Bladnoch

Bladnoch is the most southerly whisky distillery in Scotland, and stands on the banks of the River Bladnoch in Wigtownshire. It is a charming little distillery, with still a sense of how things were before the development of the massive conglomerates that rule over the trade nowadays.

Bladnoch was sold off as surplus to requirements by one of those conglomerates - and was bought by an Irishman. As part of the deal, he couldn't produce whisky for eight years - so for that period of time the distillery was closed. Now it is open and functioning well.

When in Galloway recently I picked up this bottle.

Supermarkets demand that their whisky should be crystal clear - and as a result most whiskies are chill filtered (filtered at close to 0C) in order to remove oils and fats. Purists say that ruins the taste of the whisky. I don't know what I think about that. But in any event, this bottle is distinctly cloudy - proof that it has never been near the chill-filtration plant.