Today I am going to review something again from my sample drawer and this time it’s a Blair Athol 21 years old bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. This is from their 2019 advent calendar, but then I didn’t have the time to taste all the samples because of a vacation. Also not bad, of course, and looking back, I’m glad that I was on vacation then, given the circumstances of today. Anyway, let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about Blair Athol a bit.
Blair Athol is one of the most beautiful distilleries out there. Kind of like Strathisla, it has that lovely idyllic look and when you walk from the parking lot past the warehouses to the distillery, you can smell the delicious scent of whisky maturing. A stunning sight and that’s kind of the way I remember Blair Athol.
However, when it comes to the whisky, I don’t have many memories. There are a few exceptions such as this fantastic Blair Athol 1988 from Signatory and my very bad first experience with Blair Athol by the Manager’s Dram (soapy!!!!). But for the rest, I don’t have much to say about the whisky in itself. Maybe it is up to me and I just have to try a bit more of this brand, but it has never really fascinated me so far. So let’s find out of this Blair Athol 21 year old is going to change that.
This Blair Athol has been bottled at 51.5%. This is batch 5.
Blair Athol 21 year old tasting notes:
Nose: Very lovely nose. Fruity. Red apples, apricots and Passion fruit. Oranges in the background. A nice layer of honey. Caramel. And a hint of vanilla. Later also mint and ginger appear.
Taste: Oh it’s very nice and oily. Fresh pineapple juice. A hint of pink grapefruit. Oranges. But also some oak here. There’s vanilla. A cinnamon bun and some liquorice. Nutty from time to time. And slightly peppery.
Finish: Mid-long and slightly dry. Honey. Cinnamon, liquorice and a hint of caramel. A faint hint of passion fruit here too.
It’s actually quite lovely. It starts with the fresh and fruity notes in the nose where it ends towards the more spicy flavours in the finish. Slightly dry there, but it can have it. Really nice. Should I adjust my opinion and discover Blair Athol a bit more? Maybe that’s a good idea, after all….
Sample provided by Atom Brands.
