Whisky: Ballechin 18 Year (2003), WhiskySponge No. 47

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 48.5%

Cask: Refill Sherry Butt

Age: 18 Years (Distilled 2003, Bottled 2022)

Nose: Sweet smoke, charred meat and herbs, hints of burnt rubber with hot asphalt, charcoal, pine, smoldering grassfire, and hints of vanilla and peppercorns.

Palate: Medium-bodied, earthy, charcoal, barbecue smoke, rendered fat, smoked cherries, grilled nectarines, asphalt and rubber, metallic, dirty grill gristle lingered at the end.

Finish: Medium-length, vanilla, cola, smoke, and earth.

Score: 8

Mental Image: Mad Max’s Summer BBQ Blast

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was magically meaty— a Christmas Eve barbecue as pinewood and charcoal burned low in the barbecue pit. Smokey and meaty with burnt ends, charred meats, charred herbal rubs, and notions of scorchingly hot sun-baked asphalt, burnt rubber, and burning grass. Hints of vanilla, cola, and peppercorns hung in the wings. The profile was quintessentially Ballechin with an earthy smoke and sweet caramelized sugars over charcoal. Earthy and dirty the flavor profile moved swiftly from an earthy barbecue smoke and soot to herbal rendered pork fat to sweeter notions of smoked cherry cordials, cola, and grilled nectarines. At the end sat asphalt, rubber, and dirty metallic grill gristle— almost industrial at times. The finish was medium to long as an underlying vanilla cola finally popped out with smoke and a mellow earthiness.

Sweet memories of playground adventures on the school “blacktop”— the large asphalt part of the play yard with four squares and hopscotch (the only kind of scotch one enjoys at that age). The asphalt and rubber notes were not off-putting; they complemented the barbecue smoke and charcoal on the nose. The combination reminded me of a Laphroaig without the maritime or medicinal notes. This Ballechin had a good structure as it moved between different layers of barbecue, fruit, and earth. A few drops of water surfaced more of the grilled fruit, but I preferred the dirtier experience at full proof.

Overall, just as rich and fun as any Ballechin I have tried— age and the reduced abv. noticeably mellowed the experience without compromising the underlying character of the malt. Really delicious.

Image Credit: Decadent Drinks