“These Bells Didn’t Quite Toll
For Me”
Country: Scotland
Region: Central Highlands - Pertshire
Brand: Blair Athol 1989 (Anam Na H-Alba)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 23 Years
ABV: 49.9 %
Sample provided by Thomas from Germany. Many Thanks!
For Whom the Bells Tole!
Nose: I'm not sure I would have identified this Blair Athol as a Single Malt in a Blind Tasting. My first impressions are Grains, Grass, Straw, Dried Fruits, Oak, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Toffee, Candle Wax, light Pineapple and Buttered Toast. Make sure you give this Whisky enough time in the glass. After a while I find some traces of Honey, Black Coffee, Red Grapes, Plums, Pears and Red Berries. And finally light Spices like Nutmeg and Cinnamon. The Alcohol is sufficiently integrated. I can't say I'm excited about this Nose although there's nothing wrong with it and the Port Pipe did give some extra Aromas. I find it a bit dull, musty and lifeless.
Some of the Nice Bells on Display
Taste: Strong Delivery thanks to the high ABV. Spices and Citrus are my main impressions. I find slightly Bitter Orange, Grapefruit Juice, Tangerine, Vanilla, Red Grapes, Barley, Treacle, Cocoa Powder, Raisins, Pepper, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves and Licorice.
Finish: Middle-Long, Spicy and slightly Salty with Bitter Orange, Dark Chocolate, Cocoa Powder, Espresso Coffee, Vanilla, Toffee, Plums, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cloves, Oak, light Licorice, light Menthol and Mulled Red Wine.
Warehouses at Blair Athol
I added a little Water and on the Nose Sweet Barley, Honey, Floral tones, Pineapple, Red Fruit, Orange and Plums come to the foreground. The Nose of this Blair Athol certainly comes alive with a bit of Water. Palate and Finish do not benefit in the same way however as Spices and Licorice start to dominate.
Rating: 85
Nose: 21 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5
Conclusion: Difficult to score this Blair Athol. It has sufficient Aromas and Flavours, the high ABV works well and the Wood does not dominate the Spirit. And the Port Finish did contribute in a positive way in this case. The reason I still give it "only" 85 points is that this Single Malt misses the Wow factor. Five minutes after I finished the dram I had forgotten all about it. In fact, in a Blind Tasting Session I would have thought it to be a Grain Whisky or a high end Blend. I would not be surprised if that would be the reason that most of the production of this Distillery disappears in the successful but quite mediocre Bell's Blend. It could well be that the Spirit is not really interesting enough to do well as a Single Malt. I would need to try some other Blair Athol expressions to be really sure of that. This specific Bell did not really toll for me though!
General Remarks: This Blair Athol 23 Years Single Cask Whisky was distilled on the 1st of June 1989 and was bottled on the 6th of December 2012 by Indie Whisky bottler Anam Na H-Alba from the town of Oberhausen in Germany. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead before being finished in a Ruby Port Pipe. Only 85 bottles went to the market and I was lucky enough to get a sample. This Blair Athol is non Chill-Filtered and naturally coloured. It was bottled at Cask Strength. The Bottles were sold at around US$ 85 a piece, relatively cheap for a Single Malt of this age.
Royal Wedding Bell Blues
The Blair Athol Distillery was founded in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson. It changed hands several times and today it's part of the Diageo Group. Blair Athol is the home of Bell's Blended Scotch, the best selling Whisky in England. Blair Athol possesses a semi-lauter Mash Tun, 6 Washbacks made of stainless steel and 2 pairs of Stills. The annual production lies around 2,5 million litres. As almost all production goes into Bell's, it's rare to find a Single Malt of this Distillery. The best known was the 12 Year old Flora & Fauna. From time to time you can find an Indie bottling. The name Blair Athol means Plain of the new Ireland. The Water comes from Allt Dour Burn. We visited the distillery on a rainy Monday, the 26th of May 2014. We didn't do the Tour but enjoyed a dram in the nice Visitor Centre where you can find a lot of Whisky-filled Bells on display. Blair Athol is a very picturesque distillery and it's certainly worth a visit when you're in Pitlochry.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Strolling around at the VC
Conclusion: Difficult to score this Blair Athol. It has sufficient Aromas and Flavours, the high ABV works well and the Wood does not dominate the Spirit. And the Port Finish did contribute in a positive way in this case. The reason I still give it "only" 85 points is that this Single Malt misses the Wow factor. Five minutes after I finished the dram I had forgotten all about it. In fact, in a Blind Tasting Session I would have thought it to be a Grain Whisky or a high end Blend. I would not be surprised if that would be the reason that most of the production of this Distillery disappears in the successful but quite mediocre Bell's Blend. It could well be that the Spirit is not really interesting enough to do well as a Single Malt. I would need to try some other Blair Athol expressions to be really sure of that. This specific Bell did not really toll for me though!
Jan van den Ende May 4, 2015
