceptionally complex, tropical, fruity, floral, with a delicate smoke laced throughout the tasting. Simply stellar whisky.
We say goodbye to Julie and Angus, who have a long day ahead of them, and head to Grosperrin’s stand. Guilhem Grosperrin is, in my opinion, simply the best Cognac producer around. He doesn’t distil but buys stock and ages it. Everything is brilliant, and for me, the 1924 Grande Champagne takes the cake. He opened a Cognac bottle which was either distilled or bottled in the 1830s - yes, you read that right - later in the day, but such was the amount of people waiting to try it that I couldn’t get a dram of it. Still, I won’t complain.
Valinch & Mallet bottlings are good but honestly not amazing, but while we were there, some people told us we ought to try the Spirit Shop Selection stand. Honestly, I had never heard of them, as they are a Taiwanese bottler, and don’t - yet - have decent distribution in Europe. We taste the whole range they have available, starting with a 1997 Clynelish and three stellar Ben Nevis expressions from vintages 1996 and 1998. But that was just an apéritif, as we then try a really delicate 1989 Strathisla, and some very interesting blends: a 1969 blend labelled as Bonnington - nothing to do with the distillery in Leith apparently - which tastes like old navy rum, and two 1965 blended malts which taste like very old Armagnac. Again, super impressive drams. But it doesn’t end here. They also have a really nice 1986 secret Speyside which is both really a really good classic sherry cask and not Glenfarclas, if you see what I mean, a really waxy 1991 Bunna, a very interesting and funky 1989 Jura, and some really good younger bottlings, my favourite being the 2005 Ledaig. Not a bad selection. The first 1996 Ben Nevis, bottled at 46,1% is particularly good, as well as the first 1965 Blended malt at 42,5%.
Berry Bros have a few interesting things, and a true gentleman manning the stand, whose name I unfortunately forgot. You can see I’m not good with names. Daftmill’s latest summer batch is as good as Daftmill gets, a 12yo Williamson is really great, but overshadowed by the two under-the-table drams: a 1990 Miltonduff and a simply stunning 1979 Benrinnes which tastes like cheesy old tropical fruits.
Quick Sherry break at Ximenez Spinola, and on we go to Signatory. The stand is unfortunately manned by a La Maison Du Whisky intern who doesn’t even know Ballechin is peated, and the experience is not amazing there. Really good 33yo Tormore though. The artist range by LMDW features another banger of a Longmorn, at a price which means it’s going to stay in their warehouses for a while.
We quickly go to Elixir and Hidden spirits stand but are not amazed by anything there - still very good whiskies though, but the bar is quite high on this day - and we finish at G&M. They have brought the big guns, so the stand is quite crowded, and everyone just wants to try the über old unobtainium stuff. Me and Lucas go through the range, stumbling upon a really complex 1989 Tamdhu and incredibly fruity and minty 1995 Tormore on our way, before getting our hands on the previously mentioned unobtainium: Secret Speyside Macphail’s 50yo, which tastes like all sorts of old things, and 1958 Glen Grant “Mr George”. Both are really impressive and good whiskies, but honestly, I prefer the Tormore and the 1991 sherried Caol Ila we end the tasting with. We receive a fat measure of said Caol Ila, I think to thank us for not just trying the Mr George and leaving.
If I were to give a ranking of my top 10 drams from this day, it would be something like this :
1st : Bowmore 2004 20yo, Decadent Drinks Whiskyland
2nd : Caol Ila 1991, G&M
3rd : Ben Nevis 1996 (46,1%) Spirit Shop Selection
4th : Benrinnes 1979 44yo Berry Bros & Rudd
5th : Tormore 1995 G&M
6th : Ledaig 2005 Spirit Shop Selection
7th : Springbank 26yo, Decadent Drinks Whiskyland
8th : Grosperrin 1924 Grande Champagne
9th : Blended Malt 1965, Spirit Shop Selection
10th : Glen Grant 1958, G&M
Quite a line up! But does it matter though, as I suspect that only a very small part of the readers of this website could afford any of the bottles here. I certainly can’t. I honestly think that whisky shows like that are basically the only time bottles such as DD’s Springbank and G&M’s Mr George are opened and enjoyed. Talking about the price of G&M’s Macphail’s 50yo single malt with our host at the stand, he argued that it was actually good value at around £3000 compared to the £20,000 similarly aged Benromach.
That’s where the problem lies in this industry. £3000 is never going to be a decent price for a bottle of whisky, or any alcoholic beverage for that matter. Justifying £3000 for a whisky bottle because there’s another one sold for £20,000 is like saying a £100,000 Mercedes is good value because it’s cheaper than a Rolls Royce. Forgive me but that’s nonsense.
It reminds me of another discussion I had with a young sales rep for Brown Forman. She visited me in the shop just after Glendronach announced its rebrand. She assured me the whisky was exactly the same as before - which is technically not true as it’s a batch made product, but let’s forgive her for the approximation - to which I replied, then why is it more expensive? Her answer was: “Are there any brands not raising their prices now?” Talk about a disconnect with market realities.
Anyway, after such a orgy of old gems, coming back to “regular” drams proved to be quite hard. The gap in quality is almost as obvious as the one in price. I didn’t drink a lot of whisky during October, certainly less than in the previous months, as when I fancied a Ben Nevis, I could only think how it would be better if it was from 1996. As the memory of Whisky Live slowly fades, I find myself asking this: what offers me value today? What bottles do I have offer me a good drinking experience and leave me with two intact, very useful kidneys?
Independent bottlings at cask strength is certainly a good answer to this question, as exemplified by this Balmenach emanating from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. I sell this one in my shop for 57€. Sure, it is only 50cL, but as I explained in a previous review, at my drinking rate, even 50cL bottles last a long time. And even if we calculate the price a full 70cL would cost at this rate, we end up with roughly 80€ (£67). For an age stated, cask strength, sherry matured whisky from a distillery that is still quite rare to see, I think it is perfectly honest.
Review
Balmenach 8yo, Batch 13, That Boutique-y Whisky Co, Oloroso, 50cl, available in France, Germany and Benelux, 57.7% ABV
€46 (£39) paid
This is said to be an exclusive bottling for the French market, but whiskybase lists it as an exclusive for Kirsch Import, one of the biggest whisky importers for the German market. Not very exclusive, but it’s really not that important, this is drinking whisky, not collector-oriented. La Maison du Whisky lists it as oloroso matured in the professional catalogue, and it tracks with the colour and profile, so I chose to believe them. I purchased it at a discount at my shop, making it a very good value proposition. It is probably from the same parcel of casks as this Infrequent Flyers reviewed by Tav back in early 2023, even though his was from a bourbon barrel.
It’s the first time I bought a bottle from TBWC, and I went in blind, having not tasted the whisky prior. But Balmenach intrigues me, as it’s apparently fairly old style, using long fermentation, short stills and worm tubs.
Nose
Runny caramel, orange zest & dark chocolate. Underlying distillate sulphur notes (meaty, struck match). Sweet dessert hazelnuts. Chocolate sauce.
With water : More chocolatey with christmas spices, soft spices, cinamon. Sweetened coffee.
Palate
Big rich juiciness on arrival. Dates, raisins, with a dry nutty finish. You can definitely feel the weight of the make here. Round, but not that sweet. Long, with a finish on caramel & walnuts.
With water : Heat subdues, and it becomes sweeter, and slightly nicer overall. Confectionery, on milk chocolate and mars bars.
The Dregs
This is simply a good, rich, worm-tubby warming sherry cask whisky suited for winter’s shorter days. It won’t rock your world like some of the drams I talked about do, as it clearly doesn’t fight in the same category, but that’s the whole point. This is a whisky priced for drinking. It is made for us. And there are plenty more where it came from, as loads of producers, be it distillers or indies, are making whisky with a similar focus.
Sure, we all like to try the shiny stuff, because it is indeed, undoubtedly, objectively, better. I suspect that if I could spend an hour with a pipette 3cl of one of the top whiskies I tried at WL, I might even be tempted to score it a 10, but the thing is, this will likely never happen as I can’t afford any of them.
And you know what, I’m fine with that. Now if someone reading this just won the lottery and wants to buy me nice stuff, I won’t refuse, but in the meantime, I’m happy to trudge along my whisky path, stopping when and where I fancy, and taking as many detours as I see fit, to explore whiskies that are certainly more mundane, but might still be very enjoyable. There are still bargains to be had and, judging by the state of the industry, there’ll be many more ahead.
In the end, a year from now, I won’t remember how half of the whiskies I tried this late september tasted, but I’ll remember going there with my dad, sister and Lucas, talking to the fella from G&M, Angus, Julie and her infectious laugh, catching up with Coldorak… I’m flogging a dead horse here, but as I’m about to embark on a plane to Glasgow for the festival, it’s worth saying one more time. Whisky is just a tool, it’s all about the people.
See ya in Glasgow, and if you can’t make it this year, see ya when & where it’s meant to happen.
Now what should we listen to while drinking this ? I suggest Got To Give It Up, as I recently fell down a Thin Lizzy-shaped rabbit hole. Brilliant, old school song with a malt from an old school distillery.
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AF