tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post6504299601240786637..comments2024-03-16T11:28:41.525-04:00Comments on Diving for Pearls: Single Malt Report: Bladnoch 18 year old (OB, sheep label, 55%abv)Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288790197865570681noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-48176422342527384442015-03-09T13:29:47.159-04:002015-03-09T13:29:47.159-04:00Good to know. I'll keep snooping around about ...Good to know. I'll keep snooping around about this. Though, from second-, third-, and fourth-hand sources, I've heard that the actual production never risked getting to the limit levels.Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-59159764892586066612015-03-09T13:27:55.364-04:002015-03-09T13:27:55.364-04:00@MAO - I'd heard about the sheep-sherry/cow-bo...@MAO - I'd heard about the sheep-sherry/cow-bourbon labeling. I'm sure that's the case, but there's been some blurring of it online. Whiskybase lists at least one sheep label as a bourbon cask (which may be just be due to crowdsourcing issues). Also, on the Bladnoch Forum, Raymond says "we tended to use the sheep label for whisky that matured in hogsheads and the Beltie for whisky that matured in bourbon barrels but that rule doesn't work with sherry cask matured whisky with origins in butts" here: http://www.bladnoch.co.uk/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=39977Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-48486714769042115732015-03-08T00:22:58.445-05:002015-03-08T00:22:58.445-05:00I have two other Bladnochs from you - a 9yo and a ...I have two other Bladnochs from you - a 9yo and a different 11yo. I enjoyed part of the 9yo much more than the 11yo already. So it can't be all bad - and I don't think it is. Just that based on my experience there are other distilleries ahead of it on my list. Way ahead.Florinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14445344658258056628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-20857361606156175132015-03-07T00:02:06.353-05:002015-03-07T00:02:06.353-05:00Also: my understanding is that Bladnoch under Raym...Also: my understanding is that Bladnoch under Raymond A. essentially only released single casks, whether they were labelled as such or no; and also that the sheep labels were always sherry casks; not sherry/bourbon vattings as Florin speculates.My Annoying Opinionshttp://www.myannoyingopinions.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-14097453084638686012015-03-07T00:00:04.141-05:002015-03-07T00:00:04.141-05:00Florin, I'll have a review of that 11 yo K&...Florin, I'll have a review of that 11 yo K&L lightly peated Bladnoch up sooner or later0---I'm not a fan either. I'd hate for you to judge Armstrong-era Bladnoch on that basis though. I think all that K&L cask demonstrates is what I suspect 80% of the time: the Davids have dodgy palates that are probably very influenced by enthusiasm from various directions. Almost all the Armstrong-era Bladnoch I've ordered directly from the UK in the past have been very good values, with some that would be very good even at much higher prices than Raymond A. ever charged.My Annoying Opinionshttp://www.myannoyingopinions.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-69607062568265988862015-03-05T19:41:08.334-05:002015-03-05T19:41:08.334-05:00I remember a blurb in Charles Maclean's World ...I remember a blurb in Charles Maclean's World Whisky (pretty good reference book by the way) that in 2000 Diageo allowed Bladnoch to produce up to 250,000 liters. However it's not clear if Bladnoch ever reached that capacity. At the very least it was the distillery's theoretical maximum.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13215982348779717643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-76525786341592321482015-03-05T18:23:32.191-05:002015-03-05T18:23:32.191-05:00@Florin - Thanks for the confirmation of which rum...@Florin - Thanks for the confirmation of which ruminant animals graced the label. I should have asked you about it before since that does matter. I'll update my info right now. I was surprised by how blah it was without water; perhaps my expectations were set too high. Some folks really like their sheep.Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-52041998916015414712015-03-05T18:19:48.638-05:002015-03-05T18:19:48.638-05:00Yeah, I think Bladnoch did the 2x distillation. I ...Yeah, I think Bladnoch did the 2x distillation. I thought that St. Mags did triple, but now I can't find that info anywhere. Littlemill gave up the 3x before WWII.Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-51588957530505027642015-03-05T18:17:41.563-05:002015-03-05T18:17:41.563-05:00Do you remember where you saw that info? I think ...Do you remember where you saw that info? I think the 250K was their actual capacity, according to Malt Madness and the Malt Whisky Yearbook. But from what I've heard they were only distilling sporadically for most of their existence anyway.Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-26688803322811820182015-03-05T15:30:41.268-05:002015-03-05T15:30:41.268-05:00Unless I'm mistaken, Bladnoch has been double ...Unless I'm mistaken, Bladnoch has been double distilled for a long time. It seems that besides Auchentoshan and Rosebank, the Lowland distilleries gradually gave up on triple distillation around the mid 20th century.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13215982348779717643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-36246052936161014822015-03-05T15:17:13.556-05:002015-03-05T15:17:13.556-05:00Raymond Armstrong actually convinced Diageo at som...Raymond Armstrong actually convinced Diageo at some point to allow increased production. So the 250,000 liter capacity may be the correct number. Still comparatively small though... Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13215982348779717643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-85790766370280198352015-03-05T11:57:10.197-05:002015-03-05T11:57:10.197-05:00Trip down memory lane - I finished this bottle two...Trip down memory lane - I finished this bottle two years ago! Yeah it had sheep on it. My first bottle of Bladnoch - and because of that, my only one. Here were my unenthusiastic impressions:<br /><br />"Medium sherried, cask strength, triple distilled lowlander. Not a lot of personality on the nose, or on the body. Somewhere between mild and muddy. Probably an unskilled blend of sherry and bourbon casks. I had good luck with blending it with some non-sherried whiskies." 2.5*<br /><br />(Maybe I should have tried it with water!)<br /><br />Last night I had a sample of <a href="http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1154934" rel="nofollow">this Bladnoch</a> and it strengthened the conviction that this is not my favorite distillery. You can easily take it for a blended whisky, but with a good, medium, oily, almost waxy, body (maybe because of cask strength). The fact that it's triple distilled shows - did they keep doing that during Armstrong's regime as well? I found the same simple combo of light cereals and grainy bitterness that you did in the 18yo. This one I may have tried with water, but what it seemed to need, and plenty of, was time in the glass - very muted at first.Florinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14445344658258056628noreply@blogger.com