Balblair 2003 Vintage Whisky

Another of the miniature bottles I found while cleaning up my whisky storage area; the Balblair 2003 Vintage single malt Scotch whisky. This little bottle was leftover from a Balblair Twitter tasting a couple of years ago.

The Balblair distillery was founded in 1790 by John Ross. The distillery was in the  Ross family for three generations, and the business was passed down from grandfather to father and son.

The opening of the railway near the distillery, it made shipping their whisky to England and the world more accessible for the Ross family. In 1895 the distillery moved even closer to the railway line and had a refurbishment where all the equipment was replaced by the latest technology.

However, the original water source, the Ault Dearg burn, that was used during the early years was deemed so significant that Balblair distillery still makes use of it. The distillery changed hands a few times and in 1996 Balblair Distillery was purchased by Inver House Distillers Limited.

Other distilleries owned by Inver House include the Speyburn, Knockdhu, Old Pulteney and the Balmenach Distillery, as well as the Hankey Bannister and Catto’s blended whisky brands, are part of their portfolio.

The Balblair 2003 single malt was distilled in 2003 and bottled in 2015. The release was matured in second  fill bourbon casks. The price for the Balblair 2003 whisky is around R 650 in South Africa.

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Balblair 2003 Vintage Whisky Review

REGION: Highlands

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Quite light golden amber

NOSE: Notes of freshly cut oak, vanilla, spring flowers, fruit sweetness and a bold maltiness with hints of honey and spices.

PALATE: Peppery spice and orange blossoms, fresh  mint,  oak with faint hints of caramel. The 2003 single malt is creamy and smooth. With water, there is more honey sweetness. Faint hints of chocolate cherries in the background.

FINISH: Spicy with a bit of pepper and oranges

RATING: EXCELLENT

A delicious dram. Not heavy or intense, but with enough character to make you sit up and take notice. This dram is the perfect pre-dinner drink. It has a bit of alcohol heat that water tones down, but be careful when adding water. You need to add only a few drops of water to soften the dram.

Balblair whisky is bottled in vintage-looking bottles that stand out in my collection. The bottles don’t have age statements but indicate the year that the spirits were distilled on the label.

Not too many of the older  bottlings are still available in SA, but I notice that WhiskyBrother Shop still has a Balblair 1989 as well as some Balblair 2003 available.

The current bottling out at the Distillery is the Balblair 2005. During 2019 the distillery started releasing age statement whiskies starting with a Balblair 12 yo and going up to a 25 yo whisky. The range also includes a Balblair 17 yo whisky that is only available in travel retail.

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