Bladnoch 10 Year Old

The clean and crisp return of a classic Lowland style Single Malt.

Bladnoch Distillery was founded in 1817 by John and Thomas McClelland. Since then it has been merged and acquired a host of times — suffering the slings and arrow of outrageous fortune and occasional mis-management. But a few years ago, Australian entrepreneur David Prior bought the entire property — literally lock, stock, and barrels — and has installed all new equipment and is issuing forth releases from inventory and new-make production. Interestingly, it is one of only six remaining Lowland Single Malt distilleries that remain, and it is the furthest south in Scotland.

Bladnoch is made from locally-grown, malted barley. You might be surprised how may distilleries purchase their grains from large, centralized producers these days. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but a Single Malt made from local grains and using local water does bring a special character to the game. Their Bladnoch 10 Year Old is aged in ex-Bourbon casks and bottled at a perfectly wonderful 46.7% ABV without a trace of artificial coloring and no chill-filtering… as it should be.

Smartass corner:
Used to be that the Lowlands produced nearly all of the Whisky in Scotland. But tax laws and market disruptions decimated the local distilleries While the Highlands flourished with illegal, hidden stills that evaded the tax men. Well, times have changed and the industry is reviving in the Lowlands once again.