Blackadder NORTH BRITISH 2009 13YO Single Grain Raw Cask
Blackadder NORTH BRITISH 2009 13YO Single Grain Raw Cask
RETAIL LOCATIONS
Distilled: 06/30/2009
Region: Lowland
Bottled: September 2022
Cask Type: Hogshead Cask
The North British Distillery specializes in the production of grain whisky. Unlike malt whisky, which is made from malted barley and distilled in pot stills, grain whisky is typically made from grains like wheat or maize and distilled in continuous column stills. North British is situated at the west end of Edinburgh, near the Union Canal. Its location is relatively unique as many distilleries in Scotland are located in more rural areas. Often used in blends, this bottle is truly unique as it is a single-grain release drawn at cask strength with no added color or flavor.
The Raw Cask series is whisky as it always was. Whisky as it used to be. Every bottle contains its share of the CASK SEDIMENT and NATURAL OILS AND FATS that might otherwise be left behind when filling a cask-strength whisky straight from the cask.
Distillery Notes
Blackadder International was established 1995 by Robin Tucek who, together with daughter Hannah and son Michael run the family business
Robin Tucek is also co-auther with John Lamond of The Malt Whisky File – one of the most respected books about malt whisky
The Blackadder Raw Cask whiskies are complete cask whiskies bottled containing cask sediment.
DISTILLERY STORY
Blackadder’s philosophy is very simple – they believe that the Cask is King. Sixty to seventy percent of the flavors in a whisky are taken up slowly from the cask as the spirit lies maturing in the warehouse. The action of changing temperature draws the spirit in and out of the cask.
A family operation started and piloted by whisky legend Robin Tucek, they sell to a few limited countries around the world, primarily Tiawan, Japan, the USA and Sweden.
Blackadder was established in 1995 by Robin Tucek who runs the family business with his daughter Hannah and son Michael. Blackadder International gets its name from fugitive 17th-century preacher, John Blackadder. He is famous for preaching against the evils of alcohol.
Hannah Tucek states that the Blackadder International company will always be family-run. Each of the three owner-operators brings something unique to the table. Michael Tucek used to be a chef. He uses his familiarity with a wide range of aromas and flavors to write all tasting notes. Michael feels that “our sense of smell is the most direct sense to our brain and also our most complex. It’s proven that once you go over three aroma compounds mixed together, everything is subjective and becomes very personal. Every aroma can evoke a different memory in each of us and we build up our aroma library as we grow. By not being afraid to say what we sense and share it, we can all learn something from each other.” Like Michael, Hannah grew up around whisky and has come to appreciate whisky at its pure state. Her father and brother joke that she is the one that’s really in charge.
Every cask is unique, with its own fingerprint. This is why they bottle most of their whiskies from single casks. They don’t believe in chilling or otherwise heavily filtering their whiskies, and they never, repeat never, add caramel coloring or flavoring to their spirits. They have always believed the personalities of their whiskies are colorful enough. Their raw cask is famous for the barrel char in each bottle.
Learn more about Blackadder: https://www.glassrev.com/blog/2020/7/1/independent-bottling-spotlight-blackadder
https://www.glassrev.com/blog/2016/8/25/what-the-heck-is-blackadder
