This was the third of the whiskies I tasted at the Arrowine/Impex tasting in early November. After a very old Invergordon and a rather young, juicy Glen Moray, this Balmenach was a real mystery. Impex manager Jared Card informed us that Balmenach is another distillery where 99% of the liquid goes into blends like Dewars or Cutty Sark or Famous Grouse (in this case, MacArthur's and Hanky Bannister), but the unused 1% gets bottled as single malt by companies like Exclusive Malts.
Therefore, I've never heard of Balmenach, and have no idea what to expect beyond that it's a Speyside. No chill-filtering, no coloring, bottled at a luscious 57.8% cask strength. Here are my impressions:
Nose: Vanilla, white wine, strong oak tannins, dominant sherry influence (red berries and figs), white peaches, cocoa, and some light peat.
Mouthfeel: Gently oily, viscous, easy.
Palate: Light, leathery peat, high-impact alcohol bloom (akin to Aberlour Abunadh), soft flower petals (!), salt. Unusual flavors, especially given the nose. These were quite robust and quite interesting, for just a handful of what are normally soft and delicate flavors, and I was really impressed. Salty, sweet, a tiny bit sour from the peat.
Finish: Pepper and oak, with a soft underpinning of apples.
Verdict: I was very, very close to buying a bottle of Balmenach after tasting it - although the wood was rather strong, there were a variety of intense and interesting flavors here, all worthwhile. Another winner from Exclusive Malts.
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