Ballechin 8 Year Double Malt Double Cask

Nose: cherries, caramel, earthy smoke, orange peel, ocean spray Palate: spice cake, orange, light smoke Finish: barrel char, peat, sherry This is good but a bit all over the place. The nose is the highlight. Palate is a bit simple by comparison but the mouthfeel is somewhat viscous. The finish is nice. Reminds me a lot of the BenRiach Smoky Twelve.

Rating: 19/23 This is a blind tasting. All I know is that it's from the highlands and less than 10 years old. N: Smoky, oily, a bit tart (like dull lemon peel and grapefruit peel), oily, and peaty. No stray sulphur, raw meat, industrial characteristics, or other signs of it being an overly young whisky though. There's some grassiness as well and a little bit of that starts to turn into something that reminds me of Springbank's farmyard funk. A hint of mint coming out of that sort of mild peatiness (is it really peat though or just bitter funky herbal stuff?). At times, I get wafts of apple, but they're rare and faint. This is a really funky one, so I'm thinking northern highlands. The only distilleries I can think of that would produce something like this are Old Pulteney or maybe a young Clynelish. With that big oiliness, it actually makes me think of Brora though. P: Smooth, oily, a little bit of prickling spice. Just so so so smooth - I'm really amazed. Rich and savory, yet sweet in a balanced way. Super mellow smoke with mild, somewhat dry roast meat. Sort of roast chicken breast mixed with a little bit of beef sirloin (or another lean cut). There is a fruity side too with apple baked with a little grapefruit peel. There are spices as well: cinnamon, ginger, clove, and just a touch of black pepper. A touch of grassiness turning into toast here and there, but really not much. There are some herbal elements coming out of the grassiness as well that are faintly in the peaty direction, but not even quite as much as Talisker 10. Shockingly, this makes Talisker 10 taste vibrantly fruity side by side. The oily richness is far bigger in this than in Old Pulteney 12, which says a lot. The Old Pulteney is a lot sweeter as well, which really drives home that although this is not lacking in sweetness, it is not a sweet whisky. What really stands out is how well everything balances and comes together. There's a shocking sense of maturity coming out of this and the complexity is also really solid. F: Smooth, oily. It continues with a fullness of that rich character from the palate for ages. Some of the toast does come through here as well, but the fruit and spices (aside from a bit of prickle) are gone - Conclusion - That this is less than 10 years old shocks me. It lacks youthful flaws and has the smoothness, mellowness, and well-integrated flavors of something closer to 20 years. This is a unique and fascinating dram. Whoever is making scotch like this under 10 years of age deserves some sort of award. This compares favorably with That Boutique-y Whisky Company's bottling of Auchroisk 19 (17/23). The milkiness of that one is as close to the oiliness this has that I could get (without going for something overwhelmingly smoky, that is). This is more subtle and a bit more complex, but the depth of how the flavor changes as I swish it is what really stands out to me here. Based on that, I'd put this ahead of the Auchroisk. This is very competitive with Cadenhead's Tullibardine 25 (19/23) and blows Talisker 10 and P=Old Pulteney 12 out of the water. I'm between an 18 and a 19 on this, but considering its uniqueness I think I need to go for the 19. What an exquisite and fascinating dram! In a last second comparison, this seems like it might be closest to Clynelish 14. It has so much more oil though and it doesn't have that same dry tartness that gets into waxy territory. Maybe a bolder version of a mix of Old Pulteney and Clynelish. Or, you know, I've never tried Dailuaine, so perhaps that's what this is? The reveal: Edradour Ballechin 8! I've never tried Edradour before, but I like the big oiliness it has. I think that is probably from oloroso sherry since 1/4 of this was aged in sherry casks. Surprisingly, a full 3/4 of this is peated! I've heard that Ballechin is made with some really mellow, earthy peat and now I guess I'm seeing (tasting) that it's true. This makes me even more excited to try the slough of American single malts made with Washington peat that are coming out soon. And the whole experience makes me want to track down some more Edradour. A big thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing such an interesting dram with me! That a scotch - especially a peated one - can be so mellow and mature at such a young age really boggles my mind. It's perhaps a bit too subtle, but a delightful dram nonetheless.

I opened this bottle quite a while ago to send samples ( to @pkingmartin , @jonwilkinson7309 , @Scott_E , @ctbeck11 , @Richard-ModernDrinking , and I think @ContemplativeFox )...but I never actually had a pour. Finally decided to have a dram last night; actually forgot I even had the bottle. This is an 8 yr bottling of 3 Ballechin bourbon casks, and 1 of a Sherry Edradour. Ballechin is simply the Peated version of Edradour. But it’s a very different style of peat than Islay; this is an earthier musky aroma and flavor rather than the bonfire or medicinal -iodine style. I’m a fan of Ballechin, I’ve always felt it’s been underrated. But then again, I feel Edradour itself is underrated. This takes the earthy gritty Ballechin and tempers it with a bit of nutty sweetness. Nothing inherently wrong with it, but I feel as if it’s pulling it’s punches. At 8 yrs old, I expected it to be wilder and more abrasive, but instead the Edradour Sherry side tempered the Ballechin side. Yes, you still get the mushroom-y aroma, and the damp earth taste, but a bit of sweetness. It’s a bit disjointed...as if the Sherry sweetness is acting independently than the peaty Ballechin. I feel a few more years together in cask would’ve really integrated this , taking it from average inoffensive to damn good must-try status. Overall, not bad...just not as wild as I like my Ballechins, and the integration in cask was too short, like a Hollywood couple that were barely even married before a divorce. Giving it a 3, which to me is like a passing grade C.

I think this is the entry for the 'Cuvee'. Dramfest 2020. Middle of the rd. 3.75

Fantastic balance between peat smoke and sherry sweetness. (Perfect on the nose, slightly tilted towards peat on the palate.)

Olfato: defumado de turfa, adocicado, frutos vermelhos, caramelo, mel, apimentado, algo que remete a aromas ácidos e um pouco de baunilha. Aroma muito intrigante, alguns de seus aromas se escondem em sub-camadas, é necessário algum tempo para sentir alguns aromas deste whisky. Paladar: dulçor, frutado, baunilha, caramelo, defumado, apimentado, amargor presente, mel, frutos vermelhos e uma leve acidez. Ótimo balanço entre as notas de ex-jerez e ex-bourbon, é possível sentir ambas características muito distintivamente. O álcool é um pouco perceptível, mas o ABV deste whisky é de 46%, difícil passar desapercebido. Finalização: média para longa, com persistência do amargor e dulçor seguidos de um defumado muito agradável, algo que me lembrou bacon. Impressões gerais: Destilaria muito pequena conhecida como “a pequena gema da Escócia”. Trata-se de ótimo whisky, sem filtragem gelada e sem corante caramelo. ABV decente e que realça ainda mais seus aromas e sabores. Não se deixe enganar pelos seus 8 anos de idade, ele se comporta como um whisky mais velho, algo em torno de 12 anos (ou mais, depende da comparação). Whisky com boa complexidade, saboroso, intrigante e que serve bem apreciadores de whisky em todos os níveis. Recomendado para degustação pura, adição de gelo ou água reduziria drasticamente a experiência de degustar este whisky.