Blair Athol 12 Year Flora & Fauna

Nose: Plum pudding, clootie dumpling, Christmas cake - anything with big cereal, fruity and sherried qualities. There's also malt extract, cigarette tobacco, leather and buckets of orange zest (it's a dark preserved orange aroma - not like fresh orange juice). As it develops, the nose acquires notes of black Chinese tea (Pu-erh or Keemun - it's not as smoky as lapsang souchong), a fermented hay note, and way in the back the scent of oak cask. It's a big, full nose. Palate: Rich, creamy full-flavoured arrival. Spiced teacake, malt, dark earthy fruits. There's a strong sherry note present but it's dry rather than sweet - more amontillado or fino than oloroso, and certainly not PX). There's a smoky touch to the palate but it's not peat - ah! it's that Chinese tea again! This morphs into a cup of strong espresso with a twist of bitter orange peel, bittersweet dark chocolate, and walnuts on the side. Finish: Medium. Malty with a lingering bittersweet and dry aftertaste. The dryness of a dry sherry. A whisky that brings Glenfarclas somewhat to mind but it's drier, and there is less complexity but more density of flavour - I can only wonder what this would be like unchillfiltered, uncoloured and at 46% (probably wonderful). There is a notable heaviness to the texture, even at the comparatively low proof, and it is a satisfying dram. Don't add any water, it's not required. This is the backbone malt in Bells blended scotch, which I happen to like, so that probably accounts for my affinity to it. In many ways Blair Athol 12 is like Bells "perfected" and without a grain element. It's a good whisky, and if it was about 25% cheaper it would find a permanent place in my cabinet, however as it stands it does not quite rate 4 stars. Tasted from a 30ml sample. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

This is another Flora & Fauna bottling from Diageo: Blair Athol 12 year. This highland distillery was founded in 1798 and originally called “Aldour”. It closed the same year it opened (lol, not a good sign) but reopened in 1825. They produce 2.5 million liters annually for Bell’s blended whisky. This 12 year is the only aged statement, distillery release they have. It’s copper and gold in the Glencairn with runny legs and big, watery droplets forming around the edge of your spin. It’s bottled at 43% ABV and I believe it is chill filtered and has lots of added color. The nose is sherry, caramel and raisins up front with faint oak and orange peels rounding out the backbone. The palate is very bitter with lots of peppery oak notes. Mid sip you do get some relief in the form of orange marmalade and light sherry sweetness. It’s still slightly abrasive, even for a 43%-er. The finish is somewhat short, with oak and sawdust notes that start out oily but turn rather dry. What starts out very promising doesn’t materialize on the palate. It’s way too harsh with a quick finish that oaky and ultimately dry. The color is borderline ridiculous- it’s almost Dalmore-ish. A clear indicator that too much E150 has been used here. Thanks to my buddy @Generously_Paul for providing this sample, but I’m having a hard time rating this higher than 2.5-3 stars. It checks off another distillery, but I don’t think there’s a reason to look for anything else from these guys. Off to the blends with ye! Cheers.

Stop number 105 on the SDT is Blair Athol. A Diageo owned Highland distillery that is primarily used in Bell’s blends. This 12 year old from the Flora and Fauna series is one of the only single malt bottlings available. Bottled at 43% ABV and is chill filtered with colorant added making it a dark amber color. The nose has strong sherry and sherried fruits. Raisins, figs, dates, berries and plums. Some artificial grape and root beer notes that come and go. Honey, vanilla, syrupy sweet at times. Musty/damp oak, slightly minty, anise and licorice with a touch of maple. Salted chocolate and hazelnut, basically Nutella. Tobacco, a bit of cough syrup, pie crust and something odd, like the inside of a brand new shoe, good though. The palate has a strong but welcoming tobacco note, followed by a little spicy oak and semisweet sherry. Chocolate, toffee, vanilla, licorice. Ginger notes, herbal and some oranges oil. Plenty of raisins and dates as well. A medium light bodied mouthfeel that is oily and mouthwatering at first, but turn dry. The finish is medium length with darker sherry notes, tobacco, vanilla, licorice, raisins and turns slightly bitter towards the end. Not bad, but not great either. The sherry notes just seemed a little too dark, as if it were over cooked, if that was a thing with sherry. I’d rather stick with Tamdhu or Macallan if I wanted a sherried whisky. At $55 it’s not a bad option though. 3.25-3.5 Cheers

Nose: sweet wood, caramel, honey, quite marked licorice. Palate: very sweet, it seems to put a spoonful of honey in your mouth, also due to its oily consistency. A hidden note of milk chocolate. Light licorice, less perceptible than on the nose. I don't perceive many other flavors besides these, whisky I would say simple. Final: honey remains on the palate, to make room for a hint of spiciness. Medium short. Nothing to say, good, the best part is undoubtedly the honey palate: I look forward to trying the other 5 Flora & Fauna that I bought together .... Rating 4.00 _________________________________________________________________ Naso: legno dolce, caramello, miele, liquirizia abbastanza marcata. Palato: dolcissimo, sembra di mettersi in bocca un cucchiaio di miele, anche per la consistenza oleosa. Una nota nascosta di cioccolato al latte. Leggera liquirizia, meno percepibile che al naso. Non percepisco molti altri sapori oltre a questi, whisky direi semplice. Finale: rimane il miele sul palato, per fare spazio ad una punta di piccante. Medio breve. Nulla da dire, buono, la parte migliore è senz’altro il palato al miele: aspetto di provare gli altri 5 Flora & Fauna che ho acquistato insieme…. Voto 4,00

As a nice long Thanksgiving week comes to a close, albeit all to quick, a bookend whisky from @Generously_Paul from the SDT will be the scotch that says goodbye November and welcome December. A copper color of a fresh fresh penny sits in the glass. A fresh opening on the nose of vanilla pudding and some of standard sherried attributes: raisins, dates, plums. Nehi Grape soda with a touch of nuttiness and woodiness is detectable. There is a gentle sweetness of vanilla, honey and cream soda. What was once sweet turns mildly spicy of ginger, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. A creamy texture delivers these flavors. As the flavors fade and work towards the finish, some semi sweet chocolate chips and orange bitters. Those bitters carry through the finish. Some caramel and vanilla sweetness seeps through with some oaky dryness. A nice soulful warming ending closes the dram. This is a decent scotch that is better than most. This could easily be a workhorse, everyday dram if it was more accessible and a few dollars cheaper. Sweet and spicy, like most I have tasted, but not overly so. Not robust, but not drab either. [84/100][Tasted: 11/26/18]

A spur of the moment purchase at Lagavulin because I’d never before seen it on the shelf and also because I was maybe a little tipsy from my just-finished Laphroaig tasting. Nose is very light, and after some effort I can find pears, honey, and caramel drizzled apple slices. Approachable, but not exciting or really even interesting. Palate is creamy and full, adding crunchy toffee to the white fruits and then a dash of tart tobacco leaf (think young cigar, or Levi Garrett longleaf). Mid-palate has a pleasant surprise, adding a beefy, earthy, mushroom profile that quickly and smoothly moves to a dry, clean close. Absolutely unobjectionable in every way. Some may say boring or bland, me included. At least, for a while. But as the whisky sits in the glass and I go back to it for follow-up sips, it grows on me. What started as smooth and borderline plain now has some heft; a meaty undercurrent of brine and dark fowl and umami and a peaty/earth funk at the close that lingers just long enough to keep me intrigued without overpowering all the other flavors. It’s maybe not for everyone, but it is certainly worth a go if you find it in a bar.