Bladnoch is a Lowland distillery with a turbulent history. For the Bladnoch is a Lowland distillery with a turbulent history. For most of them, it struggled to stay open and changed hands on many occasions. Among the previous owners were Inver House and Bell’s, who changed the style of the distillery’s production to suit their needs, meaning that there is a great variety in the taste of both the distillery’s bottlings and independent releases that have appeared over the years.
This is a Connoisseur’s Choice bottling of Bladnoch, distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2019.
The Connoisseurs Choice brand is one of the most recognizable independent bottlings on the market and this release follows the 2018 rejuvenation of the brand which saw it rebranded as a premium range of single casks.
We have a penchant for well-aged Lowland whiskies, and when you taste this dazzling 1988 Bladnoch, it’s hard to hold back your excitement! It is bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for their Connoisseurs Choice series after a full 30 years of aging in a refill American hogshead cask. The only 155 bottles are bottled at cask strength, 55.8%, and are not color added or chill filtered.
Colour: Amber.
Scent: Juicy! Lots of fresh red fruit (rhubarb, raspberries and red apples), wine gum and honey.
Tasting notes: The taste is also fruity and juicy, but you also feel your own spicy notes of menthol and chilli.
Serving suggestion: Enjoy it neat, preferably with a drop of water or two.
Bladnoch was founded in 1817 when John and Thomas McClelland decided to make whiskey on the family farm. The distillery remained in family ownership until 1905, and since then it has changed hands quite a few times, most recently in 2015 when the Australian businessman David Prior bought it together with the approximately 2,500 casks that were in storage. From these he composed a new core range of single malts and in 2017 production started up again. The style is classic Lowlands: light, grassy and malty, but since 2017 they have also started making semi-strong smoked whiskey (35 ppm) – something you don’t normally see in that region. The capacity is approximately 1.5 million liters of pure alcohol per year.
Gordon & MacPhail are to the noble single malt what Lennon & McCartney are to pop music. For more than 100 years, they have insisted on jumping over where the fence is highest. The inherited sense of selecting the absolute best casks from a wide range of distilleries is practiced today as it was 100 years ago. Once the dish is selected, it is transported to G&M’s warehouse in Elgin. Here the cask is looked after and cared for along with thousands of other selected casks until that day in the future, be it five, ten or fifty years down the line, when the whiskey has reached its zenith. Only here are the precious drops bottled.majority of which it struggled to remain open, changing hands on many occasions. Among its former owners were Inver House and Bell’s, who changed the style of the distillery’s production to meet their needs, meaning there is a great variety in the flavors of both the distillery bottlings and independent releases that have appeared over the years.
This is a Connoisseur’s Choice bottling of Bladnoch, distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2019.
The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognizable independent bottlings on the market, and this release follows the 2018 rejuvenation of the brand, which saw it reimagined as a premium single casks range.
