Bladnoch unveils new taste initiative to share its bold Galloway spirit

Scotland’s oldest privately-owned Scotch whisky distillery, Bladnoch has unveiled an innovative new global tasting initiative designed to give more whisky enthusiasts the chance to sample its bold Galloway spirit.

Designed to bring the distillery’s taste-first philosophy to life, the Bladnoch ‘dram back’ program will allow whisky fans to try single malts from the distillery, formerly known as ‘Queen of the Lowlands’.

Running from March, the ‘dram back’ initiative will initially be available on Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation, before being rolled out across three more of the distillery’s most popular whiskies: Bladnoch Alinta, Bladnoch Samsara and Bladnoch 8 Year Old.

As part of the tasting initiative, 50cl dram sample pouches of Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation will be available to order directly from the Bladnoch website, priced at £15 RRSP each including postage and packaging in the UK or as part of an international order, allowing whisky fans to put taste considerations front and centre when deciding on their next whisky purchase. Each tasting pouch is made with sugarcane, offering a sustainable and eco-friendly way to try a new whisky dram.

For a limited time only, Bladnoch Distillery will also give the ‘dram back’ to each of its customers if they go on to purchase a full-size bottle of the whisky they sampled at a later date, with the cost of their initial dram deducted from the bottle price at checkout.

Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation is the first expression in The Wave: a five-part limited-edition series which showcases the five pillars of whisky making. Bottled at 53.8% ABV, the expression demonstrates the marrying process of whisky casks, opening with floral pine needles and fresh cut oak on the nose and imparting notes of sweet oak and toasted coconut on the palate, with a sweet, warm, refreshing finish.

‘Alinta’, an indigenous Australian word from several southeast Australian language groups, means ‘fire’ and ‘flames’ and evokes the notes of campfire embers found in each sip. Bladnoch Alinta utilises PX sherry and ex-bourbon casks combined with a sweet, smoky, peated spirit, setting this unique expression apart from anything previously released by Bladnoch.

Bladnoch Samsara, meaning ‘rebirth’, is a full-bodied and fragrant blend of malts matured in Californian red wine and ex-bourbon casks. This unique non-age-statement single malt whisky is rich and sweet, with notes of vanilla, fudge and citrus.

Bladnoch 8 Year Old is aged exclusively in American oak red wine casks, each hand-selected by Nick to bring together this rich expression featuring a nose of strawberries with herbal pine cones and a palate of strawberry jam, polished oak and nutmeg, with a very long, sugary and warm finish.

Nick Savage, master distiller at Bladnoch Distillery, said: “Our taste-first philosophy is at the heart of everything we do at Bladnoch. We’re proud of our signature grassy, floral spirit, which is typical of the Lowlands. However, we also use our taste-first approach to take educated risks and provide a range of whisky experiences, rather than being constrained by traditional whisky conventions.

“We believe that the best way to understand our taste-first philosophy is to taste it. Our ‘dram back’ initiative is our way of saying thank you for supporting our whisky, and we’re looking forward to sharing more drams with our whisky fans around the world this spring.”

Dating back to 1817, Bladnoch Distillery is one of the oldest single malt Scotch whisky producers in the world and is enjoying a bold and powerful revival. The legacy brand has been revived in recent years by David Prior, who purchased Bladnoch Distillery in 2015 and is the first Australian businessman to own a Scotch whisky distillery.

To purchase a dram of Bladnoch whisky, visit: https://www.bladnoch.com/products/the-wave-i-dram

For more information about Bladnoch Distillery, visit: www.bladnoch.com.

Tasting notes

Bladnoch Alinta

Campfire. Floral. Sweet.

Nose: Smoky ice cream, delicate floral with sweet oak.

Palate: Campfire smoke, almonds, raisins with a white chocolate body.

Finish: Long, with a sweet smoke.

ABV: 47%

RRSP: £75 

Bladnoch Samsara

Bourbon and red wine casks.

Nose: Vanilla cream, floral with fresh cut apples.

Palate: Thick vanilla fudge, sweet floral grass.

Finish: Rich, mouth coating, leading to refreshing citrus.

ABV: 46.7%

RRSP: £70  

Bladnoch 8 Year Old

Strawberries, jam, herbal.

Nose: Strawberries, with herbal pine cones.

Palate: Strawberry jam, polished oak and nutmeg

Finish: Very long, sugary and warm feeling.

ABV: 46.7%

RRSP: £60 

Wave I: Time & Maturation

Floral, oak, sweet

Nose: Floral pine needles with fresh cut oak

Palate: Sweet oak and toasted coconut

Finish: Sweet, warm and refreshing

ABV: 53.8%

RRSP: £150 

About Bladnoch Distillery

Bladnoch Distillery was established in 1817, making it the oldest privately owned Scotch whisky distillery in the world. As the southernmost distillery in Scotland, Bladnoch is commonly referred to as the ‘Queen of the Lowlands.’

Hand-crafted using malt from British growers and the pristine water from the River Bladnoch which flows alongside the distillery, Bladnoch single malts are non-chill filtered to ensure the truest flavours shine through.

This legacy brand has been revived in recent years by Master Distiller, Dr Nick Savage, formerly of The Macallan, and owner David Prior, who purchased Bladnoch Distillery in 2015 and is the first Australian businessman to own a Scotch whisky distillery.