Balblair

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Balblair Single Malt – 2000 Vintage. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at The Trustee, $13.

Colour: Pale straw.

Nose: Sweet alcohol feints, touch of leather. Not too hard though (the safety word is “whisky”).

Palate: Peppery spice dominates like a leather-bound dominatrix. Has a bit of saltiness; not the sweetness I was expecting.

Finish: Long spice at the front of the mouth.

Comments: More trivia following on from yesterday’s Whisky #45. Apparently Balblair, founded in 1790, is the second oldest working distillery in Scotland.

Anyway, this is my first whisky tasting of the year in a Glencairn glass. While it may be the preferred whisky glass of connoisseurs around the world, I’m not such a fan. When I’m having a dram purely to relax and unwind, I like my whisky glasses to have heft; the Glencairn is too light & dainty for my liking. Yes the shape of the glass is designed to channel the aromas towards your nose, but if I’m having a whisky tasting my preference is a stemless glass, much like a stemless white wine glass. The Glencairn falls somewhere between the two types.