Edradour Ballechin 19-year-old (D.2004, B.2023) Madeira Cask Matured / 53.5% / 0.7l

Ballechin Distillery was built in 1810 in Perthshire by a group of local farmers.

It was a small operation, with a production capacity of around 90,000 litres of spirit per year. Ballechin last distilled in 1927, and the last casks of whisky disappeared from storage six years later. In 2002, Andrew Symington purchased the Edradour Distillery and began producing small batches of malt spirit with a phenol concentration of 50ppm; in 2006 it would be presented as Ballechin single malt. Like the standard Edradour, Ballechin experiences annual limited editions. Distilled in May 2004, this whisky spent almost two decades in two Madeira puncheon casks (Nos. 184 and 189). The whisky was bottled at cask strength (53.5% abv) and without chill filtration on 5 July 2023 in an edition of 1,323 bottles.

Nose: peat smoke, vanilla, milk fudge, buttery croissant, blackcurrants, plums, orange peel, mocha, a touch of cinnamon, a handful of herbs and oak.

Palate: honey, brown sugar, raisins and sultanas, plums, blood oranges, vanilla, milk chocolate, walnuts, cinnamon, a pinch of pepper and peat smoke in the background.

Finish: quite long, with notes of peat smoke, dried fruit, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cloves and oak.