Old Ballantruan Whiskies Review

I tasted these two single malt whiskies when I visited The Whisky Show 2013. If you read this blog frequently ( daily you should! ) you will know that I love peated whiskies. I love them so much that when building the list of 10 Whiskies to drink for Christmas many of them were peated. So when I had the chance of tasting these two I didn’t miss it.

Old Ballantruan is made by Tomintoul using heavily peated malt with a phenol content of 55ppm ( much like Ardbeg 10yo ).

So let talk about the whiskies

Old Ballantruan

“Impressive whisky for its price. Highly recommended if you like peated whiskies”

90

A heavily peated malt for a Speyside distillery, bottled at higher proof, Old Ballantruan is an unusually peated single malt from the Tomintoul distillery.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. peat, honey, citrus, vanilla.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. peat, honey, citrus, liquorice, vanilla.

Finish (90): longer than average. peat, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Old Ballantruan The Peated Malt with 90 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Single Malt Whisky online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on Master of Malt for £35.23
• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £35.35
• Buy on The Drink Shop for £37.19

Old Ballantruan 10 years old

“Although it is too a very nice whisky I prefer ( and recommend you ) the younger less expensive version. It has more peat and it is sweeter”

89

The first edition of Old Ballantruan with an age statement, bottled after 10 years. It's made at Tomintoul using heavily peated barley and is bottled at a solid 50% ABV.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (88): more than average. honey, citrus, vanilla, smoke.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. peat, honey, spices, vanilla.

Finish (89): longer than average. peat, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Old Ballantruan 10 Year Old with 89 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Single Malt Whisky online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on Master of Malt for £45.83
• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £45.95

Miguel says…

My heart is decided. I do really prefer ( and highly recommend you ) the Old Ballantruan. The NAS ( non age statement ) bottle has a clearer peat punch that makes it more interesting for me ( and it is cheaper! ). A Win-win.

Share your thoughts! comments written.