Edradour 9 2011 The Ultimate

I hadn’t even heard of Edradour until a short while ago, I think my introduction may have been the r/Scotch Ballechin. I liked it enough to want to try their unpeated malt and picked this up when I had an opportunity.

Edradour 9, 2011 Vintage, The Ultimate, Highland Single Malt, 57.2% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on September 10, 2011 and matured in a 1st-fill Sherry butt for 9 years and bottled on September 28, 2020 yielding 396 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Treacle; 2.0.

Nose: Weird. Other than burny molasses, there are aromas for which I have no reference.

Taste: Sherry, spice, fruit, wood.

Finish: Cedar, spice. Medium.

It’s fine, but not really for me. It’s not off-putting, and a more well-exposed smeller/taster may get much more out of it than I did, but too much is unfamiliar for me to really appreciate it.

Score: 79

Musical Evocation: Bal Sagoth – “In the Raven-Haunted Forests of Darkenhold”

r/Scotch Ballechin 11 2009

 

As soon as I’d heard r/Scotch had chosen a heavily peated cask to bottled, I was interested. When I’d read it was a brand/distillery I’d barely heard of (at best), I was invested. I grabbed a bottle when it released, and about a year later I’ve finally gotten the chance to give it a review. The Wardhead was alright even though peat is my preferred profile, and the Ardmore was pretty good, too. Let’s see if this selection tickled me, too.

Ballechin 11, 2009 Vintage, The Ultimate, Highland Single Malt, 58.3% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on August 7, 2009 and matured in cask number 180, a fist-fill Sherry butt, for 11 years and bottled on September 30, 2020 yielding 615 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Auburn, polished mahogany; 1.5.

Nose: Smoky red fruit, nutty. Slightly medicinal. 

Taste: Spice and fruit, oak, smoke.

Finish: Hot, spice, musty, nuts, ash. Long.

I quite like it. It’s always nice to try a spin on peat different than your standard Islays. I’m glad it put Ballechin on my radar, and I definitely think it’s worth exploring more. I’m also interested in getting to know unpeated Edradour, as well.

Score: 86