Stop number 63, and the last official stop for round 4 of the SDT is Balblair. This Highland distillery does not use age statements, but rather vintages. I suppose that way they can sample their casks and determine when they are ready for vatting and not be restricted to set age statement releases. This is the 2nd release of the 1999 vintage, which was bottled in 2014 making it roughly 15 years old. Bottled at 46% ABV, non chill filtered and natural color of yellow gold. The nose starts off with lots of honey. It quickly transitions into apples, pears, tangerines, oranges and apricots. Almonds, ginger and cinnamon. Light chocolate and vanilla. It’s fairly malty with a nice pepper note, and really comes across as an unpeated Talisker. Grape skins and a very light sherry note, buried way down deep. Faint oak and some caramel. The nose, overall, is light. I really wish there was more complexity to it. The palate is very malty with barley sugar and honey. Light sherry sweetness and a little pepper, again mimicking Talisker but without the peat smoke or intense pepper. Tangerines, apricots and oranges. Some brown sugar and caramel. Raisins, mild oak and almonds finish things off. A medium light bodied mouthfeel that starts a little mouthwatering but turns dry. The finish is medium length, dry with tangerines and slightly bitter almonds. After seeing rave reviews from @Telex, @LeeEvolved and @PBMichiganWolverine, I had high hopes for this one, but it seems to fall a little short for me. While I certainly appreciate the likeness to Talisker, I don’t want an unpeated Talisker knockoff. The complexity just wasn’t there for a 15 year old. This is very much like an improved Glenmorangie 10. At more than double the price though, it’s really not worth buying a full bottle. Round 4 was fun, but this Balblair was far from the top of the sample pile, but it was also not at the bottom. Thanks to Telex for the sample, 3.75. Cheers 🥃