About Ten Blair Athol


April 23, 2024

About Ten Blair Athol

Here is another Scottish distillery which currently has many bottlings at independent bottlers.

Some Malt Maniacs on tour at Blair Athol in 2003 (WF Archive)

Some are excellent; it's a far cry from the days of Arthur Bell and the time when, after being taken over by Guinness-UDV, Blair Athol 8 yo briefly joined the Classic Malts, alongside the other six (Lagavulin and the like). It is true that the distillery is very picturesque and strategically located from a tourism perspective. A word of caution to beginners: in Blair Athol, there is only one 'L', which has not stopped, however, a few absent-minded independents from offering 'Blair Atholl'. Let's see what we have, without adopting any sort of ranking...

Blair Athol 14 yo 2009/2023 (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, oloroso sherry finish)

Colour: golden amber. Nose: very nice sherry on tobacco, walnuts and old coins and tools. Add some fried bananas and some maple sirup, as well as quite some cherry liqueur. Feels very sweet and PX-y for some oloroso. Mouth: sherry-led, and I mean sherry wine, not sherry cask. We love sherry but while you cannot not think of some glorious old sherry monsters of yesteryear that were just as 'boosted' as this, this feels a little too much and premix-y. Now, the end result remains pleasant, with PX, walnuts, raisins, nutmeg and some millionaire shortbread. Finish: long, more on caramel, walnut wine and chocolate. Rather a lot of chocolate. Comments: probably a pretty wet cask, but I think it rather worked, I don't find it too stuffy or cloying. BTWT I remember the distillery were having a superb sherry monster as a distillery-only bottling, quite some moons ago.
SGP:641 - 83 points.

Blair Athol 10 yo 'Bloody Sergeant' (51.8%, Macbeth, Elixir Distillers, household series, 2,800 bottles, 2023)

I've completely missed these as they were coming out last year. Warning, some red wine casks seem to have been involved here. I tell you, sometimes they just shouldn't tell. Colour: gold. It is not pink. Nose: indeed some pink gooseberries, some red currant and, above everything, some morello cherries. Together with the malt, they display a rather clafoutis-like profile. Do you know clafoutis? With the cherry stones, naturally, they make the cake trickier to eat, but so much better. With water: geared a tad more toward the malt. Mouth (neat): rather blood oranges and toffee apple. Grenadine and more redcurrant. Beaujolais, or at least Gamay? With water: water works very well, it mingles the flavours and lets more spices and herbal teas come out. Finish: rather long, much grassier. Stalks and stems? A little stout and chocolate in the aftertaste. Comments: good fun to follow this baby in your glass. A strange idea well executed, I would say.
SGP:651 - 84 points.

Since we're on the subject of red wine...

Blair Athol 10 yo 2013/2023 (57.7%, Lady of the Glen, refill wine barrique, cask #310876, 307 bottles)

Not a finishing here, it is full maturation in a barrique, possibly Bordeaux. Colour: pale apricot. Nose: intriguingly dry, then with some muesli and fresh wild carrots. Love wild carrots – any carrots for that matter. A few macaroons, plus allspice, ras-el-hanout, a very tiny bit of Parmesan cheese… It's actually all elegant and even slightly discreet, but that may be the high strength. With water: adios wine, hello malt whisky! And a nice one, very 'Midlander', with melons, ripe apples, mirabelles and quince, sweet beer, ripe gooseberries... Mouth (neat): surprisingly spicy and fruity at the same time, you would believe this is some Indian whisky. Once again blood oranges and many spices, especially pepper. Touches of mushrooms, morels… With water: water does not erase the wine on the palate, but malt and wine had ten years to get better acquainted and start a family (what?) Hints of bubblegum (the children, ha). Finish: medium, fruity and a little tart, which is lovely. Leafier aftertaste. Comments: as is often the case, care must be taken when diluting a whisky that has been significantly influenced by wine; they can become astringent. I think it is best to limit it to two or three drops, even when the whisky is very strong.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

More wine… Ahem…

Blair Athol 11 yo 2011/2022 (58.9%, Hunter Laing, The First Editions, wine cask, cask #HL19177)

It just says wine cask while the colour isn't particularly pink, let's see if we find red berries… Colour: deep gold. Nose: we're pretty close to the lovely 2013, but it's rather rounder, creamier, more on chocolate and praline, some thicker brown beer, a small meaty side – we could have said sherry butt, brown bread dough... With water: some earthiness, yeast, beer, lees, leaves, crude chocolate… Mouth (neat): really rich, very much on oranges, vineyard peaches, mango chutney, garam masala, marmalade, chocolate, walnut liqueur - nocino… A lot of action in this wee youngster. With water: water works extremely well on the palate. The oranges are back, together with some light caramel, praline, and rather milk chocolate this time. Finish: long, with some demerara sugar and triple-sec. Choose your brand. Comments: as good as such a combo can be, in my opinion. They make these better these days, that's for sure.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

I recall several interviews during which people would ask me whether I preferred whisky or wine. At the rate things are going, this question is going to become ridiculous, or at least useless or irrelevant.

Blair Athol 12 yo 2010/2022 (56.9%, Whisky Is The Limit, second fill sherry hogshead, cask #301692, 387 bottles)

Colour: rich amber. Nose: the chocolate truly dominates this time, followed by hazelnuts and toasted almonds, then Christmas fruit bread (we're really behind schedule), pumpernickel, dried apricots… It feels a bit more like first fill than second fill, truly. With water: Williams pear comes to the forefront, which is rather promising. Also sloe. Mouth (neat): very strong, earthy, spicy, and meaty. It's almost as if they've added game to the casks, perhaps grouse (which weren't exactly asking for it). Clove. With water: it's softer and rounded out again. Figs, honey… Finish: quite long, with some notes of broth, leek, nuts, bone marrow dumplings… But the chocolate comes back in the aftertaste, along with the honey and oranges. Comments: pretty superb. A very fine bottle, but ensure you have a good pipette.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Blair Athol 14 yo 2009/2023 (55.3%, Maltbarn, Seventies, sherry cask, 285 bottles)

Ah these superb labels, they really should make posters out of them and sell them, truly. In any case, those from this new beautifully retro series. Colour: dark gold. Nose: we're in the realm of oranges and citrons, maple syrup, figs and honey, roasted peanuts... I think we've reached a new level, let's see this... With water: a bit of burnt wood, ash, mosses, mushrooms, chocolate, a touch of metal... It strongly reminds one of a very good amontillado. Mouth (neat): oh how good it is. Perfect sherry, crisp and spirited, oranges and mandarins, honeys, orange blossom water… With water: yes, that's it. Orange blossom is very prominent. Finish: medium length, freshness and perfect balance. Comments: could I have been influenced by this label that I adore? Come on, of course not. When a sherry cask has remained as fresh as this, it can only work superbly. If you've run out of Blair Athol in your bar, you know what to do...
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Blair Athol 11 yo 2010/2021 'Old Master Q' (53.6%, Hong Kong Whisky, refill sherry butt, 309 bottles)

Old Master Q is that little character from the very famous eponymous comic strip in Hong Kong. Apparently, he's quite clever and rather good with double entendres. We've already tasted a Tomintoul with him on the label, but I don't know if it will have been published by the time we publish this. You get the idea. Colour: straw. It's very much refill, superb. Nose: ah yes, barley, vanilla, cereals, apricot syrup, guava juice... We're really not in sherry territory anymore. With water: and mandarins, madeleines, biscuits... Mouth (neat): it's very good, it's smooth, it's fruity, with a solid malted base, vanilla cream, orange liqueur... You might have said bourbon, I wouldn't have called foul. With water: there, perhaps yes, it's got a more earthy side, more on nuts, a bit of smoky tea... Finish: rather long, with more ginger when water is added. Otherwise, it remains more citrusy and tight. Comments: it's quite protean, depending on how much water you've added. The quality is high, Master Q!
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Perhaps it's time we turned our attention to some older Blair Athol, isn't it?...

Blair Athol 31 yo 1992/2023 (43.3%, The Maltman, bourbon barrel, cask #4783, 167 bottles)

This one ticks absolutely all the boxes. I imagine it's the natural strength of the cask, so we should benefit from added complexity… but also from a little fragility, let's check that. Colour: white wine (what's more!) Nose: peach juice, crushed peach, Bellini (with champagne), hints of pine sap, Provence melon, wafts of rose petals and lychee, gewurztraminer, mandarins… A lot of mandarins, truly. Mouth: it's perfect, very fresh, loaded with citrus and honeys, herbal teas, wood spices, cinnamon (cinnamon rolls), with the absolutely charming side of precious old woods. Finish: a regal return of fresh peaches. And champagne. In short, Bellini – we are in Venice, amongst hundreds of thousands of other tourists who come on those monstrous and dreadful giant cruise ships. Oops, let's move on, Venice does not belong to us… Comments: there was no need to fear any excessive fragility. The fruitiness was just perfect, the champagne as well.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Blair Athol 30 yo 1993/2023 (54.4%, Douglas Laing, 75th Anniversary, Xtra Old Particular, sherry butt, cask #DL17911, 399 bottles)

Possibly the last time we have the opportunity to say 'happy 75th birthday, Douglas Laing, you sure all look much, much younger than that!' Colour: amber. Nose: It's all about jams, dried figs, dates, raisins of all kinds and from all origins, sweet wines (Rivesaltes, Banyuls, rancios, Malaga), then comes menthol tobacco, vetiver, liquorice, dried apricots... What's impressive is that there's absolutely no fragility, even when the Chinese sauces, such as hoisin, or the red one for dim sum, etc., come into play. With water: much rounder, much more on dried fruits and some slightly rustic cognac (good woods). Mouth (neat): it's a magnificent cask, powerful, quite peppery, liquorice-flavoured, marked by black propolis and pepper, with all the dried fruits right behind, as well as, of course, old walnuts. We do not speak of people here. With water: this time, water increases the complexity, releasing plenty of little herbs and more or less wild berries. Particularly sloe withered by frost. Finish: long, a bit wilder, raspy, on fruit skins. A bit of caramel, burnt sugar, autumn leaves... Comments: the slightly less thrilling finish costs it a point or two, but everyone should royally not give a darn. There, it's said.
SGP:562 - 89 points.

And since we're celebrating anniversaries, this little last one…

Blair Athol 35 yo 1988/2023 (55.9%, Signatory Vintage, 35th Anniversary, oloroso sherry butt, cask #6847, 450 bottles)

It's worth noting, the Blair Athol 30th Anniversary edition by Signatory was already a 1988 (WF 91). Also noteworthy, the owners of Signatory could perfectly walk to Blair Athol to choose casks, chat or share a few drams. Right, only the walk back might then be more challenging. Colour: tawny. But we don't care about that. Nose: what to say about these chicken and beef broths, these leeks and asparagus, these countless raisins, these very old Jamaican rums and armagnacs from the first half of the last century, and all this metanoïcal aspect that transcends geography? And, above all, these figs? Maybe it's already time to call the Anti-Maltoporn Brigade. With water: it shifts to malt extract, soy sauce, green walnut, Worcester, lovage, but also dates and prunes. The balance is never broken. Mouth (neat): yes, of course, a perfect sherry, powerful but balanced, half coffees, half chocolates and half dried fruits (forget maths!) With water: there you go, yes, a just perfect, rather peppery sherry. Let's leave it there, if you don't mind. Finish: long, chocolatey, with a hint of smoke, cigar, ristretto. Comments: I believe this was the last 35th Anniversary Signatory Vintage we had yet to taste. So, for the last time, happy anniversary, Signatory! The world of 'sharper' whisky wouldn't be the same without you.
SGP:661 - 92 points.

Check the index of all Blair Athol we've tasted so far