Edradour Ballechin 2003 Cask #168

This official Ballechin, a 12 year old, from 2003, cask 168, at 54.9%, 288 bottles in all. Ballechin is the peated expression of Edradour, named after a long lost peated farm distillery nearby. The peated Ballechin lays heavy smoke over the rich, oily Edradour spirit.

Made from malt peated to around fifty parts per million in the tiny stills, the worm tubs lending weight to the smoke. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the rich spirit. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the smoky malt, the body fuller and oilier. Refill oak lets the rich, oily Edradour character lead the way. Signatory's wide cask range gives the small distillery an unusual variety of finishes. The tiny stills and worm tubs give an oily spirit that takes the cask well. Its peated make, Ballechin, is named after a long extinct peated farm distillery a few miles away.

At its natural 54.9% it is rich and full bodied. Peat, chocolate and a waxy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft ash and a nutty oil sit behind the cask. Peat smoke, dried fruit and a soft oak see out a long finish. This is a rich, smoky Highland single malt.