The forgotten child of Speyside: Balmenach

Balmenach Distillery could well be one of the lesser known operations in Speyside and the whole of Scotland. When it comes to whisky anyway, because Balmenach is making name for itself with their successful Caorunn gin products. You can now even visit the distillery! Strangely enough, not a word is spoken about the whisky production on location. That is a huge pity, because the whisky can be very interesting. It is rather meaty, lots of backbone, not your typical lightweight style that is produced in such large quantities in the region. For me, Balmenach ranks in the same category as Dailuaine, Benromach, Mortlach and Benrinnes. Strong ingredients for if you want your blend to have lots of character, which probably is the reason that the owners do not release an official Balmenach. It is an highly sought after ingredient.

Whiskybase shows not more than six official bottlings, of which three are batches from Flora & Fauna series. I was lucky to add this bottle (finally!) to my collection last year. It is a rare beast indeed. Where you could try your luck, is with the independents. We will taste one today. But if you are into decent sherried whisky, it is worth looking for older bottlings under the Deerstalker label. Those are quite nice, not unlike good sherried Glenfarclas.

Balmenach 2012, 12 years old, bottled at 54,6 % by Archives

Makeup: Just 163 bottles in The Fishes of Samoa series by Archives. Distilled on 21 May 2012 and bottled on 18 June 2024. Maturation took place in first fill bourbon barrel #480.

General impressions: Consistent with other Balmenach expressions I have tasted, albeit that most of them were matured in sherry casks. There is this very clear hint of copper, old coins, slight sulphury notes and very dark bread. This all continues seamlessly onto the palate. I like it when a whisky delivers on its promise. Very much “Dailuaine” in style, if you get what I mean. Quite heavy in spirit, really punching a hole in your senses. Smooth exit though. With water, you can bring out more freshness from the meadow, so grassy notes, orchard notes but not the regular fruits, more in the lines of plums and Mirabelle. 

No discernable off-notes, which is not a given with Balmenach, in my (limited) experience. This is just lovely, fruity single malt, but not a simple one. The taste really improves from the added water, washing away some of those old coins and replacing it with vanilla, rye bread and the smallest hint of chocolate.

Conclusion: With this character, Balmenach could well be an asset as a regularly available single malt whisky, filling the gap somewhere between Clynelish and the lighter style Speyside whisky.   

Score: 87 points

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