Ok, so we have made it to the end. Wave 2 or Wave 2025 or Wave 2/5

Whatever its called this second Wave release adds a new variable or element to the series. This time its a look at distillery spirit character which is cool and maybe I would imagine there is a lot of casks offloaded into this second tun which were refill or tired wood which would mean the level of wood influence should be dialled right down compared to Wave I.

Weirdly though the official notes for this release say the barrels used were all either first-fill ex-bourbon or recharred barrels.

Re-charring is an interesting cask management technique. As we all probably know the Scotch Whisky industry is by its very nature a business built on the fundamental concept of “Repair, Reuse, Recycle“. The overwhelming majority of cask maturation is done in reused Bourbon, Sherry or wine casks. Some amount of those casks are shipped over here flat packed for assembly in cooperages in Scotland and after their first fill in Scotland they are repaired and re-used again and again. A significant number of barrels maturating whisky today might have arrived in Scotland in the 1970’s or even earlier.

What happens though when the wood is completely worn out after 2 or 3 uses? Well, one technique is to rejuvenate the wood flavour by trimming the inside of the casks down and re-charring them over an open flame to bring some toasty woody notes out of the wood again to flavour another fill or two of whisky.

There is a cooperage in Speyside called “Speyside Cooperage” which has a visitor centre. Its on my list to visit but I haven’t been yet. However, I did find a video on YouTube which shows some of what I am talking about above.

Why do you think barrels are stored outside in those whole piles? Who will be the first to get the right answer in the comments.

Tasting Notes

Nose	more orange than yellow by the narrowest of margin
Palate	lightly buttered but almost burnt toast and apple juice. It’s a breakfast of champions!
Finish	bitter and sour short finish with more hot spice notes

Final Thoughts

The brief for this second edition is to focus on the spirit elements and not wood influence. I have to confess with so much time in maturation in this tun I wondered how obvious that would be but this is definitely a spirit forward release.

My biggest challenge is the price. Does it really taste like an £150 bottle? Not for me. The story is good but it feels like an indulgence by the team at Bladnoch not a bottle you would want to drink and share.

Lastly, please don’t come at me in the comment for my green washing of the whisky industry above. I’m aware the mass production and global distribution of whisky has its environmental impact. It was nice to dream for a moment though wasn’t it?