Yesterday the guys at Alembic Communications (Lukasz from the Edinburgh Whisky Blog) and Balblair hosted another Twitter Tasting. Like in 2010 when they went for the first Balblair Twitter Tasting I was happy to be included. And also like in 2010, I never bought a bottle of this distillery, which I really cannot understand. They’re fantastic and they’re fairly cheap, especially to current standards.

Anyway, the 1997 was the first whisky to be tasted yesterday and also the youngest. That made me realize we were in for a luxurious evening. The other drams were the 1990 Peated cask bottled for Master of Malt, and the 2nd batch of the 1975. Those will be reviewed in following posts.

Balblair 1997 at Master of Malt

Sniff:
At first I got lots of vanilla and a hint of spices, slightly peppery and some tumeric. After that more vanilla, white oak and then the fruit explosion starts. Pear and grilled pineapple with a bit of charring on the edge. After that I got dried coconut, dried banana and honey. All I could think of that combined that is cruesli. After a few minutes it gets a bit dried and goes to the spices a tad more. The mountain of yellow fruit rules this one.

Sip:
The palate is light and has hints of white pepper. I goes thick very quickly with a very syrupy sweetness and some wax. The waxiness is like the peel of a Granny Smith apple. Honey and fudge are present too with a hint of sweet ginger. Again, after a few minutes the spices gain some ground but this dram is mostly about fruit. Pineapple, pear, apple, dried banana.

Swallow:
The finish is great and again fruity and waxy with syrup and honey, and white pepper.

This whisky is an incredibly fruit but very Highland style dram. The waxiness I got was reminiscent of Clynelish and Glenmorangie. The fruitiness is typically Balblair. And all that combined is utterly delicious. Add to that that this is rather affordable…

Balblair 1997, 2nd release, 46%, OB, available for £ 53 at Master of Malt