Bladnoch 11yo 1984-1995 40% OB for The Dram Good Whisky Co. Ltd.
To be honest I've never heard of the Dram Good Whisky Company before, but lets hope they've had the skills to choose some good whiskies to represent them. The color is white wine. It smells of heather, honey, marzipan, nutty, sweet and light. Typical Bladnoch, not the greatest complexity, but perfectly clean and fresh. The taste is of honey, grassy, floral notes with a peaty finish. I'll just add some water to see if that opens it more up. Now it turns more sweet, phenolic, grassier, bitter, herbal liqueur, one to avoid I'm afraid..
The nose was promising, the rest fell dead quickly: 3
Bladnoch 10yo 1984-1994 43% Master of Malt cask#20086,20087
As it seems to me, if a numbered cask bottling is diluted down to 40 or 43%abv. There's usually a good reason for it, and that can be that they consider it a better whisky at lower strenbth, or just trying to push out most profit from some sub-standard casks. Lets see with this one. Same pale white wine color. It smells of sour and bitter notes, rhubarb, phenols, oaky, grassy, peaty, wet hay, burnt. The taste is of lemon rind, limonade, sweet lemon drops, brown sugar, parsnip, onions, fried cale, balsamic vinegar. Far better than the DGW of same wintage, how can that be?
Rich lowland style: 6.5
Bladnoch 20yo 1990-2010 51.8% OB cask#30491
From an bourbon barrel, should be quite a treat if its not too oaky, I mean, mr. Armstrong certainly knew how to pick a good cask, just look at the Bladnoch Forum Bottlings. Golden color. It smells of mint leaves, orange zest, ginger, onions, grainy, oat meal, very mundane, not much going on here. Not oaky at all actually. The taste is sweet, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, ginger, bitter, wheat ale, not bad, but quite tame. I like the zesty citrus notes on the palate, but the finish is kinda short and uninteresting, some peppery and herbal notes perhaps.
No distillery character, not for Bladnoch fans, but for any other whisky fan: 6
Bladnoch 12yo 56.8% The Birds of Britain, The Capercaillie
I have no idea who produces this series, but it sure looks like something that could come from Signatory. The color is dark amber. It smells of leather, spices, turmeric, red bell peppers, herbal, thyme, rosemary, ginger, turmeric, grassy, onions, wheat brew, canned tomatoes, very rustic in a way. The taste is sweet, sweet licorice, ginger, spices, caramel, caramelized onions, honey, creamy, thick, almost sugary and sulphury at once. Great expression of Bladnoch. The finish is on black pepper and honey. I'm pretty sure this concentrated malt comes from a stupendous bourbon cask.
All the best of Bladnoch in one glass, I wish I had a full bottle: 8.5
Next tasting: Glendronach Distillery
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