Bladnoch Vinaya

@bladnochwhisky is one of the few distilleries that spring to mind when you mention the Lowlands

I was sent a sample of their Vinaya as part of a subscription to @whisky_me_

Bladnoch was founded in 1817 by the McCelland brothers John and Thomas on their farm near Wigtown in the south-west of Scotland. It stayed in the family for nearly 100 years before being sold to Belfast's Dunville & Co. in 1911. In 1937 the distillery was closed, it's maturing stock sold and it's equipment.

In 1956 Bladnoch reopened with new equipment. The Stillhouse was enlarged to four stills in 1966. The distillery changed hands a number of times before being bought by Arthur Bell & Son in 1983. Then in 1993 is was closed again. A sale in 1994 nearly saw the distillery demolished to build a holiday park but the plans fell thorough.

The distillery was bought by Australian businessman David Prior and  Gavin Hewitt in 2015, distillation restarted in 2017.

Vinaya is the latest in a the Classic Collection series, NAS (I've read that older barrels from before 2009 have been married with 4yo single malt from after the reopening), Natural Colour, Non-Chill Filtered, 46.7% ABV

Distillery notes: Matured in a unique combination of 1st fill Bourbon and 1st fill Sherry casks for notes of fresh apple, sweet floral grass and hints of chocolate. ‘Vinaya’, a Sanskrit word meaning respect and gratitude, pays homage to the original founders of the distillery who paved the way, as Bladnoch looks forward to an exciting new era of production and innovation. Nose: Sweet floral grass with boiled sweets, Palate: Fresh green apples and chocolate with a hint of pepper, Finish: Light and refreshing

My thoughts:

Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thin legs.

 

Nose: Orchard fruit: apples, pears, apricots; fresh baked bread, a little digestive biscuit and some grassy / hay notes. Some time and air offers hints of dried fruit and milk chocolate.

Palate: Smooth sweet arrival of stewed orchard fruit and honey, instantly warming and a little drying. The fruit and bread from the nose are here, a little peppery spice and some dry brown sugar. A little sour citrus as the liquid disappears.

Finish: Short, dry and spicy.

Thoughts: I was expecting more youth and new-make notes but the marriage of older casks has tempered this down. Blind I'd have said a 10-12yo ex-bourbon Speysider. There are hints of sherry inspired dried fruit on the nose but they are missing on the palate. Ok, it's not going to set your world on fire but it's a just a bit ordinary - do we need anymore ordinary whisky?

I was sent this as part of a subscription to Whisky Me which you can read about here.