Whisky : Balblair 10 Year; The Whisky Barrel

Country/Region : Scotland/Highland

ABV : 59.4%

Cask : First Fill Oloroso Hogshead

Nose :  Egg custard and malty pastries as well as glazed berries, apples, and pears.  The sweet pastry and fruit notes are joined by waxy honeycomb, chestnuts, and sweetened coffee.

Palate : Sweet dulce de leche and caramel ganache join cream and coffee to give the impression of a Starbucks caramel macchiato. Malty sugars and butterscotch develop over time along with chocolate covered berries.  A really interesting spice note that reminds me of dried chilis or a spicy dark chocolate mole sauce appears toward the end.

Finish : Medium length sweet malt and coffee.

Score : 6

Mental Image :  Sweetened Coffee Custard

Something Similar : Glendronach 12 Year (similar dulce de leche, berries, and chocolate, not as spicy)

Something Similar : Arran 14 Year (similar creaminess/fruit/caramel, more tropical fruit, less chocolate)

Notes :  If those tasting notes sound good, then you might really dig this dram.  I am not usually excited by caramel forward malts.  While I enjoyed the spicy notes at the end and thought the coffee notes off the oloroso hogshead worked well with the caramel notes of the malt, overall this was a bit too sweet for my taste.  This dram was young and full of flavor.  Though it lacked finesse, it had a great mouthfeel and enough complexity that I understand why others rated it so highly.  A fun Balblair and a solid pick by The Whisky Barrel, but not something I would normally grab for myself.