2005 Ballechin (Peated Edradour) 10 Year Old K&L Exclusive Single Bourbon Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml)

Although we've been working directly with Edradour's Signatory label for five years now, we've never bottled anything directly from the distillery until finding this monster cask of 2005 Ballechin on our last trip. Ballechin is what Edradour Distillery calls its heavily peated expression, and the result is something far more beastly than anything you'll find on Islay. That's not to say the whisky is peatier, but rather it's heavier, more earthy, brooding, and dense. The peat smoke is clear right off the bat, but once it begins to collide with Edradour's intense maltiness, the peat becomes something completely different. If you can imagine the smells and flavors of fermenting malt, that combination of sour, sweet, and cooked grains, then combine those elements with scorched earth, heavy smoke, and burnt peat, then you'll begin to understand the power of this single bourbon cask of Ballechin. Now power that profile up to 55.8% and all that intensity gets dialed up a notch. What's ironic to me about this whisky is that it comes from one of Scotland's tiniest, daintiest, most manicured and fairy tale-esque distilleries. There's nothing dainty about this malt, however. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits buyer)