“Bell (‘s) Bottom Blues”
Whisky Review # 622
Country: Scotland
Region: South-Eastern Highlands
Brand: Blair Athol (Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask Series)
Type: Single Malt Single Cask Whisky
Age: 21 Years
Age: 21 Years
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 50%
Maturation: Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: Around US$ 100 (July 2017)
Buying Advice: 😄 Positive. The best Blair Athol I have tasted so far.
Maturation: Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: Around US$ 100 (July 2017)
Buying Advice: 😄 Positive. The best Blair Athol I have tasted so far.
Colour: Pale Gold/Chardonnay (Natural Colour)
Nose: Certainly not overwhelming but quite pleasant and well-matured. Malt, Fruit and Vanilla are the main drivers. The Oak and Alcohol are there but they remain nicely in the background. I find Malted Barley, Buttered Toast, Fresh Pastry, Wax, Vanilla, Toffee, Heather-Honey, Salted Nuts, Grass, Dusty Straw, Banana, Orange, Lemon, Mandarin, Pear, Apple, Plums, Pineapple, Cherries, Fresh Herbs, Oak and light Spices like Cinnamon and Ginger.
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Palate: Sweet, Creamy, Fruity and Spicy wit some Herbal - and Salty notes as well. I find Toasted Barley, Fresh Pastry, Fruit Cake, Honey, Syrup, Vanilla, Oak, Orange, Tangerine, Lemon, Banana, Chocolate, Salted Nuts, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Fresh Herbs, light Licorice, light Menthol and Herbal Tea.
Finish: Middle-Long, Sweet, Creamy and Spicy with Bitter - and Herbal tones in the end. I find Toasted Cereals, Fresh Pastry, Honey, Vanilla, Banana, Orange, Lemon, Salted Nuts, Plums, Milk Chocolate, White Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Licorice, Herbal Tea, Oak and light Menthol.
Drinking Advice:
I added a few drops of Water and on the Nose the Fruity - and Malty notes seem to develop even further. Palate and Finish become more Spicy and Herbal with developing Menthol and Licorice. You can certainly experiment with a few drops of Water in this case. I liked it both ways.
Rating: 86.5
Visit May 2014
Drinking Advice:
I added a few drops of Water and on the Nose the Fruity - and Malty notes seem to develop even further. Palate and Finish become more Spicy and Herbal with developing Menthol and Licorice. You can certainly experiment with a few drops of Water in this case. I liked it both ways.
Rating: 86.5
Nose: 22 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5
General Remarks:
Blair Athol currently produces around 2 million litres of Alcohol using two pairs of pear-shaped Stills with Lyne arms that point downwards creating an aromatic Nutty and Malty type of Spirit. The Water is sourced from the Allt Dour Burn.
General Remarks:
🏣 The Distillery, the Bottlers and Today's Whisky:
The distillery was founded in Pitlochry (Pertshire) in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson, initially under the name Aldour. Only in 1825 did it receive its current name. It was mothballed in 1932 and bought by Arthur Bell & Sons, a family owned Blender. Production restarted in 1949 and from then on and until today Blair Athol became the heart of Bell's Blended Whisky. Eventually, the distillery, via take-overs, became part of Diageo. Only very few Single Malts are launched from time to time by Blair Athol so we mostly depend on independent bottlers in this respect.
Douglas Laing & Co is an independent Whisky bottler that was founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing in Glasgow. Today they are mostly known for their Exceptional Single Casks series as well as the Remarkable Regional Malts Series that includes well-known blended Malt whiskies Timorous Beastie, Scallywag, Rock Oyster and Big Peat. In 1999, the company released the Old Malt Cask Series. Their current directors are Fred Hamilton Laing and his daughter Cara. In 2013, Hunter Laing & Co was founded by Stewart Laing, the other son of Fred. The assets of the old Douglas Laing & Co were split up between Fred Hamilton and Stewart. The Old Malt Cask Series went to Hunter Laing & Co.
The Blair Athol 1990 I am tasting today was distilled in August 1990 and was bottled in August 2011. Only 268 bottles were drawn from the cask but you can still find some on the Internet.
🍷 The Spirit: The distillery was founded in Pitlochry (Pertshire) in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson, initially under the name Aldour. Only in 1825 did it receive its current name. It was mothballed in 1932 and bought by Arthur Bell & Sons, a family owned Blender. Production restarted in 1949 and from then on and until today Blair Athol became the heart of Bell's Blended Whisky. Eventually, the distillery, via take-overs, became part of Diageo. Only very few Single Malts are launched from time to time by Blair Athol so we mostly depend on independent bottlers in this respect.
Douglas Laing & Co is an independent Whisky bottler that was founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing in Glasgow. Today they are mostly known for their Exceptional Single Casks series as well as the Remarkable Regional Malts Series that includes well-known blended Malt whiskies Timorous Beastie, Scallywag, Rock Oyster and Big Peat. In 1999, the company released the Old Malt Cask Series. Their current directors are Fred Hamilton Laing and his daughter Cara. In 2013, Hunter Laing & Co was founded by Stewart Laing, the other son of Fred. The assets of the old Douglas Laing & Co were split up between Fred Hamilton and Stewart. The Old Malt Cask Series went to Hunter Laing & Co.
The Blair Athol 1990 I am tasting today was distilled in August 1990 and was bottled in August 2011. Only 268 bottles were drawn from the cask but you can still find some on the Internet.
Blair Athol currently produces around 2 million litres of Alcohol using two pairs of pear-shaped Stills with Lyne arms that point downwards creating an aromatic Nutty and Malty type of Spirit. The Water is sourced from the Allt Dour Burn.
🌲 The Wood:
The Spirit matured for 21 Years in an Ex-Bourbon Refill Hogshead with cask # 7561. This cask wasn't extremely active in my opinion but it did give sufficient Aromas and Flavours to the Spirit while maintaining some of the characteristics of the distillery. Good cask management.
The Spirit matured for 21 Years in an Ex-Bourbon Refill Hogshead with cask # 7561. This cask wasn't extremely active in my opinion but it did give sufficient Aromas and Flavours to the Spirit while maintaining some of the characteristics of the distillery. Good cask management.
Visit May 2014
Drinking Experience Neat: Good.
Conclusion:
This is the best Blair Athol I have tasted so far. It certainly holds it ground as a Single Malt in this case. Which proves, as so often, that good casks do produce good Whisky. The Blair Athol 1990 by Douglas Laing is not at all heavy but well-balanced, Fruity and Malty with enough Herbal and Spicy notes for balance. A nice Malt to sip on a sunny Summer Afternoon. I know that Bell's is a popular Blend but it kinda hurts to know that almost all Blair Athol Spirit is matured for a short time in indifferent Refill Ex-Bourbon casks to guarantee Malt supply for this Blend. Because Douglas Laing shows here that Blair Athol could be so much more when given the time and a good cask. I understand it from a commercial point of view but it's a pity nevertheless.
This is the best Blair Athol I have tasted so far. It certainly holds it ground as a Single Malt in this case. Which proves, as so often, that good casks do produce good Whisky. The Blair Athol 1990 by Douglas Laing is not at all heavy but well-balanced, Fruity and Malty with enough Herbal and Spicy notes for balance. A nice Malt to sip on a sunny Summer Afternoon. I know that Bell's is a popular Blend but it kinda hurts to know that almost all Blair Athol Spirit is matured for a short time in indifferent Refill Ex-Bourbon casks to guarantee Malt supply for this Blend. Because Douglas Laing shows here that Blair Athol could be so much more when given the time and a good cask. I understand it from a commercial point of view but it's a pity nevertheless.
Jan van den Ende July 6, 2017
Visit May 2014
