Whisky: Balmenach 7 Year SMWS 48.112 “Here geuze nothing!”

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 62%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 7 Years (Distilled 7 Nov. 2011)

Nose: Green apples, herbs, and cereal grains. Mint, sage, and green apples with a hint of almost floral peppercorns filled the glass. Big cereal notes faded as orchard fruits seized control; green apples, apple sauce, and butter with a touch of quince and Bartlett pear. Green grass and meadows came to mind with the faint aroma of wildflowers.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a grassy sweetness, orchard fruits, and herbs. Sweet herbal tinctures and cereal grains appeared with a mellow grassy quality. The flavors strolled through the long grass— green barley and wheat— before the scent of wildflowers called out a meadowy destination. Cereal notes brought to mind buttery biscuits with sage, green garlic stems, and a kiss of salt. A few drops of water toned down the initial spirited quality of the dram and highlighted latent elements of citrus— though water oddly seemed to leave the finish feeling hot.

Finish: Lingering herbal sweetness with a drying mouthfeel.

Score: 5

Mental Image: A Horse’s Picnic Lunch

Notes: I ignored this bottle for a very long time. Our local whisky group included it in a big introductory bottle split for new members so they could shotgun-sample as many different distilleries as possible. While a young Balmenach might not be the most exciting dram— hence why I sat on it for a while— this was absolutely representative of the big herbal, slightly savory house style of Balmenach. It was less cereal forward than others I have tried, but those oat, bran, and pastry notes were still present.

Originally entitled “Here geuze nothing!”, the name was changed for the US release of the bottle.  The TTB has become much stricter regarding the use of food/beverage terms in SMWS bottle titles.  They do not want a poor consumer to mistake it for a bottle of beer!  I am not sure I got the “gueuze” notes that SMWS highlighted— though I do not have a ton of gueuze experience. I associate that style with intensely funky and sour notes, and I did not find those present here. It did have a very restrained sweetness, but it never crossed over to barnyard funk or sour fruits.

Overall, a tad hot and a bit young, this was still an absolutely pure expression of what Balmenach is all about. A few drops of water settled the mouthfeel and brought out intriguing elements of citrus, which nicely complemented the herbal-grassy palate, though oddly, the finish felt much hotter after a few drops.