A heavily peated malt for a Speyside distillery, bottled at higher proof, Old Ballantruan is an unusually peated single malt from the Tomintoul distillery.
The nose is full and rich. There are notes of vanilla fudge and chewy toffee with shades of dried herbs and crème de cacao. There are notes of gentle peat and creosote with a touch of menthol and notes of malt extract. The palate is full and punchy. There are notes of barley sugar and toasted cereals, a cardboard note with hints of vanilla fudge and notes of chewy dark peat. There are tones of lemon marmalade and herbs. The finish is long and smooth with notes of soft wood smoke and barley sugar enriched peat.
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50% strong, but that can be ignored, for the sweet vanilla notes make it extremely enjoyable to drink as it is. To me it's really the perfect combination of peat vanilla. To hold in your mouth for a long time makes it even more worthwhile. If your able to breath out through your nose, while holding the whisky in your mouth, you'll notice another explosion of the perfect taste. Critical remark: The 10 yr old isn't half as good as the no-age Old Ballantruan.
I have to admit, on first nose I wasn't taken with this whisky but upon adding a few drops of water the nose opens right up and delivers vanilla fudge in a big way! This is a peaty speyside with very little smoke. Imagine taking an Ileach (non cask-strength) and removing all smoke, throw in a vanilla sweetness and you have this Tomintoul gem!
I discovered this only last week and have just ordered another 4 bottles. What a great find. Its fiery and chewy but not phenolic. A real surprise and highly enjoyable. A lot of taste for nearer £20 if you shop around hence my high rating.
