Ballechin 20 year old Heavily Peated - 1st-fill Moscato Passito Hogshead #808

Profile: Overview of Ballechin 20 year old Heavily Peated – 1st-fill Moscato Passito Hogshead #808

• Heavily peated Highland Single Malt: Ballechin with a phenol content of at least 50 ppm
• Exclusive single cask bottling: Matured in a first-fill Moscato Passito hogshead (#808)
• 20 years of maturation: Distilled in 2006 and bottled in 2026
• Strictly limited: Only 294 bottles produced
• Natural state: No coloring & no chill-filtration

Portrait: What makes the Ballechin 20 year old Heavily Peated - 1st-fill Moscato Passito Hogshead #808 special

Andrew Symington likely possesses not merely an ordinary wine cellar, but rather a sort of parallel universe filled with casks. It is a place where Italian dessert wines evidently sit, patiently waiting for the day they might make the acquaintance of heavily peated Highland Single Malt. With the Ballechin 20 year old Heavily Peated - 1st-fill Moscato Passito Hogshead #808, precisely such an encounter has become reality.

Behind Ballechin lies the historic Edradour Distillery in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. Regarded as one of Scotland's smallest commercial distilleries, it has always maintained a deeply artisanal approach. While Edradour itself is known for classic Highland styles, Ballechin reveals the distillery's distinctly smoky side - acting as the alter ego that prefers roaming the moorlands at night to serving tea in the visitor center.

This whisky was distilled on February 6, 2006, and allowed to mature undisturbed for two decades before being bottled on March 13, 2026, yielding a limited run of just 294 bottles. The entire maturation period took place in a rare 1st-fill Moscato Passito hogshead - a cask that previously held Italian dessert wine and has evidently decided to launch a second career in Scotland.

The selection was curated by Andrew Symington, a figure renowned for decades for his carefully chosen single casks.
Here, Scottish distilling tradition meets the art of Scottish bottling—with an Italian stopover that likely doesn't even know how it ended up there.

With a phenol content of at least 50 ppm, this Ballechin firmly embraces the smoky side of life without sacrificing its elegant structure. Bottled in its natural state - unchill-filtered and with natural color - it is as unadorned as a Highland wind without a weather forecast.

A whisky for those who enjoy watching Scotland and Italy embrace within a single cask - and then decide together to turn that union into a strictly limited project.

Distilled: February 6, 2006 
Bottled: March 13, 2026 
Cask No.: 808 
Outturn: 294 bottles 
Phenol content: at least 50 ppm

Tasting Notes: This is how the Ballechin 20 year old Heavily Peated - 1st-fill Moscato Passito Hogshead #808 tastes like

• Nose: A profound and distinctly smoky bouquet, dominated by earthy peat smoke. These are joined by fruity aromas of ripe apricots, lending a certain softness to the overall profile. The aroma is rounded off by a delicate, floral honey sweetness that ensures balance and understated elegance.
• Palate: On the palate, there is a powerful interplay between intense, smoldering smokiness and clearly perceptible fruitiness. The "golden" fruit note comes across as ripe and full-bodied, while creamy honey provides a smooth texture. The profile is complemented by elegant woody spice, adding structure and depth without becoming overpowering.
• Finish: The finish is long and enduring, characterized by a persistent smokiness that slowly fades away. Subtle floral nuances linger, blending with the remaining fruit notes to create a harmonious finale. Overall, the aftertaste is balanced and long-lasting, with the smoky-fruity underlying structure remaining clearly recognizable.