Balblair distillery
| Region: Highland | |
|---|---|
| Location | Edderton |
| Owner | InterBev (Inver House Distillers) |
| Founded | 1790 |
| Status | Active |
| Water source | The Allt Dearg |
| No. of stills | 1 wash still 20,000l 1 spirit still 8,500l[1] |
| Capacity | 1,800,000 litres of alcohol |
Balblair Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Edderton, Ross-shire, Scotland.
Founded in 1790,[2] the distillery was rebuilt in 1895 by the designer Charles C Doig to be closer to the Edderton Railway Station on the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway line. However, so good was the original water source that the rebuilt distillery chose to ignore a nearby burn in favour of the original Ault Dearg burn. To this day, the Balblair Distillery continues to use this original water source.
John Ross, the founder, ran Balblair as a thriving business and in 1824 he was joined by his son, Andrew. The distillery stayed in the Ross family until 1894 when the tenancy was taken over by Alexander Cowan. In 1948 the freehold was bought by Robert Cumming, who promptly expanded the distillery and increased production. Cumming ran the distillery until he retired in 1970 when he sold it to Hiram Walker. In 1996 Balblair Distillery was purchased by Inver House Distillers Limited.
Balblair has one of the oldest archives in distilling, with the first ledger entry dated 25 January 1800. John Ross himself penned that first entry, which read: “Sale to David Kirkcaldy at Ardmore, one gallon of whisky at £1.8.0d”.
Balblair Single Malt Whisky is bottled in vintages - the current bottlings being 2005, 1999, 1990 and 1983 - with the design inspired by the nearby Pictish stone Clach Biorach, which is thought to be 4000 years old. The 1989 vintage won a Gold Medal and was judged "best in class" in the 2007 International Wine & Spirits Competition and was recommended by Ian Buxton in 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die.[3]
The distillery is now owned by Inver House Distillers Limited, whose other distilleries include the Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery, Knockdhu Distillery, Old Pulteney Distillery and Balmenach Distillery.
The distillery now has a visitor centre. Open all year to visitors.
Awards
International Spirits Competition 2018
Balblair Vintage 1991 - Gold
Balblair Vintage 2000 - Gold
International Wine & Spirits Competition 2018
Balblair Vintage 2000 - Gold
Balblair Vintage 1991 - Silver Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 2005 - Silver
World Whisky Awards 2018
Balblair Vintage 1999 - Bronze
Balblair Vintage 1990 - Bronze
International Wine and Spirit Competition 2017
Balblair Vintage 1990 - Gold
Balblair Vintage 1999 1st Release - Exclusive to Travel Retail - Gold
Balblair 2004 Bourbon Matured - Exclusive to Travel Retail - Silver Outstanding
Balblair 2004 Sherry - Exclusive to Travel Retail - Silver Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 1999 - Silver Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 2005 – Silver
San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2017
Balblair Vintage 1999 - Double Gold
International Spirits Challenge 2017[4]
Balblair Vintage 2004 Bourbon Matured - Exclusive to Travel Retail – Gold
Balblair Vintage 2005 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 1999 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 1990 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 2004 Sherry - Exclusive to Travel Retail – Silver
Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2017[5]
Balblair Vintage 1999 - 93 points
Balblair Vintage 2005 - 89 points
Balblair Vintage 1990 - 89 points
IWSC 2016[6]
Balblair Vintage 2005 – Gold Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 1990 - Gold Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 1999 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 1983 – Gold Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 2004 Bourbon - Exclusive to Travel Retail – Silver Outstanding
Balblair Vintage 2004 Sherry - Exclusive to Travel Retail - Silver
Balblair Vintage 1999 - Exclusive to Travel Retail – Silver Outstanding
International Spirits Challenge 2016[7]
Balblair Vintage 2005 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 1990 – Gold
Balblair Vintage 1999 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 1983 – Silver
Balblair Vintage 2004 Bourbon - Exclusive to Travel Retail – Silver
Balblair Vintage 2004 Sherry - Exclusive to Travel Retail - Silver
Balblair Vintage 1999 - Exclusive to Travel Retail – Silver
Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2016 http://www.ultimate-beverage.com/ultimate-spirits-challenge-USC/2016-spirits-results/?type=&subtype=&product_name=Balblair&country=&award=
Balblair Vintage 2005 – 89 points
Balblair Vintage 1990 – 98 points (Finalist)
Balblair Vintage 1983 – 93 points
World Whiskies Awards 2016[8]
Balblair Vintage 1983 – Gold
San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2016[9]
Balblair Vintage 2005 – Gold
Balblair Vintage 1999 – Silver
See also
References
- ^ Balblair distillery at Whisky.com
- ^ "Balblair Distillery". The List. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ^ Buxton, Ian. 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die. p. 29.
- ^ http://www.internationalspiritschallenge.com/isc2017/2017-results
- ^ http://www.ultimate-beverage.com/ultimate-spirits-challenge-USC/2017-spirits-results/?type=&subtype=&product_name=balblair&country=&award=
- ^ https://www.iwsc.net/
- ^ http://www.internationalspiritschallenge.com/isc2017/2016-results
- ^ http://www.worldwhiskiesawards.com/winner/gold-medal-5-world-whiskies-awards-2016
- ^ http://sfspiritscomp.com/results/browse
