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	Bladnoch
			Sample
O.B.	Fauna & Flora ,10 years	17 2/3
	Sheep Label, 15 years	18
	Sheep Label, 16 years	18 1/3
	Sheep Label, 18 years	19
	Aged 19 years, Whisky in the Church label
	Aged 6 years, lightly peated
	Aged 7 years, lightly peated	18
	Rare Malts 23 years	18
Cadenhead	Cadenhead's CS 1989		18
Gordon & MacPhail	Connoisseurs Choice 1988	16 1/4
Signatory	Signatory Vintage 1988	17 1/3
	Vintage 1980 (Signatory)	18 2/3
James Mac Arthur	James Mac Arthur 10 years	14 1/2
	James Mac Arthur Cask Strength 1992	14
John McDougall	John McDougall selection 1990		17
The Ultimate Whisky Company	The ultimate single malt collection 1991	13

Bladnoch Forum Bottlings

	Bladnoch
Collection				Sample
	Caol-Ila	Aged 24 years	19
		Aged 29 years
	Cragganmore	12 years (Bladnoch Bottling)	17
	Glen-Grant	Aged 27 years	18
	Invergordon	Bladnoch bottling, Cask No. 66663		16
		Aged 36 years
	Linkwood	Bladnoch forum Mystery Bottle	18
	Longmorn	Aged 11 years
	Port-Ellen	24 years, Bladnoch bottling	18 1/2
		25 years, Bladnoch bottling	19
	Tamdhu	15 years (Bladnoch bottling)	18

 

 

Bladnoch aged 19 Years Cask 30534 Whisky in the Church 2009 label
Age	19 years
Alcohol percentage	54,6%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Officiel
Price/litre

Bladnoch aged 6 Years Lightly Peated
Age	6 years
Alcohol percentage	58,1%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Officiel
Price/litre

Nice fruity first nose. Very refined impressions. Rather complex hints of ripe fruit and some light medicinal touches behind. Nice freshness too.
In the mouth a very impressive attack, very fresh and nice acid unripe fruits developing soon on smoother notes of cashew nuts.
Nice nutty and chocolate finish. Fresher notes appear a bit later.
The 6 years old version was nice. This one is impressive!

Comment by Johannes Sauer

Colour: Vino verde.
Nose: A very easy and fruity nose. Mostly unripe fruits, fresh picked green sweet apples (Klarapfel, it is called in Germany, early apples being picked right now in the summer...) and plums. Green wine grapes and, yes, again here, the very familiar and well loved typical Bladnoch water melon note. A peaty and smoky note lingers hidden in the back. They call it Lightly Peated and lightly peated it is for sure.
Taste: Full and firm, the alcohol grabs you with some might but there is soft malt and this very easy fruitiness to balance the palate beautifully and make it a well drinkable dram at full strength. With water there is delicate hazelnuts, pineapples and soft caramel. I feel kinda tropical easy living but you better not forget the light peat adding some delicate and smooth spicy notes.
Finish: The peat takes one step in the foreground while fruits and nuts dance samba on your tastebuds for a good while. No bitter or woody aftertaste.
Conc.: A very inspired and well crafted whisky, very lightly peated indeed, let’s see if there is one more heavily peated Bladnoch to follow...
Tasting date: 2009-08-05
Price in Kreuzberg: 52,00 Euro

Bladnoch aged 6 Years Lightly Peated
Age	7 years
Alcohol percentage	57,8%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Officiel
Price/litre

 

Bladnoch 16 years Sheep label
Age	16 years
Alcohol percentage	55%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

This is one of the first official bottlings since the new owner has taken over the distillery. It's a pity that the production of that distillery is so confidential, because many people will not be able to taste this very nice bottle.
The nose is rather fresh and perfumed. A great diversity of aromas, from the cut grass freshness to some medicinal hints. In the palate, the pleasure just goes on, and here also a very great diversity of tastes is present, from fresh ripe fruits to malt. A kind of light acidity also ,may be due to the percentage of alcohol, which is respectable. A very nice finish. In short, a wonderful bottle, typical of its birth area, the Lowlands.

The nose is rather fresh and marked by cut grass, citrus fruits and a hint of spices. In the palate, the taste is first quite fresh but develops quickly on clearly marked violet or liquorice touches. An exceptional finish, marked by both citrus fruits and liquorice.

The nose is finely perfumed with cut grass, mint and hay. A nice presence of pepper gives it a very nice dimension. The mouth is first bitter and slightly acid. Very complex, it develops quickly on pleasant liquorice notes while keeping a light nutty character. The finis keeps the memory of liquorice and is specially long and warm, mainly because of the high percentage of alcohol.

Bladnoch 15 years Sheep label
Age	15 years
Alcohol percentage	55%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

Clearly a fresh nose, so typical of the Lowlands whiskies. Hints of cut grass, ripe fruits (pear, melon). Both a great sweetness and a clear alcohol presence. In the palate, the same impression than during the nosing, with however some mentholated hints and a touch of woood in addition, which enhances the complexity of this nice malt. The finish is lingering, and all the nose and mouth impressions come back, from ripe fruit to menthol, through a discrete woody bitterness.

Comments by Johannes Sauer

Colour: dark amber with a fascinating greenish (olive) shine.
Nose: Very firm, a hefty whiff of alcohol at the first glance, but later a healthy oak note appears, so powerful you wouldn't guess a lowlander. Also zesty lemon, with water there is more deepness, a very fine complexity joins in with notes of dried fruits (figs, dates) and cane sugar.
Taste: You should try the first sip without water: The mouth is full of the same complex sweetness mentioned above - dried apples, mowed grass, dry hay too, but also very solid wood. Traces of smoke. One could guess it's a Springbank maybe. With water there are soft hints of soap, citrus, fruits and forest herbs (Waldmeister). The whole dram gets a little more accessable.
Finish: Long and smoothly abating, changing more to tropi! cal fruits (pineapple), later is the finish dominated by a plentiful of watermelon I never experienced that clearly.
Conc.: The best (can I say that?) or at least one of the most impressive lowlands whisky I tasted so far.

Bladnoch 18 years Sheep label
Age	18 years
Alcohol percentage	55%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

A mix of light smoke and ripe fruit makes the first impression. Nice freshness, enhanced by touches of cut grass and mentholated and peppery notes appear after a few seconds, followed by licorice hints.
The first mouth is clearly on citrus fruit (grapefruit?) and develops quickly on dry fruits and milk chocolate. Very nice complexity. A real sensations firework in the palate with lots of nice flavours.
The finish is lingering and warm (by opposition of the freshness of the nose...) and dominated by memories of chocolate and walnut.

 

 

Bladnoch 10 years Fauna&Flora
Age	10 years
Alcohol percentage	43%
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

 

The first impression is really pleasant, mix of fruits and cut grass. A Lowland with own character. The complexity of it evokes some Speyside whisky, while it keeps the freshness qualities, so representative of a Lowland malt. An excellent bottle I really recommend. Obviously, the Fauna & Flora collection is really remarkable, even if it is rather expensive.

The nose detects subtle flavours of ripe fruit on a malt background. The taste is close to sweet citrus fruits (orange) and gives an sensation of freshness and sweetness. The finish is rather short.

The nose is very smooth, with clear hints of ripe fruit. In the mouth, smootness dominates too, with a very nice complexity, going from malted barley and ripe pear to sweet citrus fruti. The finish si rather short and slightly bitter.

 

Bladnoch 23 years Rare Malts 1977-2001
Age	23 years
Alcohol percentage	53.6%
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

The nose is both floral and spiced, with a touch of smoke and quite a nice freshness. Some hay hints. In the palate, a kind of complexity. First slightly aggressive (due to the percentage of alcohol) with some acid and some bitter notes developing quickly on unripe nuts flavours and then on cereals. A nice palette of tastes. Lots of contrasts in the mouth. The finish is interesting, rather long and bitter. After a while woody notes and some more acid hints come back in the palate..

 

 

Bladnoch 1988 Signatory Vintage
Age	12 years
Alcohol percentage	43%
Bottler	Signatory
Price/litre

 

The nose is rather discrete. The first palate impression recalls cut hay with some slight animal touches. After this, the mouth develops on liquorice and violet. A finish with an average length reveals clearly liquorice hints. An excellent bottle.

The rather discrete nose is very fresh, cut grass and fruits. A slightly acid touch over some very pronounced violet and liquorice tastes. The finish is not very long but pleasant, and the liquorice hints are still present.

A very beautiful nose with nice hints of dry hay and fruits. Some meaty hints too. Then some notes of liquorice wood appear. A bit of smoke on the background. A very pleasant impression in the palate, made from ripe fruits, a touch of violet and the freshness of cut grass. Spices too. The finish is rather long and very discrete hints of violet share the attention with fruit notes.

 

 

 

Bladnoch 1988 Connoisseur's Choice
Age	13 years
Alcohol	43%
Bottler	Gordon & MacPhail
Price/litre

 

The Lowland whiskies are not famous for their complexity, but this bottle is the exception to the rule. All the sweetness of a Lowland, with its hints of cut grass allied to the strength of a raced whisky leaves a delicious impression in the mouth for a while. The only trouble is the price of the bottle, but this is quite normal when the recent history of the distillery is kept in mind. A new example of the know-how of the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail.

During the second tasting, the complexity seemed to have disappeared, and the sweet honeyish character was dominant. The freshness of the first tasting was not there anymore. A kind of disappointment...
.
A rather floral nose with some discrete grass hints. The taste is somewhere between sweet and bitter, with a relative complexity. It does not really taste like a very great whisky. The finish is rather sweet.

The nose is marked by smells of malt and wax combined to hint of hay and other farmy smells covering light floral notes. In the palate, clear hints of lavender appear behind some rather neutral malty fragrances, leaving a kind of watery feeling in the mouth. The finish is relatively sweet, rather short and clearly marked by some violet hints.

 

 

 

Bladnoch 1991 The Ultimate single malt collection
Age	11 years
Alcohol percentage	43%
Cask	Bourbon
Bottler	The Ultimate Single Malt
Price/litre

 

 The nose does not announce an exceptional malt. Some cut grass smell mixed to acid fruit (pears?) hints. The mouth does not deny this first impression. A clear lack of character and a malt with some warmth. A finish of average length and after all not unpleasant. It is some little malt unpretentious, but very nice, related to its price.

The nose is quite unpleasantly medicinal, kind of mixture of ether and pear alcohol. Not easy to recognize a whisky by nosing only... In the mouth, a some alcoholic aggressiveness with acid touches, but a however perceptible kind of fruity roundness is not able to do forget about the burning impression the beverage provokes. The question is how it is possible such a cask has been matured at the Bladnoch distillery. The finish is marked by the same alcohol impression, and is rather unpleasant too, with still this touch of acidity which remains much too long.

A fresh but rather flat nose. It reveals essentially fruit spirit notes. Just pear alcohol. The mouth is much similar. Ripe pears, no depth, even a bit sickly. The finish is not different. Not really interesting.

 

 

 

Bladnoch James McArthur Old Masters Cask Strength 1992
Age	10 years
Alcohol percentage	58,5%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	James McArthur
Price/litre

 

 What a cruel deception. There are so many fine versions of Bladnoch, the whisky who reconciled me with Lowland malts. I expected to find in the cask strength version, all the pleasures of the cut grass smells, so characteristic for the whiskies from this region. Unfortunately the taste reminded me some very young white grain alcohol. The high alcohol percentage just adds a burn impression in the palate. This bottle is really to avoid...

The second tasting took place months later, and did not confirm the first one at all. On the contrary, the nose was pleasant, with the traditional fresh notes, characteristic of the Lowlands whiskies. The alcohol did not bother at all, and the whisky is rather pleasant. The finish was rather pleasant and long too... Is this mystery of the enormous difference between both tastings due to the fact the bottle was open since a while the second time? Oxidation phenomenon? Mystery....

The nose is fruity and slightly medicinal (ether) with some light hint of cut herb and announces a nice whisky. However, in the mouth the taste recalls more a pear alcohol than a whisky, and this alters the pleasure promise of the nose. A rather plain whisky, no surprise, even if the high degree of alcohol does not hinder at all. A quite long finish, still marked by ripe fruits (pear).

 

 

 

Bladnoch James Mc Arthur 10
Age	10 years
Alcohol percentage	43%
Particularity	Non chill filtered
Bottler	James McArthur
Price/litre

 

 Unlike the cask strength version from the same bottler, this bottle has a certain charm. The nose reveals some indistinct hints of cut grass, and the first impression in the mouth is that of cut grass, so typical for malts from this area. A certain lack of complexity however, but this is rather normal for whiskies from the Lowlands. A pleasant finish, slightly sugared does not spoil the general impression.

The nose is rather acid and reveals clearly the smell of cut grass and citrus fruit (lemon). In the palate, a prominence of alcohol and a taste which recalls blank pear alcohol. A warm finish without nuances...
.

 

 

 

Bladnoch Signatory Vintage 1980
Age	18 years
Alcohol percentage	55,5%
Particularity	Cask Strength
Bottler	Signatory
Price/litre

 

 Is there something magic in the ageing or is it the quality of the bottlings of Signatory? This Cask Strength Bladnoch is really fantastic. All the sweetness of a Lowland associated to the power of a cask strength. At the first nosing, this bottle appears to be of a wonderful quality. The nose detects all the characteristic hints of malts from this area: cut grass etc.. and despite the high percentage of alcohol, the mouth is not hurt at all by alcohol burnings. A very long and pleasant finish. An excellent bottling, but not really cheap... One has to pay for quality....

The nose, revealing hints of ripe fruits on a background of cut grass, is very complex and rich in aromas. In the palate, the malt mixed to chocolate ant woody notes go on with a kind of aromatic firework one would like to have more often. A long and pleasant finish, going on on malt with an extraordinary depth.

The nose is really expressive, with nice fruity hints, somewhere between the green apple and the tangerine, on a bed of fresh cut grass. Nice complexity! In the palate, a slightly dominating woody touch, besides the fruity character, some chocolate, and a very nice smoothness. The whole is rather sweet despite the alcohol percentage. The finish is from the same nature of the palate, very complex with a pleasant woody dominance. A great bottle.

 

Bladnoch 1990 John McDougall Selection
Age	16 years
Bottler	John McDougall
Alcohol percentage	54.2%
Price/litre

A very fresh nose, mixing smells of cut grass, hay and mint. A kind of duff smell seems to hang over this whisky, which enhances the nosing pleasure.
The mouth is first very close to pear alcohol and it develops later on some more bitter notes, without however considerably enhance the taste palette. The nose was really promising but the mouth is a bit disappointing.
The finish is warm and relatively long and fruity hints remain discretely present.Not this spectacular finish some Bladnoch bottles offer us...

Bladnoch 1989 Cadenhead
Age	18 years
Bottler	Cadenhead
Alcohol percentage	47,8%

The first nose is clearly marked by cut grass but is quickly covered by wax notes and hints of yeast. It seems to lose parts of its original freshness after a few minutes in the glass. he general impression remains good however, with even a touch of smoke on the background.
The mouth is dry and reveals first some pear alcohol aspects before developing on bitterer notes. Nice fruity taste, it's just a shame this impression of dryness goes on...
The finish is long and very pleasant.

Bladnoch 1992, 16 Years Bourbon Cask, ACE'd in Amarone Casks
Age	16 years
Bottler	Murray McDavid
Alcohol percentage	446%

Comments by Johannes Sauer

Colour: You coud say rosé wine, but since it is no wine, you also could say copper. For sure it is redder than any whisky I seen before.
Nose: Very very fruity. A very pleasant fruit salad made of strawberries, green apples, pineapples, sultanas and cantaloupe with a dash of lemon, properly mingeled and coated with brown sugar and a little caramel syrup. Also added for taste there might be some drops of white cuban rum and Maraschino liqueur.
Taste: Less fruity than the nose suggests. There are still the fruits but added are now oats, baking yeast (pizza dough) and traces of sea salt and even hints of spicy pepper and cocoa powder. This is no more fruitsalad but a very nice and pleasant, but perhaps a little too unbalanced whisky.
Finish: Full and warming and not very long. The very last impression appearing now is a nice dry wooden note I did not notice until now.
Conc.: A very fine and pleasant whisky, but for a Bladnoch my expectations might have been too high. In a blind tasting I was convinced to have a Buichladdich in my glass, and that’s what the whisky tastes like. For me it tastes like a pretty young Laddie (like Rocks), but not like an older Bladnoch.
Tasting date: 10/8/2009