The TWE Whisky show Old & Rare took place last weekend at Glasgow, and by the looks of it it was an EPIC event (just have a look, while drooling over the list of whiskies some lucky bastards could have sampled here) , as a part of the show TWE have released 4 special (and very limited) bottlings to be sold there:
- Balblair 1986, G&M Cask Strength
- Glenrothes 1986, G&M Cask Strength
- Caol Ila 1984, Single Malts of Scotland ‘Director’s Special’
- Glen Garioch 1990, Signatory Vintage
I was not able to go to the show, but I was lucky enough to have received samples of the first two special botlings (The Balblair, and Glenrothes) which I am going to review pm the blog, starting with Balblair (one of my favorite distilleries, and a top notch distillery by any standard).
Balblair 30 yo 1986 G&M ‘Cask Strength’ for TWE, refill sherry hogshead #12649 , £300
Nose: banana bread, and ripe oranges, with lots of wood , quite damp, old warehouses , with a touch of polished wood as well, wax, and sweet dough with lemon peel and a hint of tobacco, even some slowly brewed teas.
Palate: oh yeah. That’s a nice one alright. Quite waxy , and the polished wood , along with pepper, mint and a hint of pine needle extract, cereals and more dry wood , cocoa and orange zest, feels quite old , or maybe old style , at any rate it’s lovely.
Finish : soft fruit, lots of oak , wax, and bitter cocoa.
What a fantastic old Balblair this is, exactly up my alley with the old style, waxy, oaky musty feeling going on, along with the citrus and tea, really a cracking whisky. There are were only 48 bottles priced at £300 . Lovely!
Score: 91/100
Some bottles will eventually be sold on the TWE web shop, so keep your eyes peeled!