This is an estimated arrival timeline. Timing can shift due to carrier schedules, port congestion, customs, or warehouse receiving.
Balblair 2014 · 12 Year Old Calvados Cask Finish Single Malt
A Tasty Disaster
Balblair, Finished In Calvados
Little Brown Dog's first Calvados finish — and, true to form, you get the full list of excuses. Two ex-white-port casks of Balblair somehow fitted into one small Calvados cask with room to spare; the angels' share was savage and it cost more than they had hoped. The liquid, though, they are delighted with.
A little over a year in Calvados has elevated the long-fermented, fruity Balblair distillate beautifully — an extra hit of bright green apple and a champagne-like lift. Unlike the Jura, the balance is firmly there. A cask they carried back from Normandy themselves, with a Bayeux Tapestry label to match.
290 bottles worldwide, at 56.1%.
Distillery profile, Balblair
- A Highland distillery at Edderton, near the Dornoch Firth — one of Scotland's oldest working distilleries, founded in 1790.
- Known for a clean, fruity, well-fermented spirit that takes well to active finishes.
- An uncommon distillery to see bottled independently.
Cask profile, ex-white port then Calvados
Matured in ex-white-port casks, then finished a little over a year in a Calvados (apple brandy) cask brought back from Normandy.
The finish layers bright orchard fruit and a dry, sparkling lift over the spirit without ever burying it.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Whisky style | Single Malt Scotch Whisky |
| Region | Highland |
| Distillery | Balblair |
| Age | 12 years |
| ABV | 56.1% |
| Volume | 700 ml |
| Maturation | Ex-white port casks, finished in Calvados |
| Distillation date | April 5, 2014 |
| Bottling date | May 6, 2026 |
| Outturn | 290 bottles |
The Whiskey Lab's Quality Commitments
- Single Cask & Small Batch: Ensuring a unique profile for each release.
- Natural Colour & Non-Chill Filtered: Preserving the authentic character and purity of the whisky.
- Honest Storytelling: Every cask profile, every tasting note, written by people who actually tasted the whisky.
