Scotland, Northern Highlands. Distillery operational. Owner: Inver House Distillers Ltd.

It was at the dawn of the new millennium, under the leadership of Inver House Distillers Ltd - the distillery's new owners from 1996 on - that Balblair freed itself from its past as a blender's malt (Ballantines', Hankey Bannister, Pinwinnie, etc.) and became a single malt in its own right. Unpeated and frequently aged in ex-bourbon casks, Balblair released numerous small-batch vintage bottlings. In the early 2000s, the classic 10 Year Old and 16 Year Old Elements versions were joined by two outstanding versions aged respectively for 35 years (1970) and 33 years. It was, however, with two bottlings from 1966 (38 years) and 1974 (27 years) matured entirely in sherry casks that Balblair veered off the beaten track and attracted the attention of collectors.

A Balblair from the 1980s for the Italian market. The Balblair single malt was extremely rare until the 2000s and more specifically until the range was redesigned in 2007, with vintages introduced by the Inver House Distillers group, who bought the distillery in 1996. This 5 year old is from the era in which Italy liked young, light whiskies such as those imported by Armando Giovinetto. Similar examples include the many Glen Grant bottlings, also aged 5 years and distilled in the late 1960s and early 1970s.