Tasting: Bladnoch 1992 26 yo by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Bladnoch
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1992
Bottled: Summer 2018
Age: 26 years
Limitation: 246 bottles
Casks: Bourbon Hogshead
Alcohol: 49,3%
uncoloured / unchillfiltered
Whiskybase link

Now that we’ve got a Cadenhead’s store in Austria again I can be a bit more timely with my tasting notes on some of their wares. So let’s take a look at their recent release of a 26-year-old Bladnoch, a distillery I’m usually quite fond of …

Tasting notes:
Colour: white wine
The nose is quite fresh, yet sophisticated. A good marriage of refill wood and spirit, so it seems. We’ve got citrus (with peel), apple and pear peel, a strawberry or two, a hint of fading summer flowers on a slate board, sweet grapes, old banana and a touch of icing sugar. Light and delicate but with lots of little things going on in there. Delightful!  Let’s check the palate! 

Hmmm… interesting. Quite coating on the first sip… chalk and breakfast cereals, anyone? Texture-wise we’ve got a mixture between creamy, oily and dry, which works. The flavours are not too different from the nose. Red apples and juicy pears, grapes, a touch of icing sugar (with citrus flavouring), the white banana stuff and slate board. Again, the mixture of cask and spirit works rather well. I didn’t add any water, this is perfectly balanced at 49% ABV.
The medium long finish is quite oily upon swallowing with a mixture of cereals and fruits (apple, pear, banana) and some high notes of citrus. The icing sugar makes an appearance as well.

Verdict: Some bottlers would probably slaughter a dram like this by slapping a (insert random en-vogue wacky cask type here) “finishing” on top – thank god the folk at Cadenhead’s didnt. The refill hogshead and the spirit work in tandem and balance each other out to provide a light and somewhat intellectual dram that might not appeal to all, but it certainly works for me!

Score: 87/100
(Nose: 89 Palate: 85 Finish: 86)

Click here to see all the Bladnoch expressions I’ve tried so far

The sample for this tasting was provided free of charge by the Cadenhead’s Vienna store. No other compensation was provided.