{"product_id":"ballechin-13-year-old-2013-1st-fill-grand-marnier-finish-heavily-peated-edradour-highland-single-malt-whisky-2026-70cl","title":"Ballechin 13 Year Old 2013 1st Fill Grand Marnier Finish Heavily Peated Edradour Highland Single Malt Whisky (2026) 70cl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 28px;\"\u003eBallechin 13 Year Old 2013 1st Fill Grand Marnier Finish Heavily Peated Edradour Highland Single Malt Whisky (2026) 70cl\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 of 620 bottles produced from a single finished in a 1st Fill Grand Marnier Cask.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBallechin is a mysterious whisky made at Edradour distillery from a secret mashbill that includes but is not limited to: cigarettes, Marmite, truffles, entropy, bees, prog-rock and farmers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was distilled in 2005 and had casual discussions with an assortment of wooden staves for 14 years. It was bottled at 55% because that enables me to pontificate and intellectualise the actually incredibly simple process of independent bottling. This is the first ever bottling of Ballechin. Apart from the others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eTasting Notes \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNose : \u003cspan\u003eRich and heady. At the heart of the aromatic profile lies an oily peat, spicy (clove), medicinal (Tiger Balm) and camphoraceous, forming the backbone of the nose. Around it unfold aromas of vanilla, green walnut, verbena, candied lemon, acacia honey, milk chocolate and nougat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePalate : \u003cspan\u003eBoth lively and smooth. Tannic (plum) and earthy (blocks of peat), the palate is crossed by herbal notes (cut hay, alfalfa), exotic fruits (banana, pineapple), tangy flavours (orange zest) and creamy nuances (yoghurt). Towards the end, flavours of charcoal and soot clearly evoke the hearth of a fireplace.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinish : D\u003cspan\u003eense and full-bodied. An eloquent synthesis of the nose and palate, it gives centre stage to peat infused with rich, savoury, animal (smoked meat) and spicy (star anise) flavours. Deeply malty and oily (olive, castor oil), the retro-olfaction reveals the aromas of a full-bodied Havana cigar, alongside chocolate and herbal notes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout Ballechin\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBallechin refers to a historically significant Perthshire farm distillery that operated from 1810 to 1927 and to a heavily peated single malt Scotch whisky produced by the modern-day\u003cspan\u003e Edradour Distillery\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e since 2003. The original distillery was one of seven farm distilleries in the region, and its name was revived by Edradour, one of the few remaining farm distilleries, to honor its legacy. The current Ballechin whisky is known for its intense peatiness (at least 50 ppm) and is available in various cask-matured expressions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"value\"\u003eAbout Edradour\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"value\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner-content\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner-content-inner\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"introduction\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt first glance, Edradour could be confused for a working museum rather than an active, energetic distillery.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe low-slung farm buildings contain traditional equipment – mashing is in a one tonne, open-topped, rake and plough mash tun, the wort is cooled in a replica of an old ‘Morton’s refrigerator’, the washbacks are wooden, the tiny stills lead into worm tubs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe make is robust but fruity and since the Signatory takeover, ex-Sherry casks have been the preferred destination for the new make. A wide number of fortified wine and still wine casks have also been used for ‘finishing’. Ballechin, on the other hand, which is also produced at the distillery, is deemed to show itself better in ex-Bourbon casks. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother of central Perthshire’s multiplicity of farm distilleries, Edradour started production at its current site in 1837, although one of the farmers who formed that original consortium, Duncan Forbes, had been legally distilling close by since 1825. The plentiful supplies of water, tight, hidden glens, and access to back roads into Perth, made this a prime area for moonshining, so it is entirely possible (even probable) that Forbes knew the intricacies of whisky-making before going legit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt remained associated with the original grouping until 1933, when the Mackintosh family sold it as a (barely) going concern to the famous blending house of William Whiteley. Quite why Whiteley bought such a small distillery – it was Scotland’s tiniest for many years – has never been fully explained. The firm had built up a solid business in the US during Prohibition with its King’s Ransom blend, thanks to Whiteley’s appointment of none other than Mafia boss Frank Costello as his US sales representative. Five years later, Costello’s associate Irving Haim took over as Edradour’s owner, with Costello (and his firm) taking a share of sales of King’s Ransom. This slightly unusual arrangement lasted until Haim’s death in 1976.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1982 the distillery, once again in a bad state, was sold to Pernod Ricard subsidiary Campbell Distillers who immediately opened it to visitors. It continued to play a low-key role in blends until 1986, when it first appeared as a single malt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2002, Pernod Ricard deemed it surplus to its requirements and it was sold to independent bottler Signatory Vintage. It was a perfect fit. Since then, Signatory has built extensive warehousing for its own casks, a bottling line, a tasting room and expanded production to include heavily peated variant Ballechin. One of the prettiest distilleries in Scotland, Edradour remains a major tourist attraction.\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e46% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ballechin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54943118852434,"sku":"BLCH13MARNIER2013","price":119.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1052\/9737\/9666\/files\/Ballechin13YearOld20131stFillGrandMarnierFinishHeavilyPeatedEdradourHighlandSingleMaltWhisky_2026_70cl.jpg?v=1791148795","url":"https:\/\/whiskysituation.co.uk\/products\/ballechin-13-year-old-2013-1st-fill-grand-marnier-finish-heavily-peated-edradour-highland-single-malt-whisky-2026-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation","version":"1.0","type":"link"}