The Bladnoch distillery gets its name from the nearby river that the site was built next to within Dumfries and Galloway, back in 1817. Back then I bet they never knew how its future would turn out.
Like the cats that scour the whisky warehouses for mice, the Bladnoch distillery has had many lives, having opened and closed many times throughout its 200+ year history.
It is a stroke of marketing genius to therefore call their first core release under its latest ownership “Samsara”. The name in Sanskrit means “cyclic change” or “rebirth” and in 2017, this release marked relaunch of single malt scotch whiskies from the site.
The whisky does not carry an age statement but is said to contain whiskies that are 8 years old and above. The final product is a meld of their spirits that haven matured across first fill Californian red wine barriques and bourbon casks.
Samara has been bottled at 46.7% ABV without chill-filtration, and is presented at its natural colour (with the red wine casks taking a lot of the credit here!). Full-size bottles are still available and currently retail around £70 GBP directly from the distillery.
Nose
Quite a wine-like nose. Light and floral but still quite punchy. Red berries, red grapes, and soft drying oak deliver an inviting sweet and fruity smell with a touch of spice and nuttiness.
Taste
Light and peachy flavours arrive at first. With a bit of time these are joined by cherry blossom and stone fruits flavours. There’s a decent malty flavour to the whisky but its body feels quite light. The flavours build gradually with light oak flavours and a gentle rise of oak spice – but it’s more about the vanilla oak flavour than its spice.
Finish
A gentle oaky tingle lingers with a lasting plain chocolate note.
Verdict
I can see how their spirit over time has become a cornerstone of the lowlands scotch scene. The overall body is quite light and it remains quite floral from nose to taste to finish. The red wine influences seem to be adding to that too.
I have been meaning to try this for some time, after having enjoyed their limited 10 year old release (for my old notes click here) – it’s a cool bottle and brand. You need to be careful with one though as they could cause some damage!
Whenever I’m writing whisky notes I try to avoid facts or stats about the whisky where possible to taste it as blind as I can, and I was not surprised to read about its red wine element. The wine cask influence seems to carry more than most wine cask finishes whiskies I’ve tried. The light floral and berry sweet nose made it almost seem like a different spirit.
I like history behind the distillery and their write-up implies that some of the stock that goes into making this might be very well aged.
I’ve seen this online for around £85 through retailers recently and that does seem pretty damn pricey for what it is. People have to make a living, I guess. I would be keen however to try their younger Vinaya and smoky Alinta releases.
Overall an enjoyable light sipper (its strength makes you take your time!) and I’d recommend listening to the Samsara Blues Experiment whilst enjoying this – some nice long jams to take your time with this whisky.
M
Sample disclosure: This sample was received as part of the Master of Malt Pour & Sip paid subscription for December. All notes are intended as an honest, fair, and independent review of the whisky, and not as a promotion. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
whisky unplugged 
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