KWM Whisky Advent Day 13 – Gordon Macphail Balblair 10 Year

Balblair is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries. The official founding of the distillery was in 1790, by a local man named John Ross. There are records though that indicate the distillery may have been operating on its original location, as far back as 1749. Built near Edderton, the original distillery was moved a half a mile north in 1895, to make better use of the Inverness to Ardgay rail line. The distillery operated until 1911 when tough economic times forced its closure. It would not reopen until 1949.

The distillery was expanded twice in the 20th century, to take advantage of the boom in demand for Scotch whisky in the 1960s and 1970s. A major expansion took place in 1964, followed by extensive improvements in the 1980s. The distillery was owned by Hiram Walker from 1970 until 1996. In 1996 the distillery was sold to Inverhouse Distillers, who already owned Old Pulteney and Knockdhu (anCnoc) Distilleries. They would later add Balmenach before that firm was itself sold to a beverage industry giant now known as Thai Beverage Inc.

Like Glenrothes, Balblair distillery bottlings don’t have an age statement range, instead releasing its whiskies in vintages. Independent bottlings of Balblair are increasingly rare, exception today’s Gordon Macphail Balblair, the only other whiskies available from this distillery in Alberta the distillery bottled vintages of 2005, 1999, 1990 and 1983. All of the whiskies are bottled at 46%, without artificial colouring. The Gordon Macphail bottling we are sampling today is from the Macphail’s Collection range, bottled at 43% after maturing in Refill Ex-Bourbon.

About the Gordon Macphail “Macphail’s Collection” (Courtesy Gordon Macphail): At the very heart of our business lies the sample room; its contents, the sum of over a century of experience maturing and bottling the finest Scotch whisky. We regularly sample the contents of our casks to make sure they are maturing well, only bottling them for sale when we believe they are truly ready. This approach to cask curation means we know exactly how spirit with a specific distillery character matures in different styles of oak. Using this knowledge, which has been handed down through four generations of the Urquhart family, we created ‘The MacPhail’s Collection’: a selection of seven unique distilleries from across Scotland; providing the perfect starting point for a spirited journey to discovering the outstanding diverse flavours of single malt Scotch whisky.”

Gordon Macphail Balblair 10 Year – 43% – Refill Ex-Bourbon Barrels – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: honey and orange strike out first with a slight maritime hue and almost, curiously, some clean smoke; malty, dried apricots and peach eau de vie. Palate: thick, honeyed and malty; oily and then bang… a wave of fruit: orange, apricot and peach; more salt and a whiff of smoke with some creamy-vanilla-oak-tones; very savoury with salted caramel. Finish: light and fresh the oils, salt, honey hang on even after the fruit has vanished. Comment: seems light but it catches you a bit by surprise; very fresh!” – $90 for 700ml