@Whiskali Ah no sadly. You seem to have quite a great range of them! Have you got or tried their new non year specific aged stuff e.g. 12 year?

@Soba45 I also have an unopened 1991 and a 2000. Have you tried either of those?

@Soba45 that’s interesting; I was reading a lot of reviews and hearing from people that they didn’t like the 1999 as much as some of the other vintages but my bottle (3rd release) has been great! On the other side, the 1990 has gotten rave reviews and I’m curious if my bottle will live up to the hype.

@Whiskali Great review and interesting info on the releases. I never dug down on what that all meant. I loved the '83 1st release 2014 and equally as much the 1999 2nd release 2016. The 1990 2nd release didn't grab me as much nor did their mid 2000s ones I've had.

@PBMichiganWolverine sounds good; will do. Safe travels

@Whiskali sounds good. I’m gone to Denver this week and next on business, then on vacation. How’s Labor Day? I’ll pop it open then and send a sample. Send me your address at [email protected]

Thanks @cascode, I had only seen the 2013 and 2015; interesting they would put it out for 5 years under the same release. Also good question about where it’s stored during that time - I had assumed still in barrel but frankly I just haven’t been able to find much info out on these bottlings.

@PBMichiganWolverine yeah, it would still be interesting to compare the difference between the two of them. I haven’t popped the 2015 yet so let me know when you pop the 2017 and I’ll do the same so it has a chance to breathe before I pull the sample. I’m currently working through the third release of the 1999 and happy to send you a sample of that as well if you’re interested.

Balblair 1990 2nd release first appeared in 2013. I think it was re-issued in batches almost annually until 2017. Whether it was held in casks, tuns or stainless steel vats between the bottlings I can't say

@Whiskali wait...mine is 2nd as well but bottled in 2017. Yours is 2nd and bottled in 2015? And both are 1990 vintages. What the hell type of confusion is Balblair running ? If you want to sample the 2017 one, let me know.

@Whiskali mine is 2nd too—bottled in 2017 , unfortunately

@PBMichiganWolverine do you know if your 1990 is the 1st or 2nd release? Mine is 2nd and was bottled in 2015. If yours is the 1st release, it would be fun to swap samples and compare.

@Whiskali I have one of their’s—i think a 1990 release. I’m curious to pop it open and try it

@PBMichiganWolverine yes, they only used casks distilled in 1983 but how they were released is interesting ... and somewhat confusing. The have batched releases (1st, 2nd, 3rd) but a release may happen over a number of years. For example, I’ve seen the 1983 1st release with bottling dates of 2013, 2014 and 2015. From what I understand they would start a new release when the profile of the whiskey had changed significantly. I have the 2nd release of the 1990 and 3rd release of the 1999; would be interesting to hunt down the previous releases of those and compare. In terms of quantity, I have not seen bottle numbers so I can’t say for sure but I believe they’re relatively limited. I’ve seen very few of the vintage releases “in the wild”. I’ve had to buy all but one of mine online.

@Whiskali so the vintage means Balblair takes only from casks of that year? I’m guessing that makes it harder to get right, and a less quantity ?

@Rick_M I purchased a U.S. bottling (750ml) online for $350 all in. Anything under $400 would be a good deal in my opinion. It’s not cheap but for a special occasion, I think it’s well worth it. Also, with Balblair’s shift from vintages to age statements, prices are going up. The UK bottling (700ml) of the 25 year old is now retailing for over $625. I think the auction prices on the vintage bottlings is going to go up in the next couple of years, so if you dig older bourbon-finished whiskies and have an opportunity to get this one at a good price, I’d take it.

@Whiskali - what would be a good price for this bottle?