Ah yes, Balblair. I've only had an older expression with my good friend Rob Martin, which I really enjoyed, so I am super curious to catch up with them and see how their spirit is doing. This single cask independent bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") is aged 9 years in ex-bourbon hogshead, and then a surprising 5 years (!) in a Chenin Blanc (!!) wine barrique - very unusual.
Balblair is owned by Inver House Distillers (who also own Balmenach, Knockdhu/anCnoc, Pulteney, and Speyburn) and has existed since 1790. An old, vaunted brand, they only recently switched over from "vintage" releases to age statements.
Meanwhile, Chenin Blanc is a white grape from the Loire valley in France. A high-acid grape, it's also popular in South Africa, where it's known as "steen." Chenin Blanc wines are often described as having the flavors of apples, pears, and quinces.
Here are the official notes:
The nose neat dazzled us with mega discs of chocolate sprinkled with tiny hundreds and thousands, poached pears and fluffy banana pancakes. To taste like a dollop of fig jam on rice pudding washed down with a mango bubble tea or a watermelon flavoured Slush Puppie. After reduction the creamy sweetness of cherry liqueur chocolates and, long gone are the day when we opened, a packet of candy cigarettes. On the palate now a summer fruit consommé and a rose & tonic - rose liqueur, tonic and a squeeze of fresh lime. Following nine years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 2nd fill Chenin Blanc barrique.
Count. me. in! Mega discs of chocolate?! Hundreds and thousands?! (sprinkles for those in the US) ... poached pear is one of my favorite notes. It sounds delectable. Bottled at 59.2% ABV, let's dive in:
Nose: Wow, wasn't expecting this. Pepper! Freshly ground black peppercorn. Then chocolate (bitter), pear, and ripe banana. Unripe mango. This is a really intriguing nose - I honestly am note sure what to attribute to the Balblair spirit and what comes from the unusual white wine barrique. That said, it definitely has a distinct "dry white wine" note about it - that sort of sour tang that white wine gets. There is also a note of balsa wood in there, or maybe cedar. But the dominant thrust is peppery spices, white wine, and fruit. A nice and intriguing mix, although somewhat muted until it has time to open up.
With water: Pepper and banana remain the prominent notes on the nose: a very potent an unusual combination. The nose doesn't expand or contract too noticeably with water; only some surprisingly old (ancient, even!) woody notes are added. Like sniffing a very old armchair in a dusty library. Even though this is only 14 years old, when you add water there is a wood note coming through that I usually experience with 20+ year old whiskies.
Mouthfeel: Very thin - surprisingly so. Light bodied.
Palate: The palate follows more or less closely from the nose. There is a kick of booze, then malted barley sugars, white wine and pepper, then a big slide of fruit - green apple, pear, HUGE creamy banana, guava, mango, some pineapple. I get the "rice pudding" idea - there is a creaminess here, but I identify it more as banana pudding. Milk chocolate. A really, really rich palate here. Toes the line between sweet and spicy.
With water: Like the nose, the water adds some age. I also get a strong note of bright malted barley, lots of tropical fruit (although less banana than before), white pepper, a small slurry of orchard fruit, but still very creamy overall. Old wood. I sort of get the "rose" idea from the official notes... but only briefly. This is only floral in very small pieces. Quite interesting.
Finish: A warming finish: tangy white wine, vanilla, wood, light pepper. Fairly short.
Verdict: Wow, I'm pretty impressed. This has a lot going on... some can be chalked up to the unusual wine finish, but a lot of it is just good core spirit. Balblair is clearly putting out some worthy stuff.
What is odd is that I didn't know what to make of it for a while. The peppery quality tended to override the software fruit and malt/chocolate notes for the first third of the bottle or so... it wasn't until it had oxidized a bit that it all came together.
I particularly liked the banana pudding note here. Really quite unusual with the distinct pepper note (surely from the white wine cask?), it ended up a good combination of sweet and tangy and dry; worth exploring, be patient with this one.
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