Review by: dustbunna

Here is an archived review, as this was a random pickup almost a year ago— a whisky that turned out to be the last bottle standing while I packed up and prepared for a move at the beginning of the summer of 2022. I shared it widely, and burned through it pretty quickly. This Blair Athol came from at least two casks, possibly more— matured in a combination of refill sherry hogshead(s) and refill sherry butt(s). Unusually for Gordon & Macphail, it carries an age statement instead of a vintage, and that’s about all the info I could find about it, besides that it had sat on a shelf for nearly a decade… 

This was a distillery that had slipped under my radar thus far (it’s another Diageo workhorse, the bulk of which makes up the malt component of Bell’s) and I’m always up for a $65 independent bottling that helps me explore a bit more.

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Distillery: Blair Athol.

Bottler: Gordon & Macphail.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 46%.

Age: 9 years. Bottled in 2014.

Cask type: 50% sherry hogsheads, 50% sherry butts.

Price: $65 USD.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 2 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.

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Nose: intensely leafy and green at first, orange peel, baking spices, gummy candies, forest floor, matchsticks, applesauce.

Palate: medium-thin body ~ more leafiness, old papers, minerals, apple skins, minerals intensify. 

Finish: medium length ~ roasted nuts, more orange peel, marshmallow, sweetens more with green apple and watermelon candy, flint, flattens out a bit at the heel. 

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Conclusion: This started out pretty nice, easily drinkable but with interesting notes popping out here and there. For a 9-year-old whisky, it definitely holds its own as it develops, picking up some complexity through the sweeter notes, minerals, and a hint of matchstick sulfur on the nose. This is simply good whisky, not mind-blowing, quite enjoyable, a fun one-off exploration. 

G&M has a reputation, especially amongst the CS lines, for really good maturation in refill sherry casks, and I can see some of the outline of that here— it’s a different, more subtle experience than first-fill maturation, which sometimes can overwhelm the spirit. I guess I ought to go seek out some more refill sherry (and some more Blair Athol, for that matter.)

Final Score: 80.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.