Balmenach 1999 Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail

Balmenach SMWS 48.88 - Mimosa growing in chalky soil

Seldom will you come across a bottling of Balmenach. Licensed in 1824, this Speyside distillery was sold to DCL 100 years later, remaining in constant production until 1993. A 12-year-old became part of the Flora & Fauna range, but to my knowledge that is the only known distillery bottling. In 1997 it was sold to Inver House, who remain the...

Score 82/100

Balmenach 18 Year Old Deerstalker

Balmenach does not have any official bottlings (bar the Flora & Fauna) and is only bottled by Deerstalker. There is a 10 and 12 year old, but we are lucky enough to try the 18 year old. It matured on a sherry cask. Balmenach closed in 1993, but in 1997 Inver House Distillers reopened it. They also produce gin since 2009. The nose is a weird...

Score 80/100

Balmenach 10, Duncan Taylor's NC2 Range

Nose: Initially had the character of a chlorine cleaning agent, which I've never experienced in a whisky. Strange. After brief sitting this changes to pear, with perhaps soft strawberry. Taste: Oily in character, and spicy hot, with the sharp burn of red peppers. Finish: Continuing spiciness with some harsh oaky tannins. If I had to try this one...

Score 55/100

Balmenach 7 Year Old 2013 3006 Whisky

3006 Whisky is a young, Dutch bottler that has pleasantly surprised me in the past – albeit with single grain whisky. So it is possible that this Balmenach, selected by Jop Boer, just might be one that can actually please me. We’ll see. The cask number suggest that this may in fact have been found in the Signatory warehouses. The malt sticks to...

Score 84/100