Today it is time for a peaty Highland release; the Ballechin 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The Edradour distillery was officially established in 1825 in the Perthshire region. The name in Gaelic is Eadar Dhà Dhobhar, which translates to “between two rivers”.
It was founded by farmers who resided in the neighbourhood and grew all the barley used at the distillery. The distillery is seen as one of Scotlands smallest. Most of the spirit from the distillery went into blended whisky.
Ownership changed in the years that followed until 1982 when it was bought by Campbell distilleries, which is part of the Pernod Ricard Group. They opened a visitors centre and released the first single malt under the Edradour label.
In 2002, Andrew Symington from the Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky company took over the distillery, and he expanded production to include a peated variety.
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He called the peated release Ballechin. The name Ballechin (pronounced “Bell-eck-in”) pays homage to the history of the surrounding area and was the name of a closed farm distillery. Ballechin whisky, which was first distilled in 2003, is peated to a minimum level of 50 ppm. Signatory launched the Ballechin 10 year old whisky in 2014.
The Ballechin 10 year old whisky is matured in a combination of ex-Oloroso sherry and ex-bourbon casks. It is non-chill-filtered and naturally coloured.
Ballechin 10 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Highlands
ABV: 46%
COLOUR: Amber
NOSE: A lovely rich nose with peat, oranges and barley. Bits of smoke and wood mixed with vanilla and grainy sweetness. Not overwhelming, but elegant and delicious.
PALATE: Ash, peat with a floral sweetness. More of the orange notes but not as bold as I was expecting after the rich nose. A bit flat with oak and malt and faint vanilla. After the lovely nose, I was hoping for a more complex taste.
It is not bad; it is just a bit one dimensional. I was expecting the sherry and bourbon ageing to show up somewhere. Adding water softens the peat considerably, so add water carefully.
FINISH: Short to medium with drying ash, smoke and bits of citrus peel.
RATING: VERY GOOD
During the week, I tasted an Edradour whisky, and it was a big and bold sherry bomb. The Ballechin 10 year old single malt was finished in sherry, and I was perhaps hoping for a little bit of the sherry richness and complexity to come through.
A pleasant enough dram, but at ten years old, I was hoping for a bit more weight. The peat takes a step back when you add water, so it might be a good whisky for peat novices.
I don’t think the 10 year old is available in SA currently, but I saw a bottle of Ballechin 9 year old 2010 Vintage whisky at Navigate World Whisky.
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