Discover Whisky

I’m taking a little detour from my Islay survey to venture into Mike’s territory. Blair Atholl village is situated in the rolling hills of Perthshire. There is a famous castle and the village contains an old water powered grain mill. Along with Dunkeld, Pitlochry (which is actually where the distillery is) and the Pass of Killicrankie, I used to visit the area quite often, having fallen in love with it back in the days of Scout camps. It is a land of dark brown rivers running through narrow gorges surrounded by ancient woodlands and tales of heroism.

The whisky of the same name but slightly different spelling (only one l) is something of a rarity these days but my dad is a great fan of it and received a bottle which he passed on to me for tasting.

Blair Athol, 12 Year Old, 43%

Colour

Reminds me immediately of the dark rivers, it is a deep brown. (The distillery has its own burn, the Allt na Dour; and while I don’t remember what colour it is it’s a safe bet it’s brown.)

Nose

Gentle, dark peat but not too strong, a hint of wood bark.

Initial Taste

Malty, a little smoke, a touch of caramel but not too much. A nice balance.

Later taste

The taste develops as you progress down the glass. It becomes stronger and spicy to a degree. The smokiness also increases, like an old howf with a log fire in the grate.

Finish

A long satisfying finish that leaves you with a smoky caramel taste with a spicy kick.

Conclusion

This is a relaxing dram, not too challenging but with a quiet strength that would round off a fine day on the Perthshire hills or fishing the Tay.

Visiting details

In the course of research for my new Scottish Books website I came across a forthcoming book that’s likely to be of interest to many readers of this blog and particularly the Islay drinkers.

Whisky Dream is the story of the resurrection and development of Bruichladdich distillery and the impending revival of the long-closed Port Charlotte. It relates the efforts of Mark Reynier and his team of partners who made it all work, including Jim McEwan formerly of Bowmore, and their myriad adventures on the way, including the initial approaches to the multinational corporation who owned the distillery, the financial negotiations to raise the necessary capital, various unusual encounters along the way, the first new production runs of the distillery, and the battle to re-establish the brand in a competitive world marketplace.

There is a Youtube hosted video related to the book which can be seen on both the Whisky Dream book detail page on Books in Scotland or the publishers site - Birlinn - where you can place an order for it if you wish. It’s due out in July and priced at £9.99 and I’ll be reviewing it as soon as I can lay hands on a copy.

Less well known than some of the other Islay malts, probably because of the intimidating (to some) Gaelic name as much as the distinctive taste. The labelling is redolent of the sea; an ever present feature of Islay life. This one I tasted in an Edinburgh bar, a good one. The barman seemed surprised to be asked for this malt, was visibly relieved when I declined ice, and almost raised a Spock-like eyebrow when I declined water. As if to say, “ahh, a man who knows his drinks”. One takes respect appreciatively wherever one can find it!

Bunnahabhain - 12 years old, 40%

Colour

Darker than most malts, almost a hint of tawny in the brown. Being an Islay dram you immediately think of peat but the reality turns out to be rather different.

Nose

Rich, chocolatey, but with a hint of the sea as befits the helmsman on the front of the bottle, and also of the lighter phenols that are more typical of the lighter, yellow Islays. It smells stronger than its 40% rating.

Taste

Initial taste
Hmm, very different. Xmas pudding, caramel, rich dried fruit. First thoughts are that this is a winter dram; for the leather armchair and the log fire up in the laird’s house. If there’s smoke here then it’s wood rather than peat. It also tastes stronger than 40%.

Later taste
The dried fruit gets stronger, hints of treacle and rich spices confirm the Xmas cake impression. However there is also a saltiness which starts to come through, and for a couple of sips it threatens to overwhelm the other tastes before thankfully receding into the background. The end result reminds me of some of the dark Rums that Mike enjoys.

Finish

Unlike many malts the finish is much the same as the main taste - warm, rich and spicy.

Conclusion

This is quite different from any of the other Islays. I don’t think I could drink a lot of it but enjoyed what I had in moderation. In this instance I didn’t get a chance to add water to it so that will have to wait for another time. I was intrigued by the saltiness and how different it was to anything else I’d tasted so about fifteen minutes later I followed it with a Talisker to see how the saltiness compared. The sensation was entirely different - in Talisker the salt is part of the whole experience, it’s the taste on the wind as you stand on the west coast gazing out to sea over Neist Point. In the Bunnahabhain it’s a counterpoint to the richness; it emerges like some demon of the deep and then plunges back into the darkness leaving only the memory.

This is a fascinating dram; I liked it despite not really liking the type; the rich dark whiskies aren’t usually to my taste. But it has character, which is fundamental to a top class dram. Maybe the balance is lacking a little, or maybe that is just my preferences showing through. I would drink it again, and I will try the older versions to explore the character further. Though I doubt it would make my top three it would certainly make a claim to the top ten.