Whisky: Blair Athol 4 Year (2015), Acorn Cask 900025 for Aloha Whisky Bar 1st Anniversary

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 57%

Cask: Oloroso Hogshead

Age: 4 Years (Distilled 8 Dec. 2015, Bottled 13 Aug. 2020)

Nose: Leather and lacquered wood with anise, cinnamon, and salted plums; sour fruits in sticky sweet syrups, youthful and spirited, baking spices; more pepper, sesame pastries, and nuttiness with time.

Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, cask-driven notes of fruits in sticky syrup, cherries and berries, plums, tangerines, leathery, licorice with a touch of cola, peppery and spirited.

Finish: Medium to long with pepper, plums, and wood.

Score: 6 (78)

Mental Image: Pilfering the White Li Hing Plum Jar

Narrative & Notes: I may be biased here: I own a bottle of this whisky and consider the proprietor of Aloha Whisky to be a lovely whisky friend. I start with this, not because I think it has necessarily affected my review of the whisky, but because I like my entanglements to be clear so that you can decide if it seems to have played a role— either positively or negatively.

First off, I love the bottle art— I only wish the background color of the label had been black or dark blue, as I think that would help the rest of the very colorful art leap off the label. I particularly love the art because Blair Athol often reminds me of the candy jars in old-fashioned crack seed stores— a type of Chinese candy and confectionary store at one point very common in Hawaii, but less so today (though the li hing sours, plums, and assorted treats remain common even if the family recipes and methods have disappeared in some cases). All of that is to say, I think the label matches the whisky immaculately, and I appreciate it.

This was a touch wild and untamed at times—definitely youthful and full of spirited vigor. I wondered if it would not be best suited to a Highball or cocktail. A good measure of water cooled most of the heat and pepper so that more of the sweet, concentrated fruits could sing. It was not a bad whisky, especially considering the age, but it was cask-driven in a way that rarely appeals to me.

Overall, a bottle whose true value was the friends made along the way and memories of survival and perseverance during a difficult 2020—maybe that sounds a bit soft, but sometimes, the emotional valence of the bottle matters more than the flavors, and this was one of those times.