My wife and I tried a sibling cask to this— or a near sibling, cask 286 distilled just a few days earlier— in Singapore.  LMDW selected that cask from the Signatory stocks at Edradour, Ballechin being the peated spirit produced there. It presented a delightful dirty smoke and earth with hints of plasticine and burnt marshmallows. I hoped to find more of the same with this whisky!

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Whisky: Ballechin 10 Year (2010) Cask 290

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 59.1%

Cask: Marsala Wine

Age: 10 Years (Distilled 6 Oct. 2010, Bottled 26 Aug. 2021)

Notes: The aroma provided dark chocolate and charred wood with a slightly cheesy richness— Camembert the wife called it. Subtle spice with licorice and cinnamon carried on toward dried grass and funky earth with hints of decay and clay, motor oil. Medium-bodied and oily on the palate, the flavor profile kicked off with rich black sugar buns, motor oil, charred wood and a smoldering fireplace. It took a meatier turn with charred unagi or aburi salmon (seared seafood— caramelized sugars and fats) before descending back toward dark chocolate with subtle orange toward the end. My wife described it as akin to eating grilled unagi at a street stall with the smell of moped exhaust. The finish was medium to long with caramelized sugars, dark chocolate, and earth.

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Score: 7+ (85)

Mental Image: Street Vendor at Evening’s Rush Hour

Conclusion: I find Ballechin a hefty, full-throttle experience; the sort of thing that blows your palate out with its phenolic and cask-heavy style. Every once in a while, I come across something tamer with loads more depth and complexity than the typical palate wrecker— to be fair, I do not mind the occasional mosh pit on the palate.  I found this to be a fairly complex with competing notions of rush hour exhaust, dark chocolate, and seared seafood.  The flavors were not always in alignment with one another, but they rarely clashed and were, in general, fairly cohesive.

Overall, this was my second marsala-matured Ballechin, and I clearly need to be on the lookout for more because it was just as good as the first.