1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
$161.99
This 2011 vintage Balblair was was bottled at 53.4% after maturing 12 years in Refill Sherry.
700 mlBalblair is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries. The official founding of the distillery was in 1790, by a local man named John Ross. There are records though that indicate the distillery may have been operating on its original location, as far back as 1749. Built near Edderton, the original distillery was moved a half a mile north in 1895, to make better use of the Inverness to Ardgay rail line. The distillery operated until 1911 when tough economic times forced its closure. It would not reopen until 1949.
The distillery was expanded twice in the 20th century, to take advantage of the boom in demand for Scotch whisky in the 1960s and 1970s. A major expansion took place in 1964, followed by extensive improvements in the 1980s. The distillery was owned by Hiram Walker from 1970 until 1996. In 1996 the distillery was sold to Inverhouse Distillers, who already owned Old Pulteney and Knockdhu (anCnoc) Distilleries. They would later add Balmenach before that firm was itself sold to a beverage industry giant now known as Thai Beverage Inc.
Balblair recently rebranded, moving to age statements and away from vintage concept bottlings. Independent bottlings of Balblair are increasingly rare, with the exception of Gordon Macphail and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.