Blair Athol

Well apparently this is the 12 YO F&F.
But it's so dark.
So much more sherry than I remember it to be.
There's a lot going on, on the nose we decide.
Sherry. Xmas Cake, Nuts and lots and lots and lots of dried fruit.
Hazelnuts, Frangepan, Dates.
On the palate it's a lot more subtle.
Gentle waves with no real spice kicking in.
Mocha, coffee.
We've been given this blind and so we can chalk out what it's not.
Well it's deeply, deeply sherry for a start and it doesn't have anywhere near the body of a Glenfarclas. Nor the spritely layers of an Aberlour.
It doesn't begin with a glen or start with a "m".
So slightly tumbled when it's a Blair Athol.
Now this is a distillery I've visited before but, as above, I so don't remember this profile. At all. Nowhere near like the ones I've got stashed away.
In any case, the nose is sumptuous. Deep, complex, inviting and layered. Maybe the palate fails to live up to that nose but it's steady and holds no surprises. Perhaps a tad short but everything that is there is worth the money. I would have thought more a Mortlach than a Blair Athol personally but then I didn't pour it. A great, possibly classic nose that doesn't live up to it's promise on the palate.
I'll go find out if it's a F&F. But I'm still not so sure.
J