Blair Athol 13 Year (SMWS 68.69 "Subtle Trickster")

 

I don't think I've ever had a bad or even average Blair Athol - everything I've sampled from that particular "shadow distillery" (owned by Diageo, funneled into blends) has been great. Then again, I just checked my archives and apparently I've only ever had one bottle from them before, haha. I could have sworn I've had more than one before, but maybe I've just read about them. Oh well - this is a 13 year old single cask Blair Athol from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), released as a lottery pick. 

Here are the official notes:

A classical highland style alt we thought, initially lots of canvas, putty, and a fruity edge of pineapple in syrup with fruit salad chunks. Also some subtle notes of juniper, orange cordial, and tangerine were noted. Playfully fruit we thought. With reduction it became more robust and bready with notes of soda bread, rapeseed oil, and nettle tea. A very entertaining development. The neat palate opened with heather honey and old school schilling ales. Then a soft, herbal waxiness with orange cocktail bitters. Water softened everything and brought a wonderfully elegant complexity with soft notes of lemon cordial, rose water, and dried tarragon.

I'm interested in basically all of that - how interesting! 

Bottled at 54.9% ABV after 13 years in a refill hogshead, let's dig right in:

Nose: Well... I am not sure I agree with any of the official notes! I get a very usual Highland set of honey, heather, tart apple, malted barley... nothing tropical, no canvas, no putty. Huh. I'm going to let this sit a bit...

After quite some time in the glass, I finally get a putty/clay note. And hints of pineapple, perhaps. But it's far from the opening notes or anything; maybe much deeper into the bottle they emerge. I would not sort this under "spicy and dry" like the SMWS did. 

Mouthfeel: Fairly heavy mouthfeel. Nice body. 

Palate: Tart apple - green apple or maybe yellow - is the major flavor. A burst of alcohol. Baking spices and wood and pepper. Honey. Lots of malted barley. Perhaps some of the waxiness at the end of the development heading into the finish.

Finish: A dry finish - orange peel, wood, spice. Not overlong, but pleasant enough. 

Verdict: This is a very pleasant Highland whisky. Interesting that Blair Athol makes up the lion's share of Bell's blended scotch, which is the top selling scotch in the entire UK (!). This single cask is quite nice, but I doubt it will blow anyone off the top of a mountain in a rush of ecstasy or anything. Still - a nice autumn sipper.