Blair Athol 11-year-old (D.2011, B.2023) Signatory Vintage / 46% / 0.7l

Signatory Vintage, founded in 1988 by Andrew and Brian Symington, is a leading independent publisher and distributor of whisky.

Few people remember that Symington started with just £100,000 and nearly went bankrupt several times in the first five years of operation. The name “Signatory” means “signatory” and Symington originally intended to hire someone famous to sign each edition on the label. The first cask of whisky bottled by Signatory was Glenlivet 1968, but before the company found the right signatory, there was no trace of the whisky. The Blair Athol presented here, distilled on 30 September 2011, spent 11 years in four re-charred hogsheads and was bottled at 46% abv in January 2023, in the popular The Un-chillfiltered Collection.

Nose : barley malt, honey, vanilla, burnt buttered toast, nougat, orange peel, dark grapes, white pepper, damp gravel and charred oak.

Palate: caramel, vanilla, maple syrup, honey-roasted nuts, oranges, pink grapefruits, lemon jam, a touch of pepper and cinnamon and oak.

Finish : medium long, with notes of honey, caramel, fruit candy, white pepper, lemongrass and oak.