Blair Athol 10 Years (2007/2019) - Douglas Laing
Although Blair Athol is not a small distillery, its Single Malts are not among the best known. Over 90% of the production goes into Bell's blended Scotch. Today we have a 10-years independent bottling of a single Blair Athol cask from Douglas Laing's Provenance series in the glass.
The panel
Mean 66.0 · spread 2
Value for money 3/5
- Distillery
- Blair Athol
- Bottler
- Douglas Laing
- Type
- Single Malt
- Region
- Highlands
- Country
- Scotland
- Age
- 10 years
- Strength
- 46% ABV
- Character
- delicate
Tasting
Nose
On the nose, the Single Malt is soft and sweet. We think of freshly baked butter cake. This is joined by notes of vanilla, honey and oats. The aroma is rounded off by a pleasant maltiness complemented by cereals.
Palate
On the palate, the Blair Athol is not as soft as the nose suggested. Caramel toffee, honey and vanilla are joined by surprisingly spicy flavours. Intense oak leaves a distinct tingle on the tongue despite the creamy mouthfeel. Despite its age, the spiciness verges on light ethanol pepperiness.
Finish
The medium-long finish is also dominated by toasted oak spice. This leaves a clear bitterness on the palate. Behind this, there is still some grain and hints of dark chocolate.
Verdicts
Marcel
This Blair Athol is quite enjoyable, especially if you appreciate the sweet notes of butter cake and honey. Unfortunately, it struggles a bit with bitterness and doesn’t feel entirely balanced – yet it’s definitely worth a try for a quick tasting.
Sascha
The balance between sweet and spicy elements still feels underdeveloped here, causing the whisky’s overall structure to seem somewhat uneven. Despite interesting aromas, the integration of oak spice and bitterness leaves room for improvement.
What it is worth
We do not yet hold bottle-level auction results — that sits behind Whisky Hunter’s authenticated feed. What follows is the market for Blair Athol as a whole, which sets the weather for this bottling without pricing it.
Latest mean bid £86 across 84 lots · 2024-08