Skip to content
  • Home
  • Whisky Top 10
  • Tasting Notes
  • About Thijs
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Whisky Top 10
  • Tasting Notes
  • About Thijs
  • Contact
logo
BTC 2014 #11

Blind Tasting Competition #11: Balblair 1990 2nd Release

17 December 2014 0 comments Article Balblair, Highlands, Scotland, Tasting Notes

The Blind Tasting Competition of the Usquebaugh Society is getting harder and harder. At the start I was lucky to encounter samples of Benromach, Ledaig, Littlemill and Bowmore Devil’s Casks II, all distilleries that for me have very distinct flavor profiles. The last couple of samples have been different, and I don’t think that in the remainder of the competition there will be many more slam dunks for me. Let’s have a look at sample 11, shall we?

Balblair 1990/2013 (46%, OB, 2nd Release)

Nose: This one starts of fruity, with oranges, peaches and plums. But then it becomes more woody, and also a bit herbal after some time. Caramel appears as well.
Taste: Warming palate. A bit salty and a hint of pepper, but then some lovely tropical fruit. As the nose suggests, a bit oaky. But the nice caramel and honey tones bring back the balance.
Finish: Some chocolate, honey and caramel. But after a couple of minutes it gets fruitier. Very pleasant.

Rating: 85

A nice whisky indeed. It does lack a little bit of power. I had a difficult time deciding what whisky to put my money on. I decided on the Highlands pretty early on, also because Speyside was out of the question, because of yesterday’s Balmenach. The alcoholpercentage of 46 percent also was clear. But I thought I was tasting a much younger whisky. In the end I went with one of the Northern distilleries, a Glenmorangie 12yo.

I never really considered Balblair, because I don’t associate Balblair with sherry matured whisky. Still I scored forty points because of the correct region and abv. I’m still in second place in the Blind Tasting Competition, only one point behind the leader.

Thijs Klaverstijn Kingairloch 3
Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.

Tags: 1990, balblair, blind tasting competition, highlands

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr

Most popular posts

  • Glendronach cask (flickr ti yab) GlenDronach Is A Lot Older Than The Label Says
  • ben nevis 2015 5yo adelphi whisky import nederland 10715 Ben Nevis 2015 5 Years (Adelphi)
  • springbank 17yo madeira wood 2020 Springbank 17 Years Madeira Wood (2020)
  • glenallachie 1995 24yo the duchess 23 Glenallachie 1995 24 Years (The Duchess)
  • secret orkney 1999 20yo michiel wigman Secret Orkney 1999 20 Years (Michiel Wigman)

Recent blog posts

  • Upcoming: Blind Tasting Competition
  • Sexism & Misogyny in our Whisky Community
  • Monologue: Waterford’s Mark Reynier on Biodynamics & Terroir
  • Why The Whiskybase Gathering Should Be On Your Bucket List
  • Visiting Ballindalloch Distillery: Tradition & Patience in Speyside

Most popular posts

  • Glendronach cask (flickr ti yab) GlenDronach Is A Lot Older Than The Label Says
  • ben nevis 2015 5yo adelphi whisky import nederland 10715 Ben Nevis 2015 5 Years (Adelphi)
  • springbank 17yo madeira wood 2020 Springbank 17 Years Madeira Wood (2020)
  • glenallachie 1995 24yo the duchess 23 Glenallachie 1995 24 Years (The Duchess)
  • secret orkney 1999 20yo michiel wigman Secret Orkney 1999 20 Years (Michiel Wigman)

Search Words of Whisky

About

Words of Whisky is the blog of Thijs Klaverstijn, a freelance writer and journalist from Twente, a region in the east of The Netherlands. He's been drinking whisky for quite some time now, but a visit to Scotland in the summer of 2013 has turned his love for whisky into somewhat of an obsession. This blog serves as an outlet for that obsession.

Copyright Words of Whisky 2021