Can one talk of lines, shapes and curves when describing a bottle? I believe so!
No other words can describe the attractive bold curves of Old Ballantruan aged 10 years. The Bottle has a unique dark antique green colour with water-slide transfer labelling conveying a unique blend of the vintage contemporary experience. Each bottle is packaged individually in a striking carton; reflecting the colours of natural peat burnt during the malt drying process.
Needless to say, its contents are as good as its packaging – in this case, I think we can safely say “Judge a book by its cover!”.
Old Ballantruan retains the smoky phenolic notes that characterise Islay malts but in the background there is a slight sweetness associated with the normal Tomintoul “unpeated” whiskies, attributed to the distillation process. This has created a mature peated Scotch whisky of exceptional quality from the prestigious Speyside Glenlivet region.
This 10 year old release is bottled at 50% abv and unchillfiltered. The majority of whisky brands are bottled at 40% abv and are chill filtered prior to the bottling thus removing the fatty esters which would turn the whisky slightly hazy. There is a suggestion that chill filtration removes some of the congener profile from the whisky and that by not chill filtering it, the whisky retains more flavour.
Above 46% abv the haze elements are not apparent therefore unchillfiltered whiskies, including Old Ballantruan, are preferably bottled at higher strengths. The 50% target was selected as being rather unique like its liquid, a peated single malt from the Speyside Glenlivet region!
Tasting Notes;
Colour: Rich gold
Nose: Gently spicy with smokey “peat-reek” deliciously balanced by a sweeter creamy core
Palate: Some gentle peaty smokiness equipoised with a sweet, creamy, malty backbone
Finish: Climbing finish of sweetness gradually replaced with smokey depth
