Balblair

Balblair is an exciting, non-smoky single malt whisky from the North Highlands in Scotland. Founded in 1790, the distillery is one of the oldest still active whisky distilleries in Scotland. Despite the high quality of its whiskies, Balblair almost keeps a low profile compared to its famous neighbouring distilleries Glenmorangie and Dalmore. Balblair, with its creamy and spicy character, is still more of a Scotch insider tip. Unfortunately, the availability of this extremely interesting Highland malt varies greatly. From time to time, however, casks appear from independent bottlers. Check out our shop to see if you can get your hands on a Balblair. It's worth it!

From vintage to standard

Balblair pursued a rather unusual product philosophy for the whisky world for many years. The Balblair single malts have been sold as vintage bottlings, i.e. vintage whiskies, since 2007. Normally, casks from different years are always "married" together for the distillery bottlings. This is done in order to be able to offer a whisky that is as consistent as possible over the years. This is because the malt develops differently from cask to cask, from year to year. This policy of vintage bottlings has now been overturned and the company has switched to the usual bottling with age statements. It's a bit of a shame, because the vintage concept was an exciting addition to the classic age statement whiskies for whisky lovers. But the many versions were probably too confusing in the end. Balblair remains an enormously exciting, aromatic and creamy Highland whisky. In the shadow of its big neighbours Glenmorangie and Dalmore, Balblair produces a great non-smoky Highland single malt. A visit to the distillery is highly recommended!

What does Balblair mean? The translation is "settlement on the plain".

Where is Balblair located? The Balblair Distillery is located in the northern Highlands in Edderton, not far from the Dornoch Firth. #

3 reasons to love Balblair

1) Because the year of birth alone deserves respect.
2) Because the North Highlands can be so delicious.
3) Because the town of Edderton is known for peat, but Balblair has its own style.

What does Balblair whisky taste like?

Balblair is a very interesting Scotch whisky. Because it has its own character and is difficult to pigeonhole into a flavour corner. The single malt from Blablair is very aromatic and creamy on the palate on the one hand, while on the other it often has a lot of spices and a slight chilli catch. Balblair draws strong vanilla tones and notes of pear juice from ex-bourbon casks. With age, especially in sherry casks, Balblair gains an enormous depth of flavour, which can range from cigar box to wild berries and liquorice. The basic character is powerful and spicy and remains so even at an advanced age.

Our Balblair recommendation

The Balblair 12 year old shows the vanilla-sweet side of the distillery well. If you like the influence of sherry in whisky, go for the Balblair 15 year old or Balblair 18 year old.

A little history on Balblair

The original Balblair Distillery was established by John Ross in 1790. After his death, his son Andrew took over the distillery. In 1872, he added new buildings to the site, turning the old ones into warehouses. When Andrew Ross died in 1873, his son James Ross continued to run the distillery. In 1894, the distillery passed to tenant Alexander Cowan, who rebuilt it a few kilometres from the original site. Economic problems forced Cowan to close the distillery in 1911. In 1948, Robert Cumming, a solicitor from Keith, acquired Balblair and resumed production a year later. In 1970, Cumming sold the distillery to Hiram Walker, who merged with Allied Vintners in 1988 to form Allied Distillers (later Allied Domecq). Since 1996, Balblair has belonged to Inver House Distillers, which in turn is part of Thai Beverages plc. Balblair's single malt is an important component of the successful Ballantine blend.

Figures & Facts about Balblair

Address: Edderton, Tain, Ross-shire IV19 1LB

Founded: 1790 by John Ross

Status: active

Owner: Inver House Distillers (Thai Beverages plc)

Capacity: approx. 1,800.000 litres

1 wash still (19.093 l)

1 spirit still (11.044 l)

Water: Ault Dearg Burn

Visitor Centre: yes

Phone: +44 (0)1862 - 821273

Website: www.balblair.com