Bladnoch Tasting - September 2008 - 7 PM

[Ras Mazunga]

Good night, it was a pleasure to read your posts.

[Ganga]

I'm moving onto the Cadenhead Bladnoch next.

Bladnoch 12
Cadenhead
89-10.01
Bourbon
/192 bottles
58%
750 ml

[Ganga]

Goodnight Ras. Thanks for joining in.

[Ganga]

Cadenhead Bladnoch 12

N: Sweet grist, sprits of lemon, florals and grasses
P: Lemons, barley notes, grassiness
F: LOONGG, loads of barley, grasses and lemons

This is a good Bladnoch but holds nothing on the 15 Sherry Sheep. I'm going to add some water to this now.

[mikeymad]

Seems like the 6yo set is an interesting gathering, good notes Willie.

Cheers,

[Ganga]

With water the Cadenhead Bladnoch 12 the barley becomes more of a dough but otherwise the same basic profile for the nose. The palate becomes much nicer balance between the lemon and barley. The grasses become more of a background note. This is a huge improvement. Take the F&F 10 yo and give it a little kick up to about 46-47%.

[Ganga]

Even more water and it's still doing great. For this one have water on hand and don't worry about too much.

[Willie JJ]

Bladnoch 6yo OB Lightly Peated 58.5%.

Nose: Definite peaty hit here with carbolic, lint, some tannins and incense. Not too strong though; quite subtle and is accompanied by the ubiquitous lemon as well as some vanilla notes.
Palate: Wonderful. This is a classic example of peat masking any imperfections in young whisky. Slightly sooty but delicious barley sugar and vanilla.
Finish: The peat has really taken the worst of the heat out of it and allows the flavours to develop with only the odd fiery patch.

Overall I like this the best of the 6 year olds. I used to think the sherry cask was better but this has just edged it in my mind now. I'm not sure what the peating level is, but it is light enough to allow the whisky to shine and at the same time really adds a new dimension to the malt. As an experiment this looks to me like it will be very successful.

Of all the drams tonight, if I had to pick a winner, it would probably be Nick's 15yo at 46%. But really it was very close and they are all exceptionally good. The thing that comes across is just how consistent the whisky is and really how well it delivers time after time.

Cheers

[Ganga]

Previously, I had only used the glencairn glass for all the whiskies. I am going to to try the Cadenhead Bladnoch in three more glasses: large brandy, small brandy, celtic malts glass.

[mikeymad]

And your 6yo Peated notes are the most interesting ones that I have read for this tasting Willie.

Cheers,

[Ganga]

Nice notes there Willie. Sounds like a very interesting whisky.

My winner is the 15 sheep label, sherry cask.

[mikeymad]

Nice notes there Willie. Sounds like a very interesting whisky.

My winner is the 15 sheep label, sherry cask.

x2

[Ganga]

Celtic Malts glass

N: vanilla custard, little bit of lemon
P: gristy lemon with florals and grasses

[Ganga]

Small brandy glass

N: Biscuits and lemon zest
P: doughy with a touch of lemon and grass

[Ganga]

Large brandy glass

N: dough, lemon peel, floral
P: malty, lemons, florals, grasses, touch of dk chocolate.

[Willie JJ]

Thanks guys. I just had another wee dram of Nick's 15yo and it is just super.

Rich the CadBlad notes are very interesting. This is the first time in several months that I've come to a tasting without a Cadenhead's sample (just because I got distracted and forgot to buy one) and it was nice that you managed fill that gap.

I really have enjoyed this tasting, despite the fact that I had a pretty heavy session in the Vaults last night, and its just down to the quality of the whisky (and the company of course). Hopefully we have done a little to bring the distillery to the attention of a few other folk, because it really does deserve it imo.

I think I'll sign off now because I have a lot to do early tomorrow.

Cheers

[Ganga]

Everything in the large brandy (about 50 ml) and a couple of caps of water. Yep, this one really like water. I noticed in this glass that the palate is starting to exhibit a touch of dk chocolate now.

[mikeymad]

Cheers Willie... and thanks again.

[Ganga]

Thanks Willie. I wholly agree that this is one of those distilleries that fully deserve more attention than they are given.

It was really interesting to contrast the sherry cask to some of the bourbon casks. It will be interesting to see what happens next month with the Ardbeg tasting.

[shoganai]

Bladnoch 15 John MacDougall Selection Cask 3512 55.8%. This is a sample that I've had sitting aside for probably close to a year. I have fond memories of the bottle.

N: Very fruity. Pineapple, grapes, more. Caramel. Some nice spirit in the background. Not as intense as I remember it, but not shy by any stretch.
P: Medium & smooth although a slight "tannicness" that feels a little out of place. Like the nose, mostly fruit. Some some dryness and/or leather in background.
F: Long enough. Fruity and a little dry.

Overall a very nice whisky, but doesn't quite live up to my memory. Could be a function of the fact that it has been sitting in a plastic sample bottle for almost a year, or the fact that a year ago 55.8% was much stronger than most of what I drank and now it's about average. Or both.

In any event, I have two more full bottles of this waiting to be opened (from different casks). Will be interesting to see how I enjoy them in the years to come.

[Jobi]

Bladnoch 10yr F&F, many thanks to Willie.

I get a pleasant paint/clay/art class quality to the nose alng with some ripe fruit. The taset is sweet and malty. This reminds me of the only Mannachmore I've tried. Thre is a nice delicate quality to it also.

[Ryguy]

Kicking myself again for not taking a share in the cask......

Ryan, I'm sure there will be a bottle or so available to you when the time comes...

Cheers to that Jobi! Many thanks again for the sample of the 6yo Bourbon matured. Wonderful stuff!!

[Ryguy]

It seems as though Bladnoch didn't draw a big crowd. There is no question in my mind that more attention should be paid to what this distillery is doing. Wonderful stuff!!

[Jobi]

Bladnoch Sherry Sheep

Very similar to the F&F, with the added sherry influence apparent. Something to be said for Willie's comment on the consistency among samples. I also pick up the hints of orange mentioned earlier, though I wonder if I would have if I hadn't read those comments? If a tree falls in the forest and noone is there, do you smell oranges?

A pleasant dram, but I think I prefer the others.

[Jobi]

And now where it all started, some new make.

Strong over-over-ripe fruit. The word "fermented" comes to mind, unsurprisingly. Also not a surprise, this reminds me a lot of a bottle of unaged corn whiskey I have.

[Jobi]

It seems as though Bladnoch didn't draw a big crowd.

Looking at the comments, it seems it would have been an even smaller crowd without Willie's generosity. Thanks again, sir.

[Ryguy]

It seems as though Bladnoch didn't draw a big crowd.

Looking at the comments, it seems it would have been an even smaller crowd without Willie's generosity. Thanks again, sir.

You're absolutely right there Jobi. Availability is certainly an issue, here anyway. Thanks again to Yourself, Willie and Nick for the samples I had today!

[Willie JJ]

It seems as though Bladnoch didn't draw a big crowd.

Looking at the comments, it seems it would have been an even smaller crowd without Willie's generosity. Thanks again, sir.

That's very kind of you, but I'd just like to point out that everyone was equally generous, (if not more so), to me. It just so happened that I had a lot of Bladnoch open and thought it was worth distributing.

Its a shame that we didn't have more people involved in this, but from re-reading the threads it does seem that everyone who did take part has come away with a very positive feeling about the distillery and its whisky. That makes it very worthwhile.

I have collated my notes and posted them on the Bladnoch forum. I don't know if anyone else wants to do this, or if you like I can do it for you. I just thought it might be nice for the Bladnoch fans over there to see how we got on.

The page is here:

http://www.bladnoch.co.uk/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=26030#Post26030

Cheers

[TheTross]

Hmm, yet another tasting I wasn't available for

Will see what I can do later... I owe C57 a tasting note at least!

[Ryguy]

Excellent idea Willie! I'll be sure to post my notes on the Bladnoch Forum as well. Thanks for the reminder!

[Ryguy]

You're welcome Ryan.
It's a few years away yet, but you'll have a bottle from my cask share.

Thats very generous of you Nick, as always! Thanks!

[TheTross]

Just adding my late tuppence-worth. For the record, a tulip nosing glass was used throughout.

Bladnoch 15yo (46%, OB, UCF)

Nose: Very sweet and fresh. A touch minty, with some fudge in the background. Buttery, with a little vanilla and grass. Some citrus fruit, predominantly lemon. Lemon drizzle cake, lemon sorbet... lots of lemon here, in fact! Possibly a faint farminess in the background.

Palate: Light; slightly oily. Lemon and butter, as well as some grass. Faint touches of mint and vanilla.

Finish: Fudge notes, then mainly grassy. This is almost immediately followed by a huge burst of lemon. Buttery notes appear soon after, but it's the lemon that lingers.

Not at all complex, but very refreshing and enjoyable. Good job I like lemons though... Many thanks to Collector57 for this one!

[TheTross]

Bladnoch 15yo (46%, OB, Cask #1056)

Nose: Huge notes of toffee-flavoured fudge, butterscotch and liquorice. Quite grassy. A touch of acidity that lends a slightly sour note. Caramel. Vaguely spicy (pepper). Very sweet. Slightly metallic and sort of 'chemical' after a couple of minutes. Slightly minty and limey, with a hint of the coast.

Palate: Very fizzy! Fudge again, with a little mint (Kendal mint cake?), spice and chocolate. The influence of the sherry cask becomes evident after a few moments, with a subtle winy character appearing - though by no means dominating.

Finish: Fizzy and grassy, with some mint and eucalyptus. The grassiness lasts a long while.

My favourite Bladnoch to date, though very difficult to find now - good job I have one in reserve!

[Ganga]

I'd like to take the time to thank Willie and Nick for their generous distribution of the Bladnoch whiskies. In part, Bladnoch is not in overabundance in the US compared to many of the other distilleries.

I would like to let you guys know that there are other members that are watching these live tastings to learn from the participants. Hopefully, these fellows will join us when they feel comfortable in providing input or asking questions.

[TheTross]

Bladnoch 15yo (55%, OB, Cask #2615, 550 bottles)

Nose: Large sherry presence - not so much in a winy sense, but rather through some creamy, coffee-flavoured chocolate notes, blackcurrant and hints of burnt matchstick. Also some butter and lemon. When given time, treacle, dark chocolate and hints of liquorice develop.

Palate: Quite hot after a few seconds. The trademark butter and lemon are here, but so too are cream and milk chocolate and, with time, treacle, liquorice and blackcurrant.

Finish: Quite lemony and slightly grassy, with hints of blackcurrant, treacle and liquorice appearing after a few seconds. The latter three are more developed when the whisky is given time in the glass.

Also very good, but I think the palate lacks a little something when compared to #1056. Very, very nice nose though!