A 27-year-old whisky from Blair Athol, matured in a refill sherry butt, specially selected by The Whisky Exchange and bottled exclusively for us. It's a rich and obviously sherried dram, with balanced fruit and spice.
Dense and dark and an exemplary Blair Athol. Dave Broom, Scotchwhisky.com
Style
- Body
- Richness
- Smoke
- Sweetness
Character
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Leaves
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Grass
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Raisins
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Lemon
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Apple
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Toffee
Blair Athol 1988 Reviews
Tasting Notes
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Tasting notes by Billy A
Nose: Sharp aromatics leap out of the glass immediately after pouring – green leaves, freshly cut grass, and sweet and sappy oak – but they quickly burn off to reveal more sweetness underneath. Toffee and butter shortbread are joined by lemon drizzle cake, mixed fruit jam, apple sauce and thickly buttered fruit loaf slathered with lemon curd.
Palate: Intense sweetness fades to reveal savoury notes – oatcakes and dry toast. Sweetness builds again, with toffee and spiced apple purée becoming almost overpowering, before revealing a core of sweet green leaves, caramel and citrus peel. The intensity softens, leaving floral and soft leafy notes.
Finish: Sharp spice fades to honey and green leafiness.
Comment: Intense but worth the ride – layers of sweet and savoury, focusing on the cask character.
1 Customer Review
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Patient is a real virtue with this malt. At opening it's very oaky, tight and closed. This malt needs to be decanted at least 3 times before it starts to open up. Given the age, this malt takes water surprisingly well. I added teaspoon of water in 4 cl dram and let it sit 20-30 min. It takes time to open up all deep sherried and oak influenced flavors. Once again, a very high quality cask strength bottling from Signatory. Up to my mind Signatory cask strength bottlings are the best what single malts can offer for whisky fanciers. Casual drinkers should take a caution, these bottlings are not for easy drinking.
