Bladnoch 10 year old (bottled ~2018)

Bladnoch is one of those I'm-open-I'm-not-open distilleries that cause ownership to either:

A. Release NAS bottlings, or

B. Wait until the stock ages a little longer, or

C. Understate the whisky's age.

"A." is frequently the way. 

Bladnoch was closed from 1905-1911, 1937-1956, 1993-2000, and 2009-2017, which means the newest ownership will have to make some choices about their expressions over the next several years. They've already chosen "A." But will they also choose "B." or "C."?

Four years after its release, their limited edition 10 year old is still on liquor store shelves across this little blue world, so this review might almost be relevant!

Suzy Creamcheese is about to steal the sample bottle...

Distillery: Bladnoch
Region: Lowlands
Ownership at time of distillation: Colin and Raymond Armstrong
Age: at least 10 years old
Maturation: bourbon casks
Outturn: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 46.7%

(thank you to Dr. Springbank for the sample!)

NEAT

All the caramel, honey and mint in the nose read more like bourbon than single malt scotch, so those casks have expressed themselves.....into the whisky. Minerals, dried herbs, heather, and lavender flowers fill the middle and background. Cardamom pods take over after 30+ minutes. Though vanilla, caramel and wood spice do appear in the palate, they float in the distance rather than clogging the foreground. Instead, lime candy, yeast, and a variety of peppercorns read loudest. It finishes very sweet, with caramel and lime candy.

DILUTED to ~40%abv, or < 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Marshmallows, caramel corn and cardamom fill the nose. The palate's a curious cocktail of simple syrup, cardamom, cloves and woody bitterness. It finishes with vanilla, flowers and tannins.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Though Bladnoch 10 year old is cask-forward, it's also very pleasant, exceeding my low expectations. The blenders selected casks that countered the distillery's sometimes-quirky spirit, and created a contemporary easy-drinking whisky. (Keep it neat, though.) It's the sort of whisky that would have cost $25-$30 eight years ago, but goes for at least twice that price now.

Availability - USA, Europe, New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere
Pricing - $55-$80

Rating - 83

Bruichladdich 32 year old 1985 Rare Cask Series

I reviewed the first half of a 64 year old (is that how math works?) Bruichladdich Taste Off yesterday. The 32yo 1984 held the distillery's final casks from 1984, while today's 1985 was built from the final parcel of its own vintage. While the '84 was only re-casked from bourbon casks into fresher bourbon casks, the '85 needed more retooling, per Señor McEwan. This larger outturn spent 27 years in 3rd-fill ex-bourbon, then 5 years in 1st-fill ex-bourbon, then several months in Claret casks. Smells like Murray McDavid to me!

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Ownership at time of distillation: Invergordon Distillers

Region: Western Islay

Series: Rare Cask

Age: 32 years (1985 - 26 May 2017)

Maturation: see above

Outturn: 4200 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 48.7%

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose begins with many of the same characteristics as the 1984, such as the minerals, limes, fennel, and orange oil. But it has more more chocolate, more shortbread. Hints of ocean and florals, and subtle touches of blackberries and dried currants.

Could the wine casks have helped correct the oakiness that plagued the 1984? Or hid it? The palate isn't winey, though its dryness reads more like dry wine than woody tannins. Tart citrus notes read louder than the sweet berry notes. Some honey here, a few marshmallows there. Sweeter citrus slowly moves to the foreground.

It finishes moderately oaky and sweet. Honey, berries, cayenne appear in order, joined by a slight bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I enjoyed this one more than the all-bourbon-cask 1984. More complex and less extractive, this 1985 made for pleasant drinking, while reading less hot than its lower-abv predecessor. As often happens, its casks were unmasked in the finish, and its balance started to teeter. Both of these 32s had unusually short conclusions, considering their age, as well. They were a bit of a disappointment overall, compared to the two fabulous 1985 DNAs.

Time to go to a different "B" distillery...

Availability - Secondary Market
Pricing - ???

Rating - 86

Bruichladdich 32 year old 1984 Rare Cask Series

As you can tell by the title, I'm abandoning contemporary Bruichladdich for the old stuff. Today's whisky was assembled from a dozen bourbon casks, a dozen re-racked bourbon casks. That second maturation wasn't just a quickie finish, rather it was eight to nine years in length. The packaging says that these were the last 1984 casks the distillery had in their warehouses. Seems like a nice way for them to bid that vintage adieu.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Ownership at time of distillation: Invergordon Distillers

Region: Western Islay

Series: Rare Cask

Age: 32 years (31 December 1984 - 26 May 2017)

Maturation: bourbon casks, then bourbon casks again

Outturn: 3000 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 43.7%

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose starts off quite spritely despite the whisky's advanced age. Minerals, limes, fresh fennel, cut grass, earth and orange oil. Beneath that floats a rich bread pudding and a drizzle of maple syrup.

The palate also begins youthfully; sweet and malty, gently fruity. Bananas, dried apricots, and apple candy. But then it gets woody. Very woody. Spices, tannins, bitterness. Only the apple candy survives.

It finishes sweet and woody, like a long-aged bourbon, which is not entirely a compliment. Bananas and bubblegum on the furniture. But mostly the furniture.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

It smells gorgeous! I'll give it that. But those aggressive re-racked casks......not for me. I wonder what it was like after its first maturation, and I'll have to keep on wondering. Meanwhile, Angus, Ruben, and the  Whiskybase crew are crazy about this stuff. Sláinte to them! They can have it, and probably do. Let's see how its 1985 Rare Cask cousin performed in comparison...

Availability - Secondary Market
Pricing - ???

Rating - 83 (lovely nose though)

Bruichladdich 16 year old 2005, cask 0977 for Feis Ile 2022

Last week's Bruichladdichs turned out to be a mixed bag, which shouldn't have come as a surprise to me since the distillery's contemporary unpeated malts don't offer consistency. This week I'm going a completely different direction. First, one recent monstrous single cask, then two considerably older releases.

Though I'm not a member of Friends of Bruichladdich, one of the FOBs did split up his bottle of the single cask bottled by the distillery for the group for this year's Feis Ile event. Many of Bruichladdich's Valinch-style releases weigh in at fearsome ABVs, and this one is no different, burning in at 63.8%. There will be water.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Expression: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Region: Western Islay

Age: 16 years (18 July 2005 - 31 May 2022)

Maturation: "SC", I was told it was Sauternes but I think it's sherry

Cask #: 0977
Exclusive to: Friends of Bruchladdich

Alcohol by Volume: 63.8%

(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Meaty, leathery, and gunpowder-y sulfur hits the nose first. Somewhere beneath that cloud are black raisins, brown sugar, pecans, roses and brine. There's even more sulfur in the palate, mostly of the gunpowder sort, which is too bad because all the other characteristics — like lemons, honey, salt, and bitter herbs — struggle to be found. It finishes savory and salty (mostly due to sulfur), and slightly tangy.

DILUTED to ~50%abv, or >1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Ah, the nose is much cleaner now. Oranges and lemons meet mint leaf, basil leaf and rose petals. The palate is still quite hot, though the sulfur has receded, which allows the sweet raspberries, tart limes and wood spices to be heard/tasted. It's tangy, salty and peppery on the finish.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or >2¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Raspberries, dark chocolate, lemons and saline fill the nose, as the sulfur turns peppery. The palate has gone vague. It's savory, sweet, tangy and tart, somewhat balanced, but also somewhat of a blob. The finish hasn't changed much, still tangy, salty and peppery.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

As noted on the sample label, the bottle's owner thought this was a Sauternes cask. But I'm guessing it was actually a sherry cask. The distillery's "SC" description doesn't help matters. No matter what, this whisky was a big hot sulfur puddle when neat. Dilution scrubs it up a bit, though the palate never really takes off, already getting blurry at 46%. My troubles with ultra-high ABV single malts and unpeated Bruichladdich continue.

Meanwhile, bottle owners over at Whiskybase are wild about this stuff, though these guys are less thrilled. Can't wait until the sulfur-phobes weigh in!

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - originally £75

Rating - 78 (with dilution)

Bruichladdich 10 year old 2008 Bere Barley

And then there was the Big Bere. All the Bere barley single malts I've tried (from Bruichladdich and Arran) are very different animals than all the non-Bere whiskies. And this one is no exception. But with an asterisk.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Expression: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Region: Western Islay
Age: 10 years (2008-2018)

Maturation: bourbon and Tennessee whiskey casks
Barley strain: Bere

Source: Orkney
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No

(from my 20cL bottle)

NOTES

Some nice layering on the nose. Apple peels and lime zest. Smoked salmon and ocean air. Caramel sauce and tapioca pudding. But then the palate goes a completely different direction. A joltingly bitter grassiness smothers everything except for a hefty metallic note. A mojito and bitter citrus peels lie somewhere beneath. It finishes with bitter and tart citrus peels, like kabosu and limes, and lots of simple syrup, but even more mothballs.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Having searched online, I've found no one else who had such a visceral reaction to this whisky's palate. Just my offline drinking buddy, Dr. Springbank, and I. Other reviews are all, "Fruits and spice!", which makes me wonder if something went weird with the contents of my bottle. Meanwhile, the nose is great! How does one grade a bottle of napthalene that smells like high quality scotch?

Availability - Set and full sized bottle are scarce
Pricing - ??

Rating - 79

Bruichladdich 8 year old 2009 Organic Barley

The wee 7yo 2008 Islay Barley charmed. What will the 8yo Organic Barley do? It has another year of maturation, no wine casks, and came from pesticide-free barley stalks. It has that light straw tint to it that still thrills this drinker...

Distillery: Bruichladdich
Expression: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Region: Western Islay
Age: at least 8 years (2009-2018)
Maturation: bourbon and Tennessee whiskey casks
Barley Source: Mid Coul farm in the Highlands
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No
(from my 20cL bottle)

NOTES

At least three things are happening in the nose. First, there's a pretty combo of lemon custard and lychee. A darker side, made of paint VOCs and wood ash, curls around the fruits. It's a held up by a foundation of barley grist, peanut dust and dried thyme. After a while, it also gains notes of guava and milk chocolate.

Malt and sugar fill the palate's early foreground, with lemons and limes in the back. Gradually, the citrus moves to the front, adding in grapefruit, which brings in more tartness.

It finishes tarter than the palate, full of grapefruit and lemon juices, the malt and sugar linger in the distance.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

A complex nose gives way to a simple palate. Neither offend, but the nose leaves more of an impression. Again, the spirit leads the way, perhaps even more than the 7yo Islay Barley. Or at least this one feels younger. If I were to get a bit vague/abstract/obnoxious about things (and why stop now?), I'd say this pour would work best in spring's earliest weeks, as the last snow melts away, snowdrops begin to ascend and, FFS, can we just skip to March already?

Availability - Set and full sized bottle are scarce
Pricing - ??

Rating - 85

Bruichladdich 7 year old 2010 Islay Barley

I'd seen this wee set sitting on retailers shelves around the world for years before I got around to buying it:

As I'd mentioned in Monday's intro, I've always respected Bruichladdich's whisky exploration of various barley strains and sources. Often those bottlings have very little cask influence, which helps the drinker experience the spirit. A good thing!

I've tried other vintages of this set's trio, and even finished bottles of the earliest versions of Organic and Bere that came to The States, so this blind buy wasn't much of a risk. Dr. Springbank and Dr. Springbank and I opened these bottles a few days before this review, so I had a sneak preview of coming attractions.

First up, the Islay Barley.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Expression: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Region: Western Islay
Age: at least 7 years (2010-2018)

Maturation: refill(?) bourbon and French wine casks
Barley strains: Optic and Oxbridge

Source: eight Islay farms
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No

(from my 20cL bottle)

NOTES

Barley, honeycomb, apples, apricots, lemon peel and citronella arrive first in the nose. Hot candle wax, grass in the warm sunshine, and flower kiss candy appear later. The palate almost reads like breakfast cereal, with malt, confectioner's sugar and honey up front. Apple fritters, oranges and white peppercorns linger near the edges. It finishes warm, sweet and spicy, with fresh ginger and baked apples.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Utterly delightful! If other baby whiskies were this clean and crisp, you wouldn't hear me whining about them all the time. While it would be interesting to chart the whisky's complexity if this same batch was aged in refill casks for 18+ years, I'm very taken by the bright simplicity of the malt at seven years. I'd happily purchase a 750mL bottle of this batch were it easily available, four years later. Also, what French wine casks?

Availability - Set and full sized bottle are scarce
Pricing - ??

Rating - 88