Hi Jim thanks for the review, it took you 6 minutes before you mentioned heat, that was the first thing that hit me even with water it was still too hot. I will leave it for a while and see if it settles or I change my mind. Also the bottle weight is unbelievable !
Amazing for the price and I'm really glad to see you do a review of Bladnoch. I got to visit the distillery last year when we were touring the lowlands. I had their core range and then a second flight of the Dragon series which I believe is a distillery exclusive. I was so impressed I brought home the Dragon V which is very good. I admit to not being very impressed with the lower end of their core range. I should have tried some water. I expect good things in the years to come from this charming distillery. Wow what a comparison-- the price difference makes the Bladnoch a fantastic value. I do love the Deanston expressions and the 18 is really hard to get and therefore expensive here. Thanks for another great review, my friend. Cheers.
Bladnoch for me is love hate. A teaspoon of water & allow to sit half an hour is an absolute must. I just dont like it otherwise. Having said that, I'm fortunate to have the Australian Whisky Club 'Ember Casks' bottlings and they are terrific. I love your honesty in this review, spot-on.
Thanks for reviewing this Bladnoch, Jim. Haven't tried it and now I think about it, haven't tried any of the current Bladnoch range... and given your tasting notes, I'm not running straight to the liquor store... Slàinte mhath And please notice I withstand the urge to comment on your red wine handling ☝😂
I have a bottle of this on the go at the moment. It's taken a while for it to open up, but I am enjoying it. I've had the 11 (as many below also have had) and liked it a lot. Well worth a punt. Looking for the Liora and Samsara bottlings next, but not in a rush. :)
Thanks Jim for your thoughts. I prefer their 11, 14 & 19 year old bottles to their NAS whiskies but I have a lot in my collection so depending on the day etc, I'm still a fan of theirs. The Waterfall bottlings are very special too.
Great review was in the no camp until you compared it to deanston 18. That online shop has been discounting deanston of late, grabbed the 18 for around £55.
Thanks for a(nother) fine review, Jim. I haven't tried the Vinaya, but I really, really liked the only Bladnoch bottle, I've had so far, the 2021 edition of the 11 yo. Very light and delicate. I actually regret a bit that I didn't buy a backup when I saw it on offer at some point, but I remember spending my money on another (of course very interesting) bottle on that webshop back then. Oh well - if I'd bought the Bladnoch backup instead, I'd probably be regretting not having bought the other interesting bottle (which I don't even remember what was now)...... FOMO you know 😅 The 11 yo was a purely bourbon matured expression, so not really comparable to the Vinaya, but should you come across it, I can only recommend it. Currently, the only Blacnoch bottle I have in my collection, is the Liora (NAS, CS, bourbon and new oak). I remember Kevin Grant being rather excited about it in one of his reviews, so I'm really excited to get that bottle uncorked "when I get to it on my list". With regards to the Vinaya, even though the Deanston 18 is a rather favourable IYLTTTT comparison, I don't think, I'll be looking for the Vinaya (or any of the other Bladnoch expressions for that matter) anytime soon. Maybe when the Liora bottle is coming to an end some day... Cheers buddy! 🥃
Yeah it's weird and funky but it's a very very good whisky, especially for the price. Not a lot of people like Bladnoch but I am a fan. hah interesting choice at the end Jim! I don't have the old bottling but I'll definitely compare the new one to see if I get the similarities you get. Cheers!
Hi Jim thanks for the review, it took you 6 minutes before you mentioned heat, that was the first thing that hit me even with water it was still too hot. I will leave it for a while and see if it settles or I change my mind. Also the bottle weight is unbelievable !
Amazing for the price and I'm really glad to see you do a review of Bladnoch. I got to visit the distillery last year when we were touring the lowlands. I had their core range and then a second flight of the Dragon series which I believe is a distillery exclusive. I was so impressed I brought home the Dragon V which is very good. I admit to not being very impressed with the lower end of their core range. I should have tried some water. I expect good things in the years to come from this charming distillery. Wow what a comparison-- the price difference makes the Bladnoch a fantastic value. I do love the Deanston expressions and the 18 is really hard to get and therefore expensive here. Thanks for another great review, my friend. Cheers.
Wow for that kind of money if it even approaches Deanston 18 then it’s a bargain
Thanks Jim , great review 👍🥃
Bladnoch for me is love hate. A teaspoon of water & allow to sit half an hour is an absolute must. I just dont like it otherwise. Having said that, I'm fortunate to have the Australian Whisky Club 'Ember Casks' bottlings and they are terrific. I love your honesty in this review, spot-on.
Thanks for reviewing this Bladnoch, Jim.
Haven't tried it and now I think about it, haven't tried any of the current Bladnoch range... and given your tasting notes, I'm not running straight to the liquor store...
Slàinte mhath
And please notice I withstand the urge to comment on your red wine handling ☝😂
I have a bottle of this on the go at the moment. It's taken a while for it to open up, but I am enjoying it. I've had the 11 (as many below also have had) and liked it a lot. Well worth a punt. Looking for the Liora and Samsara bottlings next, but not in a rush. :)
Thanks Jim for your thoughts. I prefer their 11, 14 & 19 year old bottles to their NAS whiskies but I have a lot in my collection so depending on the day etc, I'm still a fan of theirs. The Waterfall bottlings are very special too.
Great review was in the no camp until you compared it to deanston 18. That online shop has been discounting deanston of late, grabbed the 18 for around £55.
Thanks for a(nother) fine review, Jim.
I haven't tried the Vinaya, but I really, really liked the only Bladnoch bottle, I've had so far, the 2021 edition of the 11 yo. Very light and delicate.
I actually regret a bit that I didn't buy a backup when I saw it on offer at some point, but I remember spending my money on another (of course very interesting) bottle on that webshop back then. Oh well - if I'd bought the Bladnoch backup instead, I'd probably be regretting not having bought the other interesting bottle (which I don't even remember what was now)...... FOMO you know 😅
The 11 yo was a purely bourbon matured expression, so not really comparable to the Vinaya, but should you come across it, I can only recommend it.
Currently, the only Blacnoch bottle I have in my collection, is the Liora (NAS, CS, bourbon and new oak). I remember Kevin Grant being rather excited about it in one of his reviews, so I'm really excited to get that bottle uncorked "when I get to it on my list".
With regards to the Vinaya, even though the Deanston 18 is a rather favourable IYLTTTT comparison, I don't think, I'll be looking for the Vinaya (or any of the other Bladnoch expressions for that matter) anytime soon. Maybe when the Liora bottle is coming to an end some day...
Cheers buddy! 🥃
Yeah it's weird and funky but it's a very very good whisky, especially for the price. Not a lot of people like Bladnoch but I am a fan. hah interesting choice at the end Jim! I don't have the old bottling but I'll definitely compare the new one to see if I get the similarities you get. Cheers!
Jim we have similar views on this bottle, great minds think alike? 🤔 I'm a fan of the Liora & the 11yr. Cheers to another great review!
This one's actually pretty reasonable priced here in the US, when you see it ($50 or so). not so far off from your price.