Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

Ballechin 2004 Manzanilla Cask Sample

Brutal

0 890

@markjedi1Review by @markjedi1

28th Jan 2014

0

Ballechin 2004 Manzanilla Cask Sample
  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
    ~
  • Finish
    ~
  • Balance
    ~
  • Overall
    90

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This is another work in progress that was served by Andrew at a festival in Belgium in November 2013. It is not yet on the market, but might be the new standard 10 Year Old Ballechin to be released in 2014. I cannot be sure though. It was, however, a unique opportunity to try a Ballechin (peaty Edradour) at cask strength as all releases have so far been cut to 46% ABV.

This is pure butter in the nose, deliciously fatty. Loads of yellow and red fruit, but hardly any peat. This is a very sweet Ballechin, but with a nice salty edge. With some imagination some wonderful ham appears, the cooked not the smoked variety. Chocolat. A bit farmy. A jojo of aromas, but very good. The longer you wait, the more salt and smoke appears in this grand nose. Adding water, though, makes him rather unsympathetic on plasticine and finger paint.

Sturdy arrival, bursting with ashes and peat, now. The fruit does not stand a chance. The salt, however, does shine through. Tasted blind, you would be forgiven to mistake this for a Port Charlotte. Grand and brutal. Diluted, it is even more salty.

Long, salty and spicy finish.

This is an absolutely great whisky (provided you do not add too much water). If this will be the standard for Ballachin, the brand has a bright future ahead.

Find where to buy Ballechin whisky

Related Ballechin reviews

Read more Ballechin whisky reviews

8 comments

@GotOak91
GotOak91 commented

Great reviews on the Ballechin lineup, thank you.

10 years ago 0

@vanPelt
vanPelt commented

Agreed, this has intrigued me to look into this series. I found the following, which indicates there were actually 9 releases expected: whiskyproeverijen.nl/BALLECHIN the stor… And furthermore, I realized they never released the White Burgundy... (although they did add a Marsala finished release that was not originally planned). If they do release that, then there could actually be 10 in the series!

10 years ago 0

@vanPelt
vanPelt commented

Also, it is interesting that you found this to be "a very sweet Ballechin", since Fino is supposed to be the driest variety of sherry. It sounds exquisite Do you think it seemed sweeter because of the higher cask strength that you sampled at? I wonder how your score would compare for bottling at 46%-- which seems sure to happen as with all the other releases in this series.

And...thanks for these reviews!

10 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

I couldn't say. I was surprised as well about the sweetness, but only on the nose, mind you.

10 years ago 0

@GregLogan
GregLogan commented

Are all Ballechin's smokey?

9 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

@GregLogan: yes, sir, they are.

9 years ago 0

m
maltmate302 commented

I've been considering getting a bottle of Ballechin for quite some time but I was thinking of the NAS or 10 year old. This review got me very interested in finding out a bit more about the manzanilla cask. There is actually very little information out there but I did find out that it was the star of the show at a French whisky festival. Suitably intrigued I set about locating a bottle. There wasn't any in my usual online retailers but I found one at the distillery shop.It's not exactly the same as the one in the review. Mine is also from 2004 but it was bottled in March 2016 at 55.9% . With postage this is costing me 82 pounds but it does sound like an exceptional whisky!

8 years ago 0