Cladach Blended Malt Whisky Review!

Cladach must be some trendy new "mystery" independent bottling or anonymous blend, right? No, not quite. This is Diageo's cask strength blended malt from the 2018 Special Releases!

The Special Releases from 2017 & 2018 saw two curious and underappreciated additions to the usual line-up of single malt releases, in the form of cask strength blended malts - meaning different single malts blended together with no grain whisky involved - from various Diageo malt distilleries. In fact the first of these, named "Collectivum XVIII", actually featured whisky from all twenty-eight of the company's Scotch malt whisky distilleries blended together - and the result (reviewed here) was delicious! The 2018 blended malt, named "Cladach" is a little different. The name is Gaelic for "Coast" or "Shore" in English, and only six of Diageo's Scotch malt whisky distilleries are involved this time. And as you can probably guess from the name, they're all coastal distilleries! Specifically, single malt royalty like Lagavulin and Caol Ila from Islay and Talisker from Skye, alongside major Highland names Clynelish and Oban, plus Speyside outlier Inchgower, coming from the mainland. Like Collectivum this cask strength blended malt hasn't enjoyed the attention that it deserves, largely because of what some consider to be a dirty word: "blended". Testament to that is the fact that both Collectivum and Cladach are still available in Australia, despite being bottled four & three years ago respectively. The pricing would not be helping that situation though, since neither of these whiskies was exactly cheap. Both weighed in at around $250 AUD, which is a bit of a stretch - fans of Diageo's coastal distilleries would've gone for the absolutely outstanding 2018 Talisker 8-year old and the more familiar Lagavulin 12-year old that hit the shelves at the same time, particularly when the former was almost half the price of this blended malt, and even the latter was a full $70 AUD cheaper. That pricing hasn't budged over the 3-4 years since their initial release, which would also not be helping them clear the stock.  

Regardless of pricing, the "I only drink single malt" crowd is missing out, because blended malts, particularly when served up at cask strength and naturally presented without chill filtration or added colouring, can be fantastic. And these one-off limited releases also allow the blending teams to have a bit of fun and create something totally new, rather than aiming for consistency and/or being shackled to the same "house style" that comes along with the big brand names that we're all familiar with. Higher-strength smaller batch blended malts are becoming more common these days, mainly among the "new school" independent bottlers like Adelphi and North Star, and the Douglas Laing 'regional' blended series and the Berry Bros. blended range, all of which have a different approach to category stalwarts like Johnnie Walker Green Label. Almost all of the larger companies have also joined in, with Edrington's Naked Grouse changing from a blended whisky to a blended malt a few years ago, and Chivas Regal 'Ultis' from Pernod Ricard, plus Monkey Shoulder and Copper Dog from William Grant's and Diageo respectively. Those are all low-priced blended malts that are aimed more at the mixer, rocks & cocktail scenes rather than the neat or straight whisky drinker, and I suppose the corporations behind them are really cashing in on the ever-rising popularity of single malt whisky by ditching the grain whisky components that are largely reserved for their cheaper blends or older more established brands. Blended malt whiskies over the AU$200 price point are a much harder sell, even at cask strength, when there is now such a huge range of single malts available below that. And one could certainly argue that many of those offer a more distinctive - not necessarily better, but more distinctive and more 'singular' - smell & taste experience than an equivalent blended malt. But a good blended malt is more than the sum of its parts. 

Most of the six distilleries in this Cladach blend will need no introduction, but Inchgower is an interesting addition since while it's obviously located near the coast, to the north of Speyside in this case, the few single malt examples that I've tasted haven't been particularly coastal in smell or taste, instead having a spicy & nutty character. Inchgower is a major contributor to the parent company's Bell's blended whisky, and aside from a Flora & Fauna release and one or two older bottlings appearing in the Special Releases over the years, there aren't many single malt official bottlings to be found. As is always the case with these quieter distilleries, the independent bottlers give it more time to shine than the owners do, but even those are surprisingly few & far between when it comes to Inchgower. Clynelish and Oban are also interesting additions to this blend, since they're both more subtly coastal than the big & powerful West coast island flavours coming from Lagavulin, Caol Ila & Talisker. So we probably shouldn't expect a big "peat bomb" from this blend, but rather a balanced whisky that sits somewhere in between the markedly different flavour profiles of the six contributors. As was also the case with Collectivum, we don't know what proportions of each distillery were involved in this blend, but it has been subjected to the same cask maturation recipe as that 28-distillery predecessor, being a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and also refill American oak & European oak casks. I suspect most of the components in this blend were a little younger than those used in the Collectivum, but that's purely speculation since neither has given any indication of age. Based on appearance & taste I'm going to assume this one is naturally coloured & non-chill filtered, as is almost always the case with the Diageo Special Releases, but it's not actually stated on the packaging. The sample for this review came from a very generous fellow whisky nerd. Batter up!

Cladach 'Coastal' Blended Malt, NAS, 57.1%. Scotland.

Blended from Diageo's six coastal Scotch malt whisky distilleries: Talisker, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Clynelish, Oban & Inchgower. Cask strength, presumed non-chill filtered & natural colour. 

Colour: Amber-gold. 

Nose: Oily & spicy. Fresh ginger bread, olive oil and black pepper. Waxy oranges and drying sea salt - salt-baked meat? Touch of thick honey and lemon rind. Fennel around the edges and blow-torched herbs. There's an alcohol nip here as well, but it's not excessive. 

Texture: Medium-heavy weight. Oily & rich, earthy & peppery. Touch of heat but it's pleasant and less aggressive than the nose suggested. 

Taste: Coastal, yes, but peaty? Not particularly. More olive oil, lemon ring and waxy oranges. Drying earthiness with black pepper and chunks of un-crystallised ginger. Some engine oil and a touch of fatty bacon crusted with peppercorns. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Drying sea salt and a touch of red chilli. Then olive oil and a light earthiness, and a stony minerality. Blow-torched herbs again - rosemary & tarragon? Dried lemon rind, slight grassy malty-ness and salt & pepper to the end. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: More towards Oban, Clynelish and Talisker I'd say, rather than any overt Islay-ness. I'm not detecting much peat, but that's no criticism - and that earthiness and oiliness are very pleasant. Clearly a well constructed blend, since any overdoing of the Caol Ila and/or Lagavulin components would probably overwhelm the other distilleries and defeat the purpose of making the blend in the first place. Cladach is a very enjoyable dram, with a great oiliness & spiciness and definite citrus. As said, I don't find it particularly peaty, but this is a great opportunity to take a look at the other coastal styles - and don't take that to mean that this is a lighter whisky, there is plenty of texture, flavour and character in this blend. 

This is an expensive bottle of whisky though, make no mistake, and it still needs to compete with the semi-regular and regular appearances of single malts from the component distilleries - particularly those from the same Special Releases program such as the Talisker and Lagavulin offerings. The other distilleries in this blend don't feature as often, and certainly not at more reasonable price points, so it's good to see them get some time in the spotlight here. Just like the 'Collectivum' blended malt that preceded it in 2017, Cladach deserves its spot in the Special Releases program, particularly since it seems to be a one-off appearance. If you can find it for around the $200 mark and aren't bogged down by the "blends are always bad" frame of thought, I'd recommend grabbing it while it's still around. 

Cheers!