The Basics:
Do I recommend it?: Yes.
Availability: Limited availability at some UK specialty retail.
ABV: 46%
Presentation: Unchillfiltered
General information: First fill bourbon and first fill ex-sherry
Bottling type: Proprietary
Character: Floral, fruity and creamy.
Score: 88/100
The details:
One would be forgiven for wondering if Speyside is populated by nothing but Grants: One Grant family founded the Glen Grant distillery in Rothes; another, the Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries in Dufftown; yet another owns Glenfarclas, on the slopes of Benrinnes. Now the Macpherson-Grant family, owners of Ballindalloch Castle since it was built in 1546, have built a distillery on their estate.
The family has had dealings with the whisky industry for some time: in 1869 they leased a portion of the estate to distiller John Smith to build the Cragganmore distillery. When Smith died in 1923, the family became joint owners of Cragganmore along with White Horse Distillers; they finally sold their stake to DCL in the mid-1960s.
In 2011, the Macpherson-Grants re-entered the distilling business and began construction of the Ballindalloch distillery on the castle grounds. The distillery began production in 2014 and uses barley grown on the estate. Unlike many new distilleries who bring their spirit to market the moment it is legally whisky (and sometimes sooner, in the form of gin or minimally aged spirit!), Ballindalloch waited 8 long years before bottling any of their whisky.
This lovely little 2015 vintage bottled at about 8 years old won’t appeal to everyone: there’s no peat in sight, and despite some maturation in sherry, any influence from sherry casks feels muted. That said, it’s an excellent floral, fruity, creamy whisky, and if you’re someone looking to expand their horizons into lighter, more delicate whiskies, this is an excellent place to start. Lovely whisky, and I’m excited to see what they’ll come up with as their spirit continues to mature.
Ballindalloch 2015, 46% abv
Bottling Information:
Expression: 2015 vintage
Bottler: Proprietor
Range: n/a
Bottle Code: n/a
Presentation: Unchillfiltered
Details: Distilled 2015-Bottled 2024; matured in first fill ex-bourbon and first fill sherry
Price: $90
Availability: Limited availability at some UK-based online retailers, for example The Whisky World.
Distillery Information:
Region: Speyside
Location: Ballindalloch, Morayshire
Geography: Inland
Date Founded: 2014
Owner: Ballindalloch Distillery LLC
Website: https://www.ballindallochdistillery.com/
Capacity: 100,000
Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Semi-Lauter; WASHBACKS: 4 Wood; STILLS: 2; HEAT SOURCE: Steam; CONDENSER: Worm tub
Total expressions sampled: 1
Overall distillery score: n/a
Tasting notes:
Nose: Fragrant, floral, sweet and rather creamy. Lots of clean cereal, freshly cut grass, carnations, sweet barley. Becoming fruitier with traces of green apple and tropical fruit, especially pineapple and melon.
Body: Medium, creamy.
Palate: Creamy and sweet with a slight citric tang. Sweet roll with orange icing and notes of limeade. Mid-palate, there’s a slight hint of dried grass and then another burst of melon and bubblegum sweetness.
Finish: Longish, sweet and fruity; lychee. Still quite creamy.
Score: 88/100
Who should buy it?: Lovers of floral whiskies, people looking to try excellent whisky on the lighter end of the spectrum.
Overall thoughts: A charming, floral, fruity whisky that is excellent in its own right and shows great promise for the future of this brand new Speyside distillery.
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