19/05/2025 Balblair

Balblair d.1989 (46%, OB): nose: how strange! Today, this has a mix of sliced apples and briny sea air. Soon, that is matched by a note of leather polish (a Chesterfield sofa comes to mind), and lime peels in an empty cocktail glass. If looking stubbornly, one will certainly detect a drop of orange juice too, yet that is so discreet, it is easy to overlook. Then again, leather sofas and oranges, albeit peels, often go hand in hand. It smells heady and robust, which is a bit of a surprise, perhaps. Rancio and cardboard stored in a damp-ish cellar emerge slowly but surely. The second nose is sweeter, with fruit jellies and those candied mint leaves they use to top a rum baba. There is a whisper of lukewarm diesel-riddled sea water, as welcome as it is unexected. Mouth: oh! yes, definitely oranges. This is faintly bitter, actually, and dry too. That would point at well-dried orange peels, rather than the fruit's flesh. At a push orange syrup, or thick marmalade, but certainly not juice, Chewing gives drier notes yet, desiccated mushrooms, oily old newspapers, maybe cardboard. Nuts seem to rise, after a while, oily and bitter -- almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil, macadamia, -- with a splash of orange liqueur. The second sip is even bitterer, though it does not lack in the sweetness department: candied angelica and Mandarine Napoléon fight for dominance. Finish: nuts and oranges to a degree, but, strikingly, whatever it is, it is enjoyed in a leather sofa, outdoors, facing the sea. Indeed, this claws back its briny sea air, and it is actually saltier than it was on the nose. All the same, at the death, it is fruity again, and sweeter too -- orange jellies, most likely. The second gulp has a fresh bitterness to it, which seems to confirm candied angelica. Fortunately, it is nowhere the bitter intensity of Salmiakki, yet the well-travelled taster may spot a resemblance. Yup, the orange bitterness is hesitantly heading towards that of liquorice and camphor. Thankfully, it never goes that far. This is pretty good. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, kruuk2)