Balblair vintage 2005 and Tomatin 12 years

Let us leave Italy and wine and go to Scotland for whisky. I will look into two releases from two less known distilleries Balblair and Tomatin.

First up is Balblair and the Balblair 2005, Balblair is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and was founded in 1790. Balblair is owned by Inver House and is located in the northern Highlands north of Inverness. Bablair differs from other distilleries in that they only bottle vintages. So the vintage that I have tried is their 2005 and it was bottled in 2015, so it is approximately 10 years old. It is natural colour and is non chill-filtered. I have to say that the box is very beautiful and that the bottle shape is a delight to see as it show the contents very well and one can see the natural colour of the whisky very well.
The colour of this whisky is a bit lighter and one can see that bourbon barrels have been used for maturing the whisky.
The nose of the Balblair 2005 is some oak and vanilla with green apples and almost some toffee.
The taste is a delight. One gets a citrus with toffee and some spices. A medium finish that lingers.
I like this whisky very much and I have to try other vintages. Because one can find old vintages and not become ruined as both the 1999 and the 1990 are reasonably priced.

Next up is the Tomatin 12 years. Tomatin is owned by japanese owners Takara Shuzo and Tomatin is situated south east of Inverness. Tomatin is also the one of the highest situated distillery in Scotland. they are also very open with their whiskies and have a wide range available. They call themselves the softer side of the highlands.
The 12 year old whisky is matured in ex bourbon barrels and sherry casks. The nose has a fruity aroma. The taste has a definitive taste of apples which seem to be the distillery character followed by oranges and oak. This is a smooth whisky and has a very good price, definately softer side of the Highlands.

If you have the chance, visit the Highlands in Scotland, it is such a beautiful place and if you have the time, visit a distillery.

Glenfarclas 12 and Laphroaig 10

I have been trying to find a lighter single malt whisky but still one that has a character. One that I have tried is the Glenfarclas 12 year old from the Glenfarclas distillery. It is a family owned distillery owned by the Grant family since 1865 making it one of the few independent distilleries in Scotland. The nose is of sherry and some fruit. The taste is of sherry, some oak, fruits and is a bit sweet. The aftertaste which is quite short consists of sherry. For me the balance is a bit off for this bottling, I think it would need a couple of more years in the barrel. But lucky for me I also have a 17 year old Glenfarclas to try at home.

Going from the lighter whisky to Islay home of the peated whiskies. Laphroiag is one of the first whiskies I ever drank and I have good memories of it. Their flag bearer is the 10 year old. The smell is some smoke with a medicinal character. The taste is of smoke, iodine, some tar. The finish is long with smoke and the medicinal iodine. Very good. But still I say that the Cask Strength 10 year old is the better ten year old.