Yet another Dràm Mòr whisky from the recent batch of samples they sent over. This time it’s a Blair Athol from a bourbon cask. Matured for eleven years since 2011, so a very recent bottling.

Blair Athol, in my experience, is a rather rich and gentle highland whisky that would not be misplaced if distilled in Speyside. It tends to be a bit more sweet and syrupy than many others, but that also makes it stand up to wood influence quite well.

I visited the place in 2017 and had an amazing one-on-one tour there, followed by an amazing tasting. To my surprise there’s no post on that visit on the blog, so I must have used it for an article in the club magazine I was editing in those days.

Anyway, a Dràm Mòr single cask, once more!

Sniff:
A bit of vanilla, straw, candied lemon. Hints of citrus, white oak. Notes of straw as well.

Sip:
The palate is quite sharp, the alcohol makes itself known without being too much. Lots of straw, barley and a heap of lemon. Some pineapple syrup too. Vanilla and sugar.

Swallow:
More fruity and less sharp. Lots of lemon, candied and syrupy.

This is a very clean bourbon cask. It does exactly what you expect and hope it will do, and that is being that bourbon cask influenced Scotch, without being all about pastry and vanilla. The richness of the spirit really holds itself well here.

87/100

Available for about £ 70 at Aberdeen Whisky Shop and € 88 at Genuss am Gaumen in Austria