Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 57.8%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Blackadder International Ltd
Average price: € 85.00
Official website: www.blackadder.nu
After quite some time, the English bottler Blackadder returns to the blog (the most loyal readers may remember the interview from January 2020 with Blackadder’s Sales Manager, Hannah Tucek, daughter of the founder of the label, Robin). A whisky bottled by Blackadder was the hundredth review (collective!) on Whisky Art. And it was also the review of a whisky from Blackadder that marked the first year of the blog. Today, however, there is no celebration; I simply dug into the sample cabinet and this one came out.
This is a single ex-Sherry cask, distilled at Balblair on November 5, 2012, and bottled in February 2021. In truth, there is also a commemoration here: the twenty-fifth anniversary of Blackadder, which was born in 1995.
Curiosity: this is a split cask, in the sense that half of this cask was produced by Blackadder, while the other half has been bottled by the Israeli Southern Drammers Whisky Club. The alcohol strength is a remarkable 57.8%, and the current availability is evidently scarce, hence the indicative price.
Like all Raw Cask series, no type of filtration is performed on the distillate, not even mechanical, thus leaving the cask sediments in the bottle.
Tasting Notes
The color is amber.
On the nose, all the classic aromatic markers of maturation in ex-sherry are overwhelming like a tank: abundant caramel, orange zest, raisins, resin, dried figs, maple syrup, and cane sugar. The plus is a pleasant note of aged wood that gives the profile an air of austerity.
Immediately dissolved on the palate by a saccharine boldness bordering on the unbearable: the caramel note takes on monstrous dimensions, with maple syrup, raisins, cane sugar, and a sprinkle of pepper as faithful squires. The fruit, in the guise of apricot and peach, peeks through on the second palate. Malaga adds a touch of cream, since the sweetness up to this point was not enough…
The finale is hot, spicy, and hyper-sweet with such an amount of caramel that it immediately suggests a visit to a diabetologist.
Review: On the whole, it was well received online. It seems to me the classic example of a young whisky where the cask has taken over, imposing itself with the delicacy of a jackhammer. The finesse of the Balblair distillate is barely perceptible on the palate, and the result is such that even a sherry addict could end up feeling overwhelmed.
Vote: 78/100