Bladnoch 10 Year Old

Average score from 5 reviews and 6 ratings 86

Reviewed by @Wierdo

6 188/100

This review is of a sample of the highly regarded Bladnoch 10 released in 2019 and now sadly no longer available. The sample was kindly provided by @Timp.

Nose

Best way I could describe this is it smells of spring! Straw, cut grass. A bready note. Some creaminess and an ever so slight hint of confectionery.

Palate

Neat - some pepper on the arrival. Quite sour. With wood sap. Dry. Oaky. The finish is long with some tannins.

With water

It becomes sweeter on the nose with a little water. Still quite drying. A little spice appears. The finish streches out even further and the tannins come to the fore.

Overall

A very interesting malt. Quite complex. Certainly not a beginners dram. There was a lot of hype surrounding this whisky and I can see why. Although it doesn't quite live up to the expectations I had.

Impressed but not blown away.

@Nozinan commented:

Thanks for the review.

If you had tried the Bladnoch 10 I tried about 9-10 years ago you might have been blown away. Maybe it was my untrained palate, maybe it was the single cask, maybe it was the 55%, maybe it was the sherry, or maybe I was lured in by Ralfy's viseo visit and interview with Raymond Armstrong, but I became an instant fan.

That first bottle was the best, so far. I've had the 11 and 12 YO and a 9 YO mini, but that one was the best.

Would be nice to try some of the yoghurt king's Bladnoch, but I won't spring for a whole bittle without a taste...

Comment on @Wierdo's review

Reviewed by @Pandemonium

0 584/100

As dark clouds gather above the Bladnoch distillery, just three years from its second centennial, how about a review of the 10yo by Raymond Armstrong?

Nose: a briny nose, with farmy notes like hay, malt and yeast in the background. A second layer improves the nose with hints of iodine, peat, a few fruity tones of figs and citrus accompanied by a subdued whiff of vanilla and toasted oak. (With a dash of water the nose becomes surprisingly clean and new coconut aromas surface)

Mouth: warm on the palate, with spicy orange peels and honey on the forefront, mouth drying and bitter in the middle with notes of oak leaf lettuce and spiced up with black pepper in the tail (with water added, more fruity notes like pineapple and white grapes develop)

Finish: long and lingering finish with notes of cereal, biscuits and a bit of porridge and good touch of spice.

@Pandemonium commented:

Raymond Armstrong released a lot of 10yo whiskies, so there is probably no standard 10yo. There are a lot of single cask editions or different batches available on the market. However, I'm talking about the 10yo that was released in 2013, matured in a bourbon cask and bottled at 46%. Most likely unpeated (not mentioned) but I detected a whiff of peat, maybe from the watersource or the barley. A 84 may be a bit low, but not by my standards, for me this was a whisky somewhere in the 84-86 range: an overall pleasant whisky but nothing earth-shocking. I've had better single cask releases by Bladnoch.

To me an 95 would be for an cask strength Lochside or so. Got the lightly peated 11yo Bladnoch 55% in my cabinet, but I'm going to keep that one closed until the future of the distillery is assured

@Nozinan commented:

Good points. Indeed, when I emailed the distillery they mentioned that most of their releases were single cask ones. Even the 55% sherry cask matured are all different. I was lucky to get to from their first 10 YO cask and I have 3 unpeated 55% sherry expressions ( 10, 11, 12 YO) as a set. Those are for the distant future. I then have a cask strength 10, 1-2 slightly peated 10s (55% sherry) and about 4 11 and 4 12, also 55% (the latter 8 still in Florida where they were shipped).

I did try a lightly peated 9 YO bourbon cask at 46% and was less impressed, but all 3 expressions so far have been good to fabulous, and I look forward to (over decades) opening a few more.

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Reviewed by @Nozinan

0 995/100

Raymond Armstrong took this distillery to an entirely new level when he bought it. Unfortunately the distillery has been limited in how much spirit it may produce, making this dram extremely hard to find outside the uk. Such a pity. Even though production is so low, they still put out bottles at or near cask strength, at a very reasonable price (£40).

The 10 year old single sherry cask expression is bottled at 55%, with no caramel added and not a chill filter in sight.

On the nose, rich sherry, vanilla, oak, cara,el. On the palate, sherry, chocolate, butterscotch. The finish is exquisite, dries out the mouth in an elegant way.

In terms of value for money, I would happily buy 3-4 of these over a JW Blue, and you could buy 10 of these for less than 1 bottle of Macallan 25 and some would say each bottle would taste better...

This is one of the best Scotches I have ever had. A shame people in North America can't buy this.

@Nozinan commented:

I now have a set of 10,11,12 all at 55%, sherry matured. Plus i have a second 12 waiting for me to finish the 11 i have open.

And in Florida, if my friend hasn't drunk them, i have 2 10s, an 11 and one more 12 so that i have a couple years' supply before i need to buy more, though always on the lookout for new releases.

@vanPelt commented:

@Nozinan , Thanks for the intriguing set of Bladnoch Sheep Label reviews. Have you got around to trying the 12yo in 2014? I'm contemplating a purchase of 10yo vs 15yo/16yo-- Any thoughts? (I know you recently named the 10yo as one of your top 3...)

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Reviewed by @MaltActivist

0 179/100

The nose is quite nice with strong vanilla and figs intermingled with citrusy orange. The palate offers you sweet honey and pudding and then towards the end a warm aroma of spicy burnt ginger and orange. The finish could have been longer, in my opinion. Critics love this whisky but I dont.

@Nozinan commented:

Try a dram of a 10year distiller and matured by the current owner. That 79 may well turn into a 97!

Comment on @MaltActivist's review

Reviewed by @Anonymous

1 290/100

Bladnoch is not a high profile distillery and I therefore approached this bottling with no preconceptions.

I tasted without adding water as it comes in at 43%.

It has a delicious citrus and marmalade aroma and I found myself nosing this for a full 10 minutes before diving in. I was rewarded when I did with a full flavour of honey and more rich marmalade (like my grandma used to make) with the malt playing a supporting role in the background before a gentle spicy note kicked in at the end. The spicy finish was smooth long and satisfying.

I hear that the new owner is doing wonders with this distillery and I have a bottle of 16 year old sheep label to try. If the new offerings are anywhere near the standard of this flora and fauna bottle they will be onto a winner.

A real cracker.