Blair Athol 2009 7 Year Old (bottled 2017) - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) (70cl, 46%) ***sold***
A youthful Blair Athol single malt, independently bottled by Langside as part of the Hepburn's Choice range. It was distilled up in the Highland region in 2009 and set aside to mature in a refill butt for 7 years before being bottled in 2017. 714 bottles were produced.
Blair Athol distillery is one of Scotland's oldest, dating back into the late 18th century. Its modern story begins when it was closed down by Peter Mackenzie in 1932, and was purchased by Arthur Bell & Sons the following year. Distilling recommenced in 1949, and with Blair Athol malt at its heart, Bell's became one of the world's best-selling whiskies. Despite its importance to the blend, Blair Athol was also bottled as a single malt under the Bell's banner in the 1970s and 1980s. New owners, Guinness, were less interested in this when they took over in 1985, but their subsequent iteration, United Distillers, brought a back distillery bottling with this Flora & Fauna release. Despite its popularity, Blair Athol has yet to be bottled under its own single malt brand. Other official bottlings from the Diageo era are very rare too.