“A Fisherman’s Friend”
Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Brand: Old Ballantruan Peated (Distilled at Tomintoul)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: NAS (Around 5 Years)
ABV: 50%
Chill-Filtration: No
Chill-Filtration: No
Colour: Golden (Artificially Coloured)
Nose: Sweet, Young and a bit Thin. I believe that Refill Ex-Bourbon and a lower percentage of Refill Ex-Sherry casks were used to mature this Spirit. It's a Young Malt for sure and I would guess it matured for around 5 years. There's still a light New Make feel to the Spirit and the Alcohol is quite noticeable. You wouldn't guess an ABV of 50% though. The Peat and Smoke are there but they don't really dominate the other Aromas. I also find Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Straw, light Sherry, Nuts, Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Floral Soap, Heather-Honey, Sweet Apple, Dried Herbs, Espresso, light Refill Oak, Dough, Banana Bread, light Menthol and little hints of PVC and Meat or Fish on the BBQ. Most of the Aromas described above are not terribly clear. You really need to take your time and dig for them. Adding it all up I conclude that on the Nose the Old Ballantruan is a Young, Light and relatively Clean Spirit. It's the inland version of a Young and Immature Islay malt.
Palate: Young, Thin and a little Rough and Hot with Sweet Barley, Caramel, Toffee, Nuts, Cherry Flavoured Cough Syrup, Lemon, Charred Refill Oak, light Peat, light Campfire Smoke, Apple, Dried Herbs, Pepper, Ginger, Licorice, Soap and hints of Metal, PVC pipe and Smoked Meat. I do feel that Tomintoul added quite some E-150 Caramel to the Old Ballantruan.
Finish: Bitter-Sweet and a little Hot. More Salty notes towards the end. I find Sweet Barley, Caramelised Ginger, Grass and Straw, Caramel, Alcohol, Refill Oak, Artificially Flavoured Strawberry Candies, Lemon, Espresso, Dry Earth, light Campfire Smoke, Ashes, light Vanilla, Pepper, Licorice and hints of Raw Meat, Metal and Wet Newspaper. The Ashes, Metal, Wood Spices and Paper remain in your throat for quite a while.
I added a bit of Water and on the Nose you get more Orchard Fruit and Lemon. Palate and Finish do not benefit taste wise from the added Water but the Alcohol Burn diminishes of course.
Rating: 82
Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5
Jan van den Ende April 11, 2016
General Remarks: Back in 2001, Tomintoul started experimenting with peated Whiskies. A couple of years later, the Old Ballantruan Peated NAS expression was officially launched followed in 2012 by a 10 Year old version. The name Old Ballantruan refers to the Ballantruan spring in the Cromdale Hills close to the town of Tomintoul. The water of this spring is used by the Tomintoul distillery. Recently the Peaty Tang expression was introduced, less heavily peated than the Old Ballantruan. It is possible that the latter will replace Old Ballantruan NAS in the coming years. The core range of the distillery also includes the 10,14,16 and 33 Years as well as a 12 Year old Oloroso. Tomintoul is also used in blends like Dundee and Parker's. Old Ballantruan NAS is usually for sale at prices in the 40-50 US Dollar range (April 2016).
Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good
Conclusion: If you like your Whisky Young and Rough and are looking for an affordable alternative for young Islay you might consider this Old Ballantruan. It's not a Malt for beginning Whisky drinkers though. The Spirit is quite Young and Immature and the Alcohol is hot. I also found some light off notes such as PVC and Metal. Personally I find it on the Thin side and Unfinished but I could imagine liking a dram of the Old Ballantruan when fishing on the high seas in a rain storm. I would never do that by the way but I hope you get the picture.
Jan van den Ende April 11, 2016
Tomintoul
