Balblair 12yo
Official Bottle | 46% ABV
Fancy casks are all well and good, but sometimes I just want things to be simple
Over the autumn and winter months I've been on a sherry kick, enjoying much more of those dark, sweet and comforting flavours that work much better for me when the wind is howling and the rain is incessantly tapping at the window.
Peated drams have also been getting plenty of love too. Even though the thermometer is still down at the low end and we still have a little way to go before the temperatures begin to rise significantly, there are the first signs of spring appearing, with the daffodils in my garden a sure sign that warmer weather and longer days are just around the corner. As a result of this, and possibly due to the fact I’m starting to feel a little sherry cask and perhaps even a little peat fatigued, I’m reaching more for my favoured style of unpeated, ex-bourbon.
As somebody who almost universally looks for non-chill filtered, ideally no added colour and upwards of 46% ABV with my whisky, it’s surprising how few options are available for the person who wants that 100% ex-bourbon experience from core ranges of distilleries at an everyday drinker price. The whisky I’m reviewing today is one of them, as is my favourite go to Glencadam 10yo, and it’s a permashelf whisky I would never want to be without. The beautifully fruity distillate needs nothing more than a decade in ex-bourbon casks, and I prefer it to anything else I have tried in the range, including the fully bourbon matured 15 year old.
Beyond that we have Deanston and Tobermory 12 year olds from Distell, which although they don’t state natural colour on the label, their website claims they both are. Arran Quarter Cask I believe is 100% ex-bourbon, and despite carrying no age statement, for £50 or less given its high ABV, it’s decent value. Loch Lomond has an entire 12 year old core range which I think I am right in saying are all 100% ex-bourbon, with the Inchmurrin being the unpeated option, albeit with a fair amount of E150a. Despite that, it’s an easy recommendation from me. Similar sentiments could be made for Clynelish and Tomintoul 14 year old’s regarding colour, although I have yet to click with either personally.
Glenglassaugh Evolution is one that wasn’t on my radar either until researching for this review and is one for the shopping list. It may be a non-age statement but is up at 50% and retails for around £40-45. Is it chill filtered? I’d hope not at that strength, but it isn’t stated. Another choice could be Bladnoch 11yo, but at around £65 in the UK, it’s a bit pricey compared to its peers for somebody who is as tight with their purse strings as I am. Aultmore 12yo is another, but if some rumours are to be believed it may be discontinued in certain markets including the UK, which is a shame if true.
From the new distillers we can get a young bourbon cask from Lindores Abbey for £50, which doesn’t appear to be common among the newbies, with most employing at least some sherry or STR casks to add more flavour to all of their young liquid. If we include everything I’ve listed, that gives us just 12 Scottish distilleries giving us something unpeated and entirely from bourbon casks, with the 46%+ABV, non-chill filtered presentation I’m looking for, and at a price to suit most pockets. From a total of 134 malt distilleries in Scotland, and with bourbon casks surely being the most abundant in warehouses around the country, it isn’t a lot. I’ve tried to be thorough, but if there are any core range choices I’ve missed please let me know in the comments.
I’m forever thankful to independent bottlers for giving me other options, and none more so than Signatory. Their fully natural 46% un-chill filtered collection features almost entirely ex-bourbon cask whiskies from a good range of distilleries and at fair prices. James Eadie also has a 46% range with a number of options too for under £50 a bottle. Even with the independents I find the choices can be limited, with many of their outturns using sherry and wine casks to finish the whiskies. With the cost of sherry casks in particular being several times more expensive than bourbon, it’s not the cheapest way to do things, but the resultant sales clearly must make it a worthwhile outlay. This is of course very Scotch focused and I’ve admittedly not gone through all the single malt world whiskies with a fine tooth comb, but a quick glance suggests slim pickings there too.
Inver House Distillers, who own Balblair along with Knockdhu, Pulteney, Speyburn and Balmenach have a bit of a mixed bag with their core ranges, with the entry level from Balblair a bit of an outlier in terms of its presentation. As much as I enjoy a drop of anCnoc 12 from Knockdhu, I don’t understand the logic behind the 40%, chill filtered and colour added presentation. It’s not a big brand selling in any supermarkets I frequent, and I’d suggest it’s more of an enthusiast distillery. Their 18 and 24 year old are wonderful and all natural, and I think it would be a great move for them to change the 12 and give us something at the lower end of the price spectrum that we can be enthused about. Also stick a 15 in the range while you’re at it, because it’s a bit of a jump in both quality and price from the 12yo to the 18yo. [Yes, or return the amazing 16yo all ex-bourbon release - Ed.] I would also apply the exact same thoughts with Speyburn 10, which would be great to see better presented too. They can keep their non-age statement Bradan Orach if they want a 40% option.
I understand a little more with Old Pulteney 12. It’s a supermarket staple and a well-known brand that sells in high volume and is regularly discounted here in the UK to less than £30. I think it would be difficult for them to change that without elevating the price and losing the customers that are looking for a low cost single malt. As for Balmenach, I’d love to see some core range offerings. Come on Inver House, you can surely spare a bit of that almost three million litre capacity from the blenders?
Review
Balblair 12yo, Official bottling code L14/12/20202, 46% ABV
£38-50 (£38 paid)
Balblair is a distillery that has somewhat passed me by up until now. I’d love to give you a reason for this, but I’m struggling to think of one. The 15 year and above age statements are perhaps a touch expensive compared to other options on the market, which has probably been a factor. You also don’t see a lot of bottled by independents, which can be another pathway into a distillery. In 2019 they caused a bit of outrage when they removed vintages from their bottles and instead went for straightforward 12, 15, 18 and 25 year old age statements for the core range. The re-designed label didn’t win too many fans either. However, they’ve all got an age statement and are all naturally presented, which is good enough for me.
The rest of the range employs sherry casks in the mix, but as soon as I realised the 12 year old was entirely ex-bourbon and they hadn’t felt the need to dose it with caramel, I picked up a bottle. It’s well priced in the UK too, and I can currently get this for less than £40 at time of writing, although many retailers have it up at around £45 to £50.
Nose
White grape and sharp apple along with honey-glazed pineapple, salted honeycomb and floral rose petal. There’s a whiff of a distant farmyard and warm grass cuttings along with a light, dusty earthiness. I also get vanilla, yeasty bread dough and porridge.
Palate
It's got a nice sweet, sour and bitter combination on the palate, with a good amount of minerality and salinity. The sweet and sour notes come mainly in the form of honey, orange, lemon and grapefruit, with the more bitter notes coming across as liquorice root and toasted oak, with the double-fired casks mentioned on the label perhaps providing some of that influence. There’s also a pleasantly warming ginger heat. As I go into the slightly drying finish, the liquorice continues with the oak, followed by vanilla cream and toasted hazelnut.
The Dregs
There’s nothing here for the spirit to hide behind. This is as simple and straightforward as it gets and I would say from my experience there are quite a lot of refill casks being used here - and is all the better for it. The honey and fruit notes shine, with a little kick of liquorice and ginger following closely behind, and a nice mineralic salinity giving it an extra dimension. Sweet, salty, sour and bitter, this has it all in almost perfect harmony.
I only wish more distilleries would be bold enough to give us their whisky in this form. As long as this remains a sub-£50 product, it will be on my shelf regularly. With any luck, Inver House might be willing to up the presentation on one or two more of its entry level whiskies, because this one is very good.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT
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