{"product_id":"blair-athol-16-year-old-master-of-malt-release-70cl","title":"Blair Athol 16 Year Old Master Of Malt Release Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003eBlair Athol 16 Year Old Master Of Malt Release 70cl\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrilliant Blair Athol single malt here, and it joins our exclusive Master of Malt Single Cask collection. The whisky spent 16 years in a refill hogshead between August 2006 and July 2023, yielding a total outturn of 316 bottles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTasting Notes\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNose : Slick layers of caramel and biscuity malt are joined by oaken vanilla and buttery shortbread.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePalate : Toasted oak and roasted malt lead to buttery biscuits and milk chocolate, with sweet sultanas and vanilla fudge joining a gingerbread in the depths.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinish : Sweet toffee lingers, joined by a touch of leathery oak, delicate spice, and fruity flapjack.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout Blair Athol\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA member of the ‘nutty-spicy’ camp which defined the old Bell’s distilleries, Blair Athol takes the first part of the descriptor to its boldest expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCloudy worts and a short fermentation time give the nutty base, but it is distillation which adds real weight to the distillate. A controlled level of solids coming across in the wash still add a rich, deep, malt-loaf character to the new make. It is this character which allows it to show so well in ex-Sherry, although for blending purposes the majority of the make is destined for ex-Bourbon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe central Perthshire town of Pitlochry sits on the banks of the River Tay and has had a distillery since 1798, making its plant one of the oldest legal whisky-making sites in Scotland. The original distillery was named Aldour after the burn which supplied it with process water, but changed its name to Blair Athol [after a village seven miles to the north] in 1825. This could conceivably have been to sweeten the Duke of Athol who owned the land\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt became part of the Peter Mackenzie blending house in 1886, but like many distilleries suffered during the economic troubles of the 1930s and fell silent between 1932 and 1949. In the interim period however Mackenzie (and its estate, which also included Dufftown distillery) had been bought by Perth-based blender, Arthur Bell \u0026amp; Sons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the 1970s, Bell’s was being built into the UK’s top-selling blended Scotch and, as a result, Blair Athol was doubled in capacity. Guinness (which bought Bell’s in 1985, and after further mergers evolved into Diageo) opened a visitor’s centre in 1987.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn an attempt to tap into the then infant single malt market, Bell’s bottled it as an eight-year-old in the 1980s, but in the Diageo era it has only appeared as a member of the Flora \u0026amp; Fauna range (at 12 years of age), matured in first-fill ex-Sherry casks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e52.8% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Blair Athol","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54686719836485,"sku":"5052598291853","price":79.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9495\/8661\/files\/4055405851.jpg?v=1746546285","url":"https:\/\/b1yyjg-bk.myshopify.com\/products\/blair-athol-16-year-old-master-of-malt-release-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation Old","version":"1.0","type":"link"}