SCN 'Blair Athol' 2013, 11 Year 'French Oak Barrique'

From the Importer:

• Single malt Scotch whisky selected and bottled by Single Cask Nation
• Cask #181283
• Distilled at Blair Athol [blair•ATH•ull] Distillery in Pitlochry, Scotland (Highlands)
• 100% unpeated barley
• Water is sourced from from the Allt Dour Burn
• Aged 11 years; matured for 7 years in ex-bourbon cask and finished for 4 1/2 years in refill toasted French oak barrique
• Distilled summer 2013 and bottled winter 2025
• 252 bottles produced
• A satisfying whiff of warm grain leads straight to poached peaches, crème brûlée, and a soupçon of honey. The toasted French oak commands the palate, offering layers of elegant barrel notes and texture to match, along with more honey, raspberry jam, and toasted whole wheat bread. The finish is long and pleasantly persistent and echoes these notes of cooked red berries, honey, and toasted oak.
• No added coloring
• Non-chill filtered; bottled at a cask strength of 61.8% ABV

Known chiefly for supplying the malt whisky for blended whisky Bell’s, Blair Athol is a powerhouse distillery whose distinctive nutty, malty house style has long been the darling of independent bottlers.  Its single malt has been released chiefly as a series of expression ranges, most significantly in 1991 as a part of the Flora & Fauna series. Blair Athol, in this case, was chosen to represent “fauna”: Allt Dour Burn, where the distillery sources its water, is Gaelic for “burn of the otter.”