This was the whisky I was most intrigued by in this set— Bladnoch has a colorful history and its whiskies can sometimes be a bit weird and wild in just about any era. The distillery shuttered right at the beginning of the twentieth century, and again at the end of the century, caught in each case by soft demand and excess production. The distillery was nearly lost in 1937 after its stills were decommissioned and sent to Sweden, but it returned to life during the boom years of the 1950s. It has been on steadier footing since its purchase in 2015, and hopefully that continues with industry headwinds rising— unlike in previous eras, the distillery has a visible and well-regarded single malt label available in retail markets.

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Whisky: Bladnoch 34 Year (1990), SMWS 50.120 “Dawn’s Embrace”

Country/Region: Scotland/Lowland

ABV: 53.4%

Cask: Refill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 34 Years (Distilled 26 Jan. 1990)

Notes: Creamy and fruity— behold a board of fruits and cheeses for tasting: apples and blue cheese, pears and gorgonzola, goat cheese infused with lemon, orange zest, and yuzu. Honey and more wood notes gathered steam in the background with glue, canvas, soft wood, spring florals, and moss— a forest art supply store.  Medium-bodied, the flavors were bright and vibrant with plenty of honey, clay, canvas, and glue from the art supply store. Subtle florals appeared with Elmer’s glue, mossy earth, and fruit-scented rubber erasers (the kind you may have collected as a child). Occasionally creamy, otherwise fruit dominant at the end with dried pineapple, mango gummies, and lychee. The finish was long with a gentle pepper, hints of cream, and otherwise plenty of caramel and wood resin.

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Score: 9 (92)

Mental Image: Cheese Tasting at the Atelier Cézanne

Conclusion: At our local tasting for the Creator’s Collection, this was nearly the unanimous favorite— and after retasting everything a few times, it is still my pick. The aroma was fabulously varied with enough funk to make it interesting, but not so much that you could not kick back and relax with the whisky. My favorite Bruichladdich have a similar combination of fruit and cheese and this added a bit of art store nostalgia (my family used to own one)— and what whisky is not better for surfacing lost memories. The palate had a fantastic evolution and the flavors were clear and well-defined, a touch unusual at times, but coherent. Really wonderful— my experience with early 90s Bladnoch has been mixed, but this left me needing more.