Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

Bladnoch 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Matured - Sheep Label

Long Weekend Bladnoch

0 1094

@talexanderReview by @talexander

5th Sep 2016

0

Bladnoch 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Matured - Sheep Label
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    24
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    94

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This sample came to me by my good friend and Bladnoch nut (or is that Blad-nut?) Hershl Berman. One of the slightly older bottlings (there are sheep on the label, which is kind of cool), this 12 year old was fully matured in a sherry cask. The bottle has been open for about 18 months.

The colour is a deep gold. On the nose you get rich sherry (almost winey) notes: rum raisin, dates, rich leather and red apple skins. Papaya and red berries. A bit of orange. Meaty, like a rich prosciutto. Balsamic. Dark chocolate. Water flattens the nose. Not what you would expect from a Lowlander, though you can sense the delicacy behind the rich sherry cask.

On the palate, rich with more berries, dates and chocolate. Chewy mouthfeel. Both red wine and balsamic vinegars. Hint of ginger. The oak is showing itself more prominently now. Though it reduces the nose, water spices up the palate. Beautifully done.

The finish is long and deep with more rum raisin, baking spices and oak tannins. This is amazing stuff - your grandfather's scotch, which they just don't make like this anymore (no, really, I'm not just saying that, they don't - Bladnoch has changed hands since this was made and I bet this style won't be seen from them again). Sherry casks are not like this anymore - it reminds me a bit of the old G&M Mortlach 15. Definitely one to treasure and spend time with.

Find where to buy Bladnoch whisky

Nose:

Body:

Palate:

Related Bladnoch reviews

Read more Bladnoch whisky reviews

10 comments

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I wonder if this sample came from the same barrel as the 12 YO I have, open about 16 months. I got a vegetal note that just wouldn't go away, though eventually it became drinkable and made it up to a 88 (generous 88) when I reviewed it.

I will have to revisit this bottle again and see if I can get what you get out of it...

I agree that the new Bladnoch is unlikely to resemble the Armstrong era. I have a few bottles stashed away and it seems I have found someone to appreciate it with me...

8 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

I didn't get any vegetal notes from it - it was more of a nice meaty sherry pseudo-monster - big sherry on the outside, delicacy underneath. I remember liking it when I tried it with you before, but I really loved it this time.

8 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I didn't realize you had tried this with me before. I know we've tasted an 11 YO bottle a couple of times.

I wonder if the power of suggestion plays a strong role in smelling and tasting of Scotch.

I dug out this bottle tonight and the vegetal smell has "magically" been transformed to rich leather. I'm not getting all the things you do but I definitely get the chocolate and the spiciness.

If anything, your review has allowed me to look at this bottle in a new way, and probably appreciate it more. Or maybe the oxygen has finally improved it.

8 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

I remember sheep on the label...and then the story about Jeff.

8 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

That was the 11 YO sheep label...unless it was the 12 in Collingwood

8 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@Nozinan, I think we had this at your place, and then you poured me the sample bottle. I could be wrong though. BTW I have a bottle of the Bladnoch 10 F&F, haven't opened it yet...

8 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

What we tasted at my place was the 11. I may have given you a sample of the 12 but I don't recall. The first time we tasted it in 2014 the 12 was not opened.

The F&F is likely from before the Armstrong era. I would be interested in trying it out.

8 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@talexander, regardless of the vintage, that story remains an epic tale about you, Igor, and Jeff and your cask strength tour.

8 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

You definitely gave me the sample - it's your handwriting, your name, etc. Whether we tasted it or not at your place that time, I'm not totally sure but I think we did. Memory is foggy. Funny how whisky does that.

8 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@paddockjudge, Jeff loves his sheep, in the way only a true man can love a sheep...and for those reading who are not, ahem, intimately involved in our shenanigans, the cask strength tour referred to herein was Lagavulin (not Bladnoch) and involved behaviour neither Igor, Jeff nor myself are particularly proud of.

8 years ago 0