Bladnoch Samsara, 10, 15 & 17 Reviews

Hi everyone,

Let me start by saying that I like Bladnoch as a whisky. I loved the sheep label 12yo from the old owners.

But Bladnoch has had a turbulent past, and when the last owner decided he could not continue, potential buyers were thin on the ground. David Prior ended up buying the place in 2015 and immediately went about designing a heavy new bottle and planning stupidly expensive special editions.

I got around to trying the new range because I was excited to see what they had done. I shouldn’t have been.

Bladnoch 10 46.7%

Colour: Straw

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Dough and yeast, something savoury like Parmesan cheese, lemon but also a sour note, not really in balance, nettle and mint.

Taste: Sharp arrival, quite sour and astringent, lemon and dough, some yeastiness, weird off note into the finish.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Ugh, odd, metallic.

Oh dear. This was actually the one I was most expecting to like from the new range.

50/100

 

Bladnoch Samsara 46.7%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Similar style to the 10 with yeast and dough but with porridge, some ginger spice, dry oak, a little playdough/putty.

Taste: Crisp arrival, lemon citrus before the fatter doughy notes, quite clean though which is good.

Finish: Medium length. Soft, that clean lemon and porridge, some putty.

More like it but pretty boring. Where is the big Bladnoch character that I loved?

68/100

 

Bladnoch 15 46.7%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Christmas spices and cherry, some chocolatey malt, light orange, a little rubber, cream and nettle.

Taste: Soft and a little flat on the arrival, mouthfeel is thin until the chocolate and malt arrive, cream and nettle, some rubber into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Some oak, quite dry here, rubbery Sherry.

Fully matured in Sherry but still not enough to save it. My favourite from the new range I've tried but still not great. Again, quite average and also the most expensive.

69/100

 

Bladnoch 17 46.7%

Colour: Dark Gold, Red Tint

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Herbal, dry and spicy, red gummy bears, but also a little rubber, nettle, vanilla, grass, a little porridge in the background.

Taste: Soft and fruity arrival but quite a thin mouthfeel, then dry oak, red gummy bears, cherry lips and astringent rubber.

Finish: Medium/Long length. More astringent rubber and a little harsh oak and spice.

15 years in Bourbon, 2 in Cali red wine. Another uninspired Bladnoch. The red wine has killed off the mouthfeel on the taste I think. Feels like a bit of desperate move to try and save whisky from bad barrels and hasn’t really paid off.

64/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch reviews #759-#762

Whisky Network Reviews #901-#904

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Loch Lomond 17 Organic Review

Hi everyone,

What is an organic whisky?

Well, if you’re Benromach it means getting everything certified organic; the barley, I assume yeast? and wood. Meaning that they use virgin oak.

This one does not, it has a soil association sticker round the neck, so I think the gimmick is that the soil the barley was grown in was organic or some shit.

What I saw really was a cask strength, 17yo Loch Lomond in a Bruichladdich Blue label.

 

Loch Lomond 17 Organic 54.9%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Vanilla custard, some rubber, biscuit and malt, quite a nice light one, relaxed and not too in your face, vanilla bon bons, custard creams.

Taste: Soft and light, lovely creamy vanilla, shortbread and malt then a nice burst of tropical fruit with mango and pineapple. Nice mouthfeel too, juicy.

Finish: Long length. Suddenly chocolatey with drying but very nice fresh ginger.

From 1st fill bourbon. Apart from the little rubber on the nose, this is a very impressive Loch Lomond. Not sure the organic stuff is making a difference to the flavour, its just a good CS one at a slightly older age. Price should be reasonable too.

78/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #746

Whisky Network Review #884

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

A few blends: BNJ, Ballentine's 17, Christmas Reserve & VAT69 1965 Reviews

Hi everyone,

A few Scotch blends today as that’s a lot of what is sold throughout the world.

As per usual I’ve selected some random, discontinued, limited editions that you won’t be able to find, as that’s pretty much all I review these days! Just kidding, there is one 17yo you’ll be able to get if you can fight the Jim Murray fans away from it.

Bailie Nicole Jarvie 40%

Colour: Gold, not much E150a

Body: Light

Nose: Lots of light fruitiness, lots of Glenmorangie-esque apple and pear, a bit of mango, a little waxiness, a leafy note. Quite juicy actually.

Taste: A little hot, then creamy with fruit- Apple pie, more pear though, a leafy note, Bourbon waxiness, a little oily.

Finish: Medium length. A little heat, but fades gradually.

Discontinued now. Quite a high malt content of mainly Glenmo I think. Not worth hunting down for myself personally, although I know that many people had this as their go to.

63/100

 

Ballentine's 17 43%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Quite herbal at first- Cloves, oriental tea, green tea, lots of creaminess with mint ice cream, brown sugar, a wisp of peat smoke, polished wood. Citrus notes- Lime, lemon and vanilla.

Taste: Citrus fruit, sweet tea, green tea, lime, more peat than the nose would suggest. Long development, lots of spice then peat smoke building more.

Finish: Medium length. Honey, lemon and lime, oak and salt, a little drying.

Took a while to truly appreciate this, not a beginner’s whisky IMO. It’s subtle and well blended though.

74/100

Ballentine's Christmas Reserve 40%

Colour: E150a, lots of it.

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity, plums, blackberries, spice, cinnamon, Christmas cake, nuts, grain and Brandy.

Taste: A bit oily, fruit and a bit of nut then more spice builds.

Finish: Short length. Spiced oak.

Very meh, although the nose is alright.

55/100

 

VAT69 43% 1965 Bottling

Colour: E150a

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Creamy vanilla, nice grain ethanol, natural grassy wheat, pear, sugar pastille, herbal pine and mint.

Taste: Soft and light, very creamy, nice mouthfeel, grain forward then vanilla, lots of pine and mint with this herbal background. Very interesting. Menthol. Pear and green apple.

Finish: Long. A nice finish with more pear and green apple, creamy oak.

Always super interesting to taste some of these older drams. It’s almost like opening a time capsule of how whisky was made and put together back then. A very nice version, unrecognisable from the (cough) modern shite.

71/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #632-#635

Whisky Network Reviews #752-#755

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Ardbeg 23, 17 & Rollercoaster Reviews

Hi everyone,

Ardbeg is one of my favourite distilleries, despite the marketing department sinking their claws ever further into this great whisky.

The problem Ardbeg has, is that the Uigeadail is such a brilliant whisky for a reasonably reasonable price and that any special editions struggle to equal, let alone surpass it. These are some recent special ones from WFNN in Groningen I was lucky enough to attend.

The 17yo in particular I was fascinated to try, as Jim Murray himself admits to being the whisky’s maker. He gave it 92/100… While the packaging is a great example of throwing objectivity out the window, with tasting notes on the whole Ardbeg range from Mr. Murray and quotes from the whisky bible expounding the many virtues of this most wonderous of drams.

Ardbeg 23 Twenty Something 46.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Subdued after 23 years, faint smoke, grapefruit citrus, cooling spearmint, candied lime peel, chimney soot. A bit closed off.

Taste: Instantly soft lime followed by subdued smoke, peated malt, some grapefruit, oily, doesn't have the complexity though. Lovely mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length. Shorter than I'd like, that peated malty taste and then a citrus grapefruit hit.

1993/4 distillate. What is there to say? A let down for such a price. Although its great whisky, it doesn't hold up to Oog.

83/100

 

Ardbeg 17 40%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Everything I wanted from the 23 on the nose. Very expressive Ardbeg, lovely complex juicy lime, slightly tropical fruit, peat still very present, pickled lime curry paste (the one you get with your poppadums in UK Indian restaurants). Very nice nose Mr. Murray.

Taste: Soft and clean, subdued smoke, lots of lime, then the smoke builds with quite some power for 40%, creamy oak, nice oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length. Loses power rapidly, lime and creamy smoke.

It seems Mr. Murray knows how to put an Ardbeg together! I think this was an earlier version, as I’ve heard that these got a little less peaty over time. I dread to think how good this could have been at 46%!

86/100

 

Ardbeg Rollercoaster 57.3%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Classically Ardbeg but with more soft herbal notes, lime peel, spicy curry paste, coriander, clove, dark liquorice, quite 'tight' but good.

Taste: Huge, intense peat, very very big and spicy, curry paste and pickled lime, ginger and coriander, then more creamy and soft into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Much softer suddenly with more lime, creamy and oily.

A committee release made up from a vatting of casks from 1997-2006. Reminds me a little of Corry actually, but another example of a ‘special’ Ardbeg not holding up to the original range. Its just a bit too much power and not enough of the usual Ardbeg finesse.

81/100

Distillery: Ardbeg

Average Score: 83.8

Distillery Ranking: 4th/64 places

Up/Down: No movement

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #597-#599

Whisky Network Reviews #709-#711

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Hakushu 18 & Hibiki 17 Reviews

Hi everyone,

Last Japanese review was… wow, back in October and even more wow was over 100 reviews ago.

These next two in particular I’ve been keen to try, mainly again because of Ian Buxton’s 101 Whiskies. But then, my version was written before the current Japanese whisky craze.

That means these two are hard to find. And when you do, they’re gonna be hella expensive. Someone I managed to charm/nuisance (probably more nuisance than charm) myself into tasters of these at Inter. Whisky Frankfurt.

Hakushu 18 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Interesting leafy and earthy, floral, green apple, very slight smoke, tobacco leaf, softly herbal, rosemary, vanilla, far away gun smoke.

Taste: Light and easy, very soft, vanilla, leaves, some tobacco and earth then green apple, some soot, a little oily, nice sour lime zest.

Finish: Long length. Darker, chocolate and tobacco, earth, a little lime zest.

A lovely continuation of what I remember the 12 to be. Very interesting style you don’t really get anywhere else. Much less disappointing than the Yama 18 but I wouldn't pay todays crazy prices!

79/100

 

Hibiki 17 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Soft and VERY Japanese. No flaws. Light but quite complex with floral oak, flower petals, rose, beeswax, noticeable grain, delicate, just dried donut (which is quite delicious).

Taste: Soft and sweet, beeswax and honey, floral, dry oak, small berries, plum, more malt forward than the nose, malt, slightly leafy and earthy, Hakushu-esque.

Finish: Medium length. Very soft and very nice. Candle wax, lemon peel, earthy malt and some light chocolate and coffee.

A nice one, interesting to try the Hakushu 18 before since they’ll be Hakushu in here and it definitely comes out in the development. I actually had a bottle of this at one point but I sold it at auction (I know, BOOOOOOOO etc), using the money to buy a SMWS Springbank. Pretty happy with that trade off now I’ve tried it.

77/100

Thanks for reading!

Japanese Reviews #17-#18

Whisky Network Reviews #659-#660

Network Average: 74.7

Best Score: 93

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Highland Park Dark 17 & 1999 Full Volume Reviews

Hi everyone,

I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the direction Highland Park are going. They’re still on of my favourite distilleries when it comes to the age statement range (which I think is great, although was better priced a few years ago).

But a multitude of NAS and ‘collectors’ editions riding on as much Viking themed marketing as possible has left me a little disillusioned. The latest in this seemingly endless stream of new whiskies is Dark and (the yet to be released) Light. I was lucky enough to get a taste of the Dark in the Whiskysite.nl shop and managed to write some notes.

Next then was the new HP Full Volume, which has a vintage, a higher strength and a reasonable price.

Highland Park Dark 17 52.9%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Really dark fruit and spices. Rich Sherry, fig, plum, dark chocolate, heather, sweet honey. Great nose.

Taste: Rich and intense. Spicy, red apple, dark orange, plum, dark chocolate, syrup, Sherry and coffee.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Espresso, dark chocolate.

Best thing from HP in a while. The balance is there, it is heavy but not overly Sherried. The HP character comes through. All in all this was great whisky but remember these babies don’t come cheap. Because, you know, Vikings.

85/100

 

Highland Park 1999 Full Volume 47.2%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Underripe mango, melon, very fresh and clean, clean malt, austere for an HP, almost Irish-esque with that 'green' fruit and oak, lemon peel.

Taste: Soft arrival, melon, underipe mango, green oak, sappy, clean lemon, orange peel, dry oak, vanilla, quite dry though.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Slightly sooty, melon, very dry finish. Nice though.

Distilled 1999, bottled 2017. Not a super 'full volume' HP (the Dark is much more FULL VOLUME HP) and I'm not a massive fan of this style but good on 'em for age statement, colour and abv.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #545-#546

Whisky Network Review #640-#641

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?