Bladnoch 14 Year Old 2021 Release

Dr Nick Savage has been working as a Master Distiller at Bladnoch since 2018. If that name doesn't ring a bell: Savage is a former Master Distiller at Macallan! But four years ago he made a so-called horizontal shift to this Lowlander, because he believed that he could put a completely new range on the map. And I must confess, since the acquisition by David Prior in 2015, Bladnoch had faded into the background for me. What I tasted didn't really appeal to me. Could Savage change this? Let's give it a try with this 14-year official release from 2021, which matured on oloroso sherry casks.

The nose is rich and aromatic on grassy and floral notes, complemented by a cartload of caramel and apple cake. Apricots and peaches pop up, notes of dessert wine and some grape juice. Quite interesting, without being completely earth-shattering.

The body is light, but not watery. Immediately I get notes of pastry again. Apricot pastry with a big pinch of cinnamon and cloves, supplemented with milk chocolate with praline filling, rum raisins and again that touch of dessert wine. This is not too bad. Midpalate a bitter touch as from walnuts appears. Well balanced, however.

The finish is darkly sweet, gently seasoned and slightly drying.

Well, this is already much better than I expected, but 100 EUR? I find that a bit pricey for this bottle.

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