Old Pulteney 1990/2004 Blackadder Raw Cask

The Shape Shifter

Incidentally while I tastes this dram, the 2013 album of Swedish metal band Amon Amarth: The Deceiver of the Gods was playing on my stereo.

One particular song that came up, in my eyes perfectly captured the spirit of this whisky: The Shape Shifter, a song about the Nordic god Loki, the god of mischief. (no not the marvel version) with the power to change his form, be it a man or an animal.   

For legal reasons I did not refer to this whisky in my title as "Loki", as not to unleash Ragnarök from the people of Highland Park upon myself ;)

Time Capsule

Preserving a bottle for the future

http://www.thedrinkingmansguidetoscotland.com/balblair-distillery.html

For quite some time I have been playing with the idea  of buying a bottle of whisky, with the same age as myself. By that I mean, a whisky distilled in the same year as I was born.

I got a few other bottles, that I keep aside for special occasions or just to drink later. But I destined this one to be for the ages. Something I'll keep in the cabinet for the next 50 years or so.

Springbank 10yo (OB) vs. Blackadder Raw Cask 1995/2005

Comparing two expressions

No competition

http://www.theweeklings.com/jkabat/2013/06/06/the-angels-share/springbank-distillery/

Another week, another Blackadder Raw Cask, I really need to stay away from this bottler, their bottles are addictively good.
On today's menu, a young Springbank at cask strength, from 1995, bottled in 2005.
To make things a bit more interesting, I will compare it to an official 10yo bottling from 2010.

When I posted this review on Whiskyconnosr, I received some valid criticism, thus I incorporated my responses into this review.

Clynelish 14yo 1989/2003 Raw Cask

Vanilla Wine

Another week, another Blackadder Raw Cask, I guess? This week an old Clynelish from 1989. Thus far I've only tried the 14yo official bottling and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by Clynelish, a very distinct taste. 

The Distillery

http://www.whisky-news.com/En/distilleries/Clynelish.html

Clynelish is probably one of the odd distilleries out there, while founded in 1819, the name is currently used for the new distillery that was build right next to the old one, that was renamed Brora. Interestingly enough, although the old distillery was called the Clynelish distillery for over 150 years, people still think of Clynelish as a replacement of the old "Brora" and state that Clynelish has Brora stills.

The whisky is a favorite of many blenders, thus the distillery concentrated on volume rather than developing its own expressions, so initial bottlings of the single malt are rare. Only in 2003 the standard 14yo expression became available for the wider public.

As far as lighter peated highland whiskies go, to me this is one of my favorite distilleries with a solid spot in my top 10.

St. Magdalene 1982/2008 Blackadder Raw Cask

Scottish Calvados

http://www.axmaltwhisky.co.uk/85.html

Another week, another lost distillery, This week it's St.Magdalene's (Linlithgow) turn. Closed like so many others in 1983, the distillery however was preserved as they turned the old buildings into apartments.

I remember driving past the old distillery in 2012, I only started drinking single malts a year earlier and I had no idea that this was one of the famous lost distilleries, nor did I know its name.

Now almost two years later, I'll my first taste. Another Blackadder raw cask, this is the second one I tried, after a Lochside from 1981 and I must say that this is a great bottler, and I'm quite digging the raw cask concept.

Lochside Blackadder Raw Cask 1981/2004

Lochside Blackadder Raw Cask 1981/2004

My first lost distillery

So, I'm very excited about this one, my first dram from a lost distillery. Browsing a local liquor store looking for some cheap bottles I came across this older gem from Blackadder. Lochside was a distillery in Montrose Angus. It was open for only 35 years from 1957 to 1992, production was set up in an old brewery for the Sandy Macnab blend. After its closure the distillery was destined to be torn down and its grounds used for redevelopment. The old 19th century tower building was supposed to be preserved but a fire in 2005 destroyed all the remaining buildings, so I've you go looking today, you'll search in vain to find a trace of the old distillery, lost forever only some old pictures remain and a few bottles that pop-up from time to time.