Review 118-119: Edradour 10-Year 2006 Sauternes Straight From The Cask, Ballechin 10 Bourbon Cask K&L Exclusive 55.8%

Edradour once had the claim as the smallest distillery in Scotland. I don't think that is true any more. They have two lines, Edradour - which tends to be more Speyside in approach, and Bellechin, which, beside the basic 10, tends to go the peated wine cask route. Today I am looking at two malts that are flipped, a wine finished Edradour and an ex-bourbon Ballechin

Edradour 10-Year 2006 Sauternes Straight From The Cask (59.8%)

Highland- 10 years old - NCF - NCA - Sample ($100 at the local if I had to guess) - 59.8%

Color - Auburn

Nose - Sweetness - Honey and molasses, raisins, lime zest, burnt vanilla - really pleasant without being overly sweet

Taste - Brown sugar, candied apples, figs, nutmeg, toffee barley - Great mouthfeel

Finish - Medium Long - Sticky stewed plantains, vanilla, cloves, pepper

Overall - 7 - This is a really nice dram. It is sweet without being sugary. The Sauternes does not overwhelm but marries nicely with standard Edradour juice. If you like a Sauternes finish without the peat, I would pick this up.

Ballechin 10 Bourbon Cask K&L Exclusive 55.8%

Speyside - 9 years old - NCF - NCA - Sample ($90) - 55.8%

Color - Old Gold

Nose - Peat, but what type, mossy smoke, sweet vanilla, malt, hint of artificial flowers, polish

Taste - Honey, Toffee, Smoke, malt

Finish - Medium - Lapsang, honey, smoke

Overall - 6 - This is a nice dram, it brings some interesting and different peat character to the mix. It is a bit one note, but as I often say, that is fine when that one note is tasty. I think that the Ballechin really benefits from the wine finishes for complexity and balance. For the price, I can't see myself buying Frog 10 CS or Ugi and pocketing $30.

Rating system is price influenced as it is based on my shopping decisions when buying a bottle.

10 Best in Show

9 Great Dram for Special Occasions

8 Worthy of consistent spot in my collection

7 Worth picking up a bottle if in the mood

6 I would buy a bottle if it went on sale

5 I would drink it happily if offered

4 I would drink it if offered on the rocks

3 Maybe some soda will make this potable

2 I'll Pass

1 Toilet cleaner

Inclusive Ratings

Overall 6.1

Standard Deviation 0.89

Skew 0.66

Kurtosis -0.16