Balblair 1983 1st Release

This stuff is incredible! This bottle was distilled in 1983 and bottled in 2015 so it’s 32ish years old. The nose is tropical with scents of pineapple and coconut, toffee, and fresh flowers, with some baking spice undertones. The palate is off the charts. I get rich butterscotch, warm caramel, creamy mango, crisp white grapes, and spiced nuts. The finish is long, oily and perfectly balanced. What lingers are flavors of toffee and milk chocolate - almost like a Heath Bar - and some beautiful wood notes. This is gorgeous! Worth hunting down while it’s still around.

I have no idea what I was doing in 1983 at the age of 6 years old but I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking about the casks that made this being laid down or even whiskey at all. I remember when I first started my Balblair journey. I really didn't understand what the fuss about or get that excited about some of its younger offerings but then I had the 1999 second release version and was really impressed. I had high expectations going in and this definitely met it. Beautiful caramel honey toffee and spicey wooded bitterness which surprisingly for once I really enjoyed as a married beautifully with the rest of the whiskey. A couple of drops of water and some time and the slight bitterness faded away and everything else came together flawlessly. I have a feeling if I worked my way through a bottle this would push past the score that I've awarded it and obtain perhaps a 4.5 for this as perhaps even the 1999 second release should have as a better reflection of their quality but I'll err on the conservative side.

The purest form of American bourbon cask whisky. Very sweet and fruity on the nose as well as the palates. The finishing is creamy, woody, smooth and clean. Reminds of the Glen Grant 23yr from The First Edition. For a 32 yr whisky, this is a hell of a deal. Splendid whiskey!