In the Whisky World we are all pretty accustomed to seeing labeling touting the age of the whisky in the bottle or in the case of young whiskies, no age statement at all.  It is not so common, at least in distillery bottlings, for whisky maker’s to list bottle contents by the year the whisky was distilled and put into casks, by its “vint-age” or “scotch-age,” but that is what the folks at Balblair have been doing since 2007/2008.

When the whisky reaches perfection, as far as Distillery Manager, John MacDonald is concerned, it lets him know and it is bottled.

Their latest bottling takes us back to the turn of the century from the 20th to the 21st. Their newest release, the Millennium Malt and was created in 2000, or as it appears on their bottle “00.” It replaces the 1997 bottling, which is slowly being depleted.

And so multi award-winning Balblair Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky unveils its latest vintage expression.

Notes from the distillery state:

“Slowly matured in single American oak ex bourbon casks, Balblair 2000 vintage is bottled in its purest form at a strength of 43% ABV. Bright golden in appearance, it is a superbly well-balanced, full-bodied malt with aromas of pears, pineapple and green apple. On the palate the sweet, honey, floral notes combined with hints of coconut and rich spices lead to a smooth, long lasting and warm finish.”

Says Distillery Manager John MacDonald: “We are delighted to be introducing this new addition to our vintage range. We have spent a great deal of time and care in selecting this perfect malt and all the hard work, dedication and devotion has paid off.  We are confident that whisky enthusiasts worldwide will really enjoy this newest member of the Balblair family.”

Gavin Smith of the Whisky-pages website, had this to say about the 2000 bottling, “This very drinkable expression represents good value for money. A pretty peach and pineapple nose, with coconut and honeyed vanilla. Toasted marshmallows with time. Relatively light-bodied, sweet, with lively spice, ginger and youthful oak on the palate. Fudge in the finish, and a contrasting hint of dark chocolate at the last.” Rated 3 1/2 stars, which is good to excellent.

Jim Murray in his 2011 Whsiky Bible rates the 2000 bottling at 87.5

We started off with an older bottling before the repackaging and vintage numbering scheme now used. It was the standard, at the time, the Balblair 16-year old, bottled at 43% ABV.

This bottling had a reddish golden color and seemed both visually and on the nose to have some sherry influence. Nosing, I picked up a sweet cherry (like a wheated bourbon), sherry, pineapple, anise and caramel. The palate was a little less impressive than the nose with a mostly dark chocolate bitterness and a tart apple flavor over a base of maltiness.  With H2O the nose got very fruity and the caramel got more dominant and the palate showed a spice cake flavor with dark chocolate in a long finish.

About an 80 rating,without water and an 85 with.

Next we tried the Balblair ’97, bottled in ‘09, 43% ABV. Much paler, a light gold. On the nose, pears, pineapple, jujubees, chocolate, mint.

On the palate, light cereal maltiness, honey and peppermint. This is a very delicate dram, less flavorful than the old 16 yr old and more aperitif-like. I’d rate it about an 80.

The last of the distillery bottlings was the new Balblair ’00, 43% ABV. In color lighter still, a pale straw.

On the nose, pears, pineapple, honey.  On the palate, very light nutmeg spiciness, apples, white chocolate.

This is also very gentle but I’d rate it higher than the ’97 at an 85. It seems to have more body than the ’97.

Finally we tried a Dewar Rattray, Balblair 16-year old, single cask #1138, aged in a sherry butt, distilled 1990, bottled 2007 at 62.4% ABV.

This has a deep copper color. On the nose was sherry, black pepper, a smoky yeasty enveloping aroma.  

about 90.

As a person who used to be in marketing, I’d have to say the Balblair bottlings would be a hard one to market. They are very nicely balanced, but to me so delicate and light that they would be a hard fit into the “Scotch-manly-drink” mold that most whisky makers feel obligated to use. I think their packaging is outstanding and they certainly seem to have their fans, but for me, unless I’m thinking “ I want a light aperitif whisky” I don’t think Balblair would have top-of-mind awareness.

I also wonder if the lack of using sherry aging in their recent releases helps sell their product.

Balblair, which is unpeated, is sold mostly for blending with about 25-30% sold as single malts. 

At Balblair’s distillery, near Glenmorangie, on the shores of the Dornoch Firth in Edderton, Tain, vintage expressions are specially selected after a complex tasting and nosing process.

The Balblair Disitllery was privately owned from 1790-1970 and is now owned by Inver House Distillers which is globally integrated into International Beverage Holdings and drives the distillation and maturation of Scotch through its distilleries, Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc and Speyburn.  International Beverage Holdings also own:

Chang Beer: A Thailand beer brand

Hankey Bannister: Blended Scotch Whisky

Mekhong: ‘The Spirit of Thailand’, a sugar cane spirit blended with rice spirit and a secret recipe of natural Thai herbs and spices.

Caorunn - a small batch distilled Scottish Gin infused with 5 Celtic botanicals

Other Media on Balblair 2000:

http://bbblog.org.uk/2010/11/a-twitter-tasting-balblair-vintages-2000-and-1989/

http://www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com/2010/07/30/balblair-2000/

http://whiskyforeveryone.blogspot.com/2010/11/have-just-tried-balblair-range.html

http://www.dramming.com/2010/11/10/balblair-2000/

http://www.whiskyintelligence.com/2010/11/balblair-nas-2000-43-ob-2010-scotch-whisky-tasting-note/

$46 plus shipping from Single Malts Direct (with FREE Balblair glass) and other retailers in the UK.

Thanks to Kathryn Dunlop of Burt Greener Communications Ltd. for the Millennium bottling sample and thanks to Bill Meyers for the other Balblair samples.