Single Malt Whisky, Scotland/Speyside

Based out of Speyside, Murray McDavid stores over 70,000 casks at the Royal Brackla Distillery, Coleburn Distillery (closed in 1985) and Kinloss. Its whiskies are hand-bottled at the Dandaleith Craft Bottling Hall in Craigellachie. This version whisks us away to the Balmenach Distillery established by James McGregor in 1824 within striking distance of Grantown-on-Spey, deep in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park. Resting on an underlayer of zesty, herbaceous, malted bitterness, its flavour and aroma palette stands out in its delicate fruity profile and artful use of refined spices.

Nose: Fine, fresh. A multilayered medley of vanilla-infused, fruity (pineapple), herbaceous (hay), honey (acacia) and menthol notes, intertwined in a decidedly ‘Speyside’ feel. Allowed to breathe, wafts of porridge, liquorice, wax and iris trail off into voluptuous headiness lifted by a bracing, saline breeze.

Palate: Lively, distinguished. Tangy (lemon zest, grapefruit) and juicy (pear, Golden Delicious), little by little the flavour palette eases into a harmony of liquorice, vanilla, gentian and spices (cinnamon, ginger), gradually becoming coated in a fine layer of powdered notes perfected by mouth-watering rice cake.

Overall: Rich, concentrated. Elegant herbaceous and heavily infused notes (tobacco, sage) pave the way for a wave of spring like freshness. Simultaneously tropical (pineapple, banana), lemony and resinous, the retro-nasal olfaction here is a faithful rendering of the nose and palate, while the empty glass is an ode to this Balmenach‘s signature maltiness.