Showing posts with label Bladnoch 19. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bladnoch 19. Show all posts

Bladnoch 19 Years Review


“Interesting Rebel Without a Cause”

Country: Scotland
Region: Lowlands
Brand: Bladnoch 
Bottling Series: Belted Galloway Cattle Label
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 19 Years 
ABV: 55% 
Chill-Filtration: Likely.
Whisky Review # 598
Buying Advice:😐 Neutral. Interesting but Expensive. Not my Style. 

Colour: Golden (Natural Colour)

Nose: The Alcohol is quite strong and it's not easy to find your way around it. Be sure to give this Bladnoch enough air contact. Malt and Straw are the main drivers on the Nose but a few surprising artificial Tropical Fruit notes appear as well. I find Toasted Barley, Buttered Toast, Heather-Honey, Dried Grass/Straw, Vanilla, Yeast, light Sherry, Mixed Citrus Peel, Hazelnut-Chocolate, Oak, Floral Perfume, Cinnamon and hints of Cardboard, Mint, Coconut, Pear, Pineapple and Mango.

Palate: Dry, Malty, Oaky and Spicy. The Alcohol remains very present. I find Toasted Barley, Buttered Toast, Grass and Straw, Vanilla, Toffee, Green Coffee Beans, Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit, Floral Perfume, Tutti-Frutti Bubble Gum, Coconut, Pepper, Ginger, Cardamom, Oak, Hazelnut-Chocolate, Heather-Honey and a sprinkle of Mint. 

Finish: Middle-Long, Bitter-Sweet and Spicy. Very Dry towards the end. I find Toasted Barley, Toast, Grass/Straw, Nuts, Vanilla, Toffee, Lemon, Grapefruit, Herbal Tea, Oak, Coconut, Pear, Pepper, Ginger, Cardamom and light Menthol.  

I added a little Water and on the Nose you get more Malt, Citrus and Perfume. On the Palate, the added Water helps to kill the Alcohol bite. The Finish gets a bit weak though. My advise is to carefully add a few drops at a time until you find the perfect balance. 

Rating: 82.5  

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20.5


General Remarks:

The Bladnoch Distillery is located in Bladnoch, Wigtown and was founded in 1817 by Thomas and John McClelland. It changed hands various times before being mothballed by United Distillers in 1993. A year later it was bought by Raymond Armstrong but unfortunately the distillery went into administration in 2014 and was put up for sale again. In 2015 it was bought by David Prior, an Australian businessman who wants to put Bladnoch on the whisky map again. The 19 Years I'm tasting today was distilled around 1990 and bottled in 2009. It most likely matured in a mix of Refill Ex-Bourbon and Refill ex-Sherry Casks but I'm not absolutely sure about that. It's quite expensive and prices are usually in the 150/200 US Dollar range (February 2017).

Drinking Experience Neat: Quite interesting. It's not my style though.

Conclusion: This is my third mature Bladnoch and I am pretty sure now that it's not my favourite style of Whisky. I must admit though that's it's interesting and different. But I find it a bit too much Rebel Without a Cause. My main problems with Bladnoch are the lack of Balance and the very present Alcohol. A little Water helps to control the latter but also takes away quite a bit of the character. Because this Single Malt certainly does not lack personality. You will remember Bladnoch once you've tasted it. It doesn't quite work for me but do give it a try when you encounter it as taste is of course a very personal matter. It is quite expensive as it has become a bit of a cult name in the Whisky world. Let's see if the new owners with their new equipment can come up with a slightly more balanced Whisky in the future without compromising the "old" Bladnoch style too much.

Jan van den Ende                                                               February 27, 2017