Edradour Ballechin 2007 Cask #176

This official Ballechin, a 12 year old, from 2007, cask 176, at 59.1%, 299 bottles in all. Ballechin is the smoky side of Edradour, a heavily peated malt from Pitlochry. It was founded in 1825, growing out of an old farmers' cooperative in the glen above Pitlochry.

The spirit was run through the small stills, the peat smoke carried into a rich, oily make, 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. Ben Vrackie water and a long ferment give the rich Edradour make. It is one of the smallest traditional distilleries in Scotland, long run by just two or three hands. Maturation in the dunnage warehouses at Pitlochry is slow and steady. The tiny stills and worm tubs give an oily spirit that takes the cask well.

At cask strength 59.1% it is big and oily. Soft ash, dried fruit and a creamy malt, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath the smoke run dried fruit, chocolate and a soft oil. A rich finish ends on soft ash and dried fruit. This is Ballechin, Edradour's peated single malt.