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Balblair Aged 18 Years

KWM 2020 Whisky Advent Calendar - Day 20

7 275

@talexanderReview by @talexander

20th Dec 2020

1

  • Nose
    20
  • Taste
    18
  • Finish
    19
  • Balance
    18
  • Overall
    75

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Day 19 was a Bowmore 12 so I skipped that one as I've reviewed it before (and being one of Pam's favourites, I'm extremely familiar with that dram - I do really like it!) But today, we have another Balblair, this time one of the newer age statement expressions. The 18 Year Old is matured primarily in American oak ex-bourbon casks, then finished in first-fill Spanish oak butts. Still non-coloured and non-chill-filtered.

The colour is a medium amber. On the nose it's sultana raisins, milk chocolate, caramel and lots of oak. Leathery. Apple cinnamon. Herbal with water. Nicely sherried, not too bold.

On the palate the caramel is much heavier, with some chili spice, cloves, lots of ginger and chocolate orange. Mouth-coating. Earthy. Sulphurous. Like the nose, it's also more herbal with water. Whereas the sherry on the nose was supple, on the palate it is overwhelming. Complex but not my style.

The finish is aromatic spices, heavy oak and a bit more sulphur. This is completely different from the Balblair 1997 I reviewed 10 days ago (and scored a 93). Here in the 18 the malt has been stomped in the teeth by the sherry, and not a well-behaved sherry at that. Disappointing.

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2 comments

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@talexander Good to know. I have the 15 which is very good and I've been tempted to pop for the18. It just came off my wish list. Thanks for the review. I'm still enjoying tagging along on your journey.

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander commented

@BlueNote I gotta admit, I was surprised - I've had a few Balblairs and this was from an entirely different planet. Having said that, the cask usage is apparently the same as the 15 so maybe you'll like it - but I was just meh.

3 years ago 0

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