Balmenach 23 Years Old 1988

A distillery that continues to be overlooked to this day. Balmenach was one of the earliest Speyside distilleries, founded in 1824 on a farm by James McGregor. Rumours and family tales of distilling, put this date much earlier as explained by Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, who had family connections and wrote the book ‘Scotch’ as well as being an inspiration for James Bond. Today, it remains relatively obscure with the current owners, Inver House, having no plans to establish it as a single malt. Instead, since 2009 the Caorunn gin is produced on the site and the owners arguably see more potential in that aspect. This is a great shame as Balmenach has character thanks to its long fermentation and use of worm tubs. Those who value the whisky the most are blenders who keep the distillery busy filling orders for their blends.