Family Heritage & 2016 Single Cask | Various ABV
In Conclusion
For our dear readers who remember my last write-up praising the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection, they may recall that I discussed at length the tribulations of a tough work project consuming my waking hours for weeks.
I was in the thick of it then. To be honest, I’m not sure how I found the headspace to clack out that wee whisky novella (my dedication to the Dramface faithful goes deep) and although it seems a lifetime has passed since then, as of this writing, it was a mere eighteen days ago. A tribute to the time compression we experience during periods of great stress, but also, how hours and minutes and days and weeks are but human concepts. It’s all arbitrary. The construct versus the feeling, there’s no way to accurately measure the passage of time, it’s just vibes.
I’ll leave the philosophical ruminations for another time. This isn’t meant to be a decomposition of our human need to measure moments and experiences linearly and how they relate to the spin of the Earth or the passing of a day, this is meant to be a celebration.
Because, well, we did it. Project concluded. Work finished.
In the words of Frodo Baggins: “It’s done”. And although I felt at times like a parched and weakened hobbit, pushed to the point of mental breaking, I was never under the sway of an evil power (well maybe only slightly), and I still have all my fingers, but I fully understand that feeling of great relief when a massive burden has finally been lifted.
We completed the task, and well.
And like my dear hobbit brethren, I know that means it’s time to celebrate.
As a business owner whose work can be seasonal - and with this mammoth project completed - I’m actually able to clear my calendar for the remainder of the year, give respite to my team and vendors, and plan some good ol’ fashioned mirth making, which of course means, bring on the pours!
Speaking of celebrations. Before I get into these two triumphal whiskies from another new-ish distillery I’ve been enjoying - that's not the Ardna’ twins ‘hoe and ‘murchan, I’d like to share a point of personal privilege.
In a few days’ time I’ll be wheels up, crossing continents and oceans, and off to Scotland. The birth of my whisky journey and into a trip I’ve been planning for the better part of a year.
I’ve known since January that the Glasgow Whisky Festival would be the weekend after our big project deadline, so it’s been circled on the calendar for more reasons than one. Since last year’s epic festival write-up by Dramface’s own inimitable Dougie Crystal, attending the festival has been a bucket list item. Add on to the fact that said write-up (among a couple of others from last year) also kindled my dream of writing for this illustrious website, and well… it all goes on the celebration pile.
There’s been plenty of build-up to this event. Many of the Dramface Colonials, with whom I have also formed close kinship and I now consider more than just comrades-in-whisky-arms, will also be in attendance. A gathering for the ages. Lore shall be written and songs shall be sung of this moment.
And that’s in addition to all the other experiences surrounding the festival itself. The bottle shares, the dinners, the tastings, sign me up for all of it. Ogilvie encapsulated everything perfectly in his latest. It’s hard to fail any time whisky and fellowship are involved.
I even pegged on a couple weeks of solo road trip action on the Western Coast of Scotland for good measure. (More on that to come…).
I needed all of this to look forward to as I slaved away in the proverbial salt mines. Of course, it was important to stay focused, and I let important items in my life like whisky writing, spending time with family, or getting a full night’s restful sleep, temporarily lapse until the project was completed. But I always knew at some point it would end. And it did.
And with that conclusion brings equal parts relief and joy, mixed with eager anticipation of the celebration to come.
So let’s raise a glass! Or two.
Review 1/2
Ballindalloch “Family Heritage Selection”, NAS, US Exclusive Release, matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and first-fill sherry butts, 50% ABV
US$105 paid, (£78)
Ballindalloch is a new-ish distillery that’s part of the crop of mid-2010’s adolescents whose maturing stocks are now cresting their tweens. Less well-known as some of the other more famous ones with higher production like Daftmill or Aberargie, this distillery follows that same single-estate, farm-to-bottle ethos, but on a smaller scale. According to the Malt Whisky Yearbook, their maximum output is only 100,000 liters a year with their actual production only being around 50-75,000 liters.
Ballindalloch checks all the boxes: rich history that dates back to 1457, an actual freakin’ caste on the grounds, family-run-everything-done-by-hand-small-batch craft production, estate-grown barley, a full working farm distillery (the draff feeds the estate’s famous Aberdeen Angus cattle herd), long, slow fermentation, wooden washbacks, worm tubs - a whisky nerds dream.
Part of the reason I’m highlighting these bottles today (aside from the fact they deserve their due) is the Ballindalloch crew made a big push into the U.S. recently. Their brand ambassador was actually in Southern California a couple weeks ago - a mere hour away in Los Angeles traffic (we call that “nothing” ‘round here) but sadly ol’ Archie was still toiling under piles of work and couldn’t play hooky to savor some sweet Speyside goodness.
Still, I was inspired, and the bottles came out so I could “dram along” in spirit with some of those who attended their events. Notes were checked and scribbled and compiled and the laptop was fired up for non-work-related purposes for the first time in weeks. It felt good.
The first bottle under discussion is the first U.S exclusive release, the “Family Heritage Selection,” featuring Laureate Spring Barley grown on-site and all the crafted-by-hand, small-batch production methods listed above. There’s no-age statement, but the marketing of this release uses the phrase “after more than a decade of patient maturation…” so it’s assumed to be 10 years old.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Creamy Speyside goodness
Nose
Doughy maltiness. Apple strudel. Pineapple pastry filling. Juicy tropical fruits. Sweet and creamy as well. At first, it’s apples and tropical fruits, but with time there’s more melons and peaches. A whole fruit salad. Yellow cake frosting. Lemon tart. French vanilla. With time there’s a light savoriness along with Springtime flowers. Apple pie spice. Cookie crumble. There’s a weightiness here too; a metallic tang I often get with worm tub whiskies that I find delightful. Adds character and complexity.
Water brings out more of the floral notes - it’s lighter and breezier, yellow flowers and clean linen, but also white chocolate, Greek yogurt, and marshmallows. A dry woodiness and slight dustiness also appears along with peeled oranges and Strawberry Pop Tarts.
Palate
Malty sweet. More apple pie, specifically pie crust and heaps of creaminess. Lovely mouthfeel and texture. Strawberry shortcake. Dreyer’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Buttered biscuits. More pineapple. Water adds loads of extra juiciness here and sweet breakfast cereal notes (I’m getting Cookie Crisp and Fruity Pebbles), peach cobbler, and orange marmalade. The finish is cereal-ey and malty with a sweet nuttiness here also, more dessert notes come out with hints of chocolate mousse, pecan pralines, Hostess Honey Buns, and strawberry yogurt.
The Dregs
For being both first-fill sherry and bourbon matured, I expected to get hit by more cask notes, instead that influence seems muted and it’s more distillate led than I would have guessed, which earns high marks from me. Although it’s quite fruit forward (which I also like) there’s a creamy maltiness and heaps of cereal and cake notes beneath the initial fruit bomb impression that delivers both balance and depth. The sherry cask influence finally hits on the finish when those lovely dessert notes arrive.
This one benefitted from some time and I’ll admit at first I wasn’t all too impressed by it, but like so many other whiskies, given some time, air, and multiple passes under the schnoz, its layered complexity came alive and I believe it earns it’s “very good” moniker.
A winner from the folks at Ballindalloch. I hope to share it widely!
Score: 7/10
Review 2/2
Ballindalloch 2016 8yo, Single Cask, matured in a bourbon hogshead, 62.4% ABV
US$100 paid, (£75)
I’m going in “reverse autobiographical order” as this was the first Ballindalloch expression I tried. It was marked down on a website a couple of years ago and I felt a punt was in order. It’s been on the front of my shelf ever since. This was the first bottle that turned me into a Ballindalloch Believer or “Ball-liever” (trademark pending) for short, and I’ve shared it with others in the Archie Sample Network, converting more “Ball-lievers” along the way.
The second bottle I received, the “Lagmore” from Living Souls that I also quite enjoyed (and secured a backup) received its own Archie treatment here.
Unlike the first expression and the “Lagmore”, which are both vatted releases, this is drawn from a single bourbon hogshead and limited to just 305 bottles. It has a 2016 vintage and was bottled in 2024, giving it an 8-year age statement.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
Soft and punchy at the same time, a snapshot of this distillery in a dram
Nose
Right away just bursting with fresh orchard fruits. Ripe green apples. Sliced pears. Also, banana peels. Torani Pineapple syrup. There’s a soft, shop class kind of wood spice, like cut lumber or balsa wood. Yellow gummy bears. Kiwi fruit. Mango. Melon rinds. Just a bushel of fruits - I even got some green table grapes. Lots of fresh-squeezed juiciness. With time and air there’s caramel cereal bars, butterscotch hard candy, and a light honey sweetness.
Water brings yellow apples and berry smoothies. Sweet and woody. Greek yogurt. Garden herbs. There are floral aromas that develop like plucked flower stems and soft, almost perfume-ey violets. The metallic tang is more in the background here, but it builds over time, especially with water.
Palate
Oh, she hot, but another explosion of fruit juiciness. Fruit by the foot. Apple Jacks cereal. Gushers candy. Green caramel apple pops. A biscuity maltiness. The mouthfeel is good, and despite the fierceness of the high ABV, this feels more rounded and mature than the age statement would suggest. Creamy and sweet. Hints of white chocolate and Kozy Shack Vanilla Pudding. Water brings out more sweetness like caramel drizzle, butterscotch, rich toffee, and notes of wood spice again. Green apple skins. Lemon cheesecake. There’s a biscuity, buttery thickness and a syrupy richness on the finish along with a peppery spiciness that just might be the heat of this dram presenting itself again at the end.
I wouldn’t say the high ABV takes away from the enjoyment. Playing with water helps develop new notes and bring balance while making that creamy fruitiness front and center and while also bringing out those vibrant fresh fruit and floral notes; there’s loads of engagement here.
The Dregs
I remember my first pour of this. I was less head-first into my whisky journey then, but I have in my notes, “doesn’t feel 62% ABV.” There’s still a bit of zip on this for sure, but my big takeaway was and is, the softness of this dram. Despite the big fruitiness and those wood notes apparent throughout, there’s a delicacy here and a roundness to the spirit that really elevates this whisky. A tribute to the craftsmanship of the folks over at Ballindalloch and the care they put into their production.
I think the biggest complaint I’ve heard against Ballindalloch is the cost. Like their new-wave worm tubby brethren over at Ardnahoe, the asking price for their releases is in higher territory - and for “young” whisky to boot. My proclivities on this subject have been laid out in previous spins: good whisky is good whisky.
This is true “hand crafted” whisky, the kind of description other distilleries can only put into marketing campaigns. Lacking a core range, releasing small outturns, and without any mechanized mass-production, it’s not getting into punter-friendly territory any time soon. But for those looking for something unique and hoping to support a true farm-to-bottle distillery doing everything “the right way”, then pour up a Ballindalloch. It won’t disappoint.
Score: 7/10
The Final Dregs
I realise I buried the lede here regarding my upcoming trip this weekend to the motherland. Ogilvie hit most of my same thoughts in his most recent piece. I cannae wait to see everyone in person. Period.
I was so overcome with relief at the conclusion of my recent work project, I could barely think to the days and weeks ahead. But after reading Ogilvie’s latest, the anticipation and excitement have finally hit. I’ll do my best to capture the moments as they come.
Where one chapter has concluded, another begins.
AD
Is it a little quiet around here?
At the point of this article’s publication (almost all of) the team are headed towards Glasgow for the festival weekend.
It’ll mean things go a little dark over the coming days. We’ll return to regular scheduling soon with tales to tell and whiskies to share.
Thanks for your understanding. WMc
Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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At the point of this article’s publication, Ballindalloch does not currently appear in the Dramface Top 40.
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