It’s a good rule of thumb not to base your opinion about a whisky based on a single tasting, at a given evening. It’s not always possible if you’re tasting a small sample that can’t be re-used, but It’s advisable if you have a generous sample, or a bottle. We’ve tasted this BA single cask last week with some friends, side by side with other Clynelish and Mortlach single casks by signatory (see notes here, and here), and at that time I did not think too highly of this one, not sure why. Having tasted it two weeks later, It really felt much better, and I did come to like it quite a bit…
Blackadder Raw cask is always cool with those little bits of cask debris, I always wondered 
how they manage to get those into every bottle (I guess they just collect it all and then divide it evenly among the bottles or so)? any ideas?
Clynelish 1996 [Blackadder Raw cask] cask #8782, 58.6% abv, € 112
Nose: Starts quite rich with sherry and ripe red apple, dark honey and nuts. Quite an earthy feel to it and with a drop of water the earthiness is more prominent and the waxy notes you come to expect are also there.
Palate: More sherry influence here as well as pepper and spice. Milk chocolate filled with nuts and almonds and also a flinty edge with used matchsticks and sulphur. Drying towards the end.
Finish: Quite dry. Sherry and dark chocolate with hints of dry fig and dark honey, and some matchsticks too.
All in all this is a a very good Clynelish, the sherry is not prominent, which is nice as it does not mask the basic aromas and flavours of the spirit. Very different than the 18 year old Signatory Sherry Clynelish, but still quite enjoyable. It’s more expensive than the Signatory version. If i had to choose I’d opt for the former, rather than this one.
Score: 87/100
Cheers for the sample, Ofer.
I think you’ve hit the spot with the price comment. Signatory is almost always less expensive, and almost always nicer.
I’ve been a tad fed up with Blackadder, although I have had some stunners over the years. In the last couple years they’ve started pricing themselves as if they are Adelphi, without the same level of consistent high quality.
Kind of a bummer, but it means the amount of Blackadder in my collection is evaporating…
true