Bottled in 2012, this 1969 vintage Balblair was aged exclusively in ex-bourbon American oak casks. A release of 999 bottles was produced at a time when the distillery malted its own barley on-site and the stills were coal-fired.

Colour: Golden and bright like a morning sunrise.

Nose: Instantly reminiscent of the best distillery tours where you’re taken around traditional dunnage warehouses and you take in the unmissable smell of years and years of whisky goodness. There are fabulous quality wood notes to be found here with a slight dry earthiness, and with time a gentle underlying herbal quality. The malt is there, but the years have given it a graceful beauty and a rich, although balanced sweetness. The nose is a warming yet exciting hug on your senses that keep you mesmerised for a long time. With time to further open up, there are wee notes of varnish and old leathery, well-used bags.

Palate: The cask strength yet low abv nature of this dram make it instantly approachable and enjoyable, as soon as the first sip hits you, you feel like putting your feet up and having the night off. There’s a bit of malt, maybe even a touch of coal, or at least the idea of coal may be given to you from the cask charring process – although the spirit was distilled when coal was used to heat the stills, so who knows! It’s richly smooth and mouth-coating, fairly sweet but with enough old wood tannins to be balanced and enjoyable. Hints of exotic fruits are there too.

Finish: There’s a refreshing note to this which you don’t really expect from something so old. It’s a warming hug to your chest and it’s packed with flavours that last for ages; there’s a grassiness and an old leathery note which outlasts most other notes.

Review: Steve Prentice