Blair Athol 2012 13 Year Old, Finn Thomson Cask #17008

Finn Thomson loves bottling casks of Blair Athol. The distillery's nutty character forever shines through no matter what cask type is used for maturation.

This particular cask has been finished in a Rivesaltes wine cask. Nestled in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, close by Perpignan, the area produces wines renowned for their sweet, rich flavours, often enjoyed as dessert wines and digestifs. Finn Thomson first visited this region of France as a 17 year old while trekking and climbing the Pyrenean Mountains, just west of where this outstanding wine is produced. Bottling and sampling this whisky brings Finn Thomson back memories of that expedition long ago.

The decision to bottled this casks was made in one of his favourite whisky bars in the world - The Black Cat on Rose Street, Edimburgh. The bar team kindly let him pour his own samples while catching up with his Czech importer. They both agreed that this was the stand out sample from the batch of 12 that they tried. The nutty style of Blair Athol combines with the sweet ripe fruit influences from the cask providing a perfect crossover between the rugged Highlands of Scotland and the sun kissed hills of South West France.