Scotland, Lowlands. Distillery operational. Owner: David Prior

Located in the extreme south-west Lowlands, not far from the English border, Bladnoch has always had its gaze set on Belfast (Ireland), which stands not far away. This attraction is also part of its past, with its founders, the McClellands, teaming up with the Belfast company Wm Dunville & Co in 1911. Closed from 1938 until 1956, it was then traded between Inver House Distillers Ltd, Arthur Bell & Sons and, finally, United Distillers, companies for which it produced a whisky primarily used for the groups' blends. Up until the mid-1990s, its own bottlings were rare. United Distillers, however, incorporated it into its two flagship ranges of the time, The Rare Malts Selection and Flora & Fauna, but later decided to close the site in 1993. In 1994, Raymond Armstrong, of Northern Ireland, offered to buy the distillery to create a cultural centre. Despite a clause limiting production to 100,000 litres of spirit per year signed upon purchase, in 2000 he decided to re-launch production and soon released many new bottlings of Bladnoch.

A Lowland single malt aged for at least 10 years, bottled by United Distillers (the future Diageo) up until the start of the 2000s. Bottle presented without a case. Cork stopper and black foil seal. This bottling was part of a series launched in 1991. Composed initially of 22 labels, it was gradually expanded to include all 26 distilleries in the group. Some of these bottlings were the only “official” bottlings available for the distillery. The range was named by author, journalist and whisky specialist Michael Jackson. In its early days, bottlings were presented in wooden boxes, then in cardboard and finally without any case at all. Although the majority of bottlings are equipped with a cork stopper and black foil seal, a few versions exist with a white foil seal.