WTF Is This? Corti Brothers Exquisite Whiskey

Yeah, I know Friday is bourbon and rye day, but WTF is this "Exquisite" stuff? It's neither fish nor fowl, Shinola nor santorum. Okay it technically started out as bourbon, but the result is. The result is. I'll come back to the result in a moment...

The Players

The Corti Brothers have a history of releasing exclusive single malt whiskies, stretching back several decades. Whiskyfun has a bunch of reviews of old Corti stuff we'll never be able to try, so feel free to porn out to that. Though they bottled this Exquisite Thing under their own label in 2014, Corti Bros neither distilled it nor matured it...

In 2013, Amador—a Sierra foothills distillery founded in 2012—obtained 13 barrels of Kentucky bourbon and finished for eight months it in casks that held batches of a sweet wine called Mission del Sol for 40 years. So Amador neither distilled the whiskey nor produced the wine...

Mission del Sol was made at Harbor Winery in Sacramento, from the Mission grape. Their last batch of Mission del Sol was produced in 1986 and bottled in 2014. They no longer make the sweet wine.

And finally, the bourbon was distilled by a mystery Kentucky distiller from a 70/25/5 mashbill in 2006. In 2013 they sold 13 of the barrels to Amador Distillery who finished the stuff in wine casks from Harbor Winery and then bottled the stuff under Corti Brothers' label. And we're back at the beginning again.

The Review

Thank you to Florin for this nice big sample. He and I also drank some of this together (what seems like) a million years ago. For the long and winding data on this whisky see the section above.

Its color is a very red brown. The nose starts with bubblegum, raspberry jam and corn syrup. Cherry-flavored children's medicine, eucalyptus and a hint of vanilla. Lots of oak: sawdust and bark. The palate is almost all Port, for a while. Then black grapes and Schweppes raspberry ginger ale (circa 1980s). Not much whiskey in this whiskey. Maybe some rye spice. Dark cherries and tart blackberries. A liqueur's sweetness. It finishes like high strength Port. Very sweet. Cheap maraschino cherries. Maybe some jammy PX.

This is a Port + Chambord barrel-aged liqueur. Is that a good thing? That depends on one's preferences. This stuff is beloved by Sku, be-not-loved by The Whiskey Jug, generates contrasting responses from LAWS, and somehow garners a positive review from Serge who always HATES this level of imbalanced wine bomb. I think this stuff would be great poured over rich vanilla ice cream, or matched with bitter dark chocolate. Drinking it straight didn't gross me out because I like port and berry candy. It's not terrible; in fact, I liked it more than the first two batches of Bruichladdich Black Art. But I've sipped this whisky on three occasions now and I am happy to say that's all the Exquisite Whiskey I need. I'll have some crap rye now, thanks.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - $30 (375mL), $50 (750mL)
Rating - 79

WTF Bruichladdich: X4+3

The Story

One thing is true about the Reynier / McEwan Era, Bruichladdich was not afraid to experiment. These enterprises paid off in the birth of two excellent brands, Port Charlotte and Octomore. Their trials also resulted in the X4+3, the failed espionage droid designed to monitor English aggression.

Unfortunately it affixed itself to some schnook's head, became mayor of London and then totally upended the national economy. So perhaps it didn't entirely fail in its mission--

Sorry, X4+3 is a whisky. I was thinking of something else.

Having already created a triple-distilled single malt, known as Trestarig, Bruichladdich tried out a quadruple-distilled whisky in 2006. It came off the still at a heartwarming 90%abv. A year later they endangered Feis Ile attendees with X4+1 Deliverance, a spirit drink aged one year and bottled at 65.4%abv. Two years later, X4+3 Uisquebaugh Baul left the hangar, now a legal whisky, bottled at 63.5%abv. It was aged in a combo of ex-bourbon and virgin American oak casks. People experienced it and lived to tell the tale. Now it's my turn.

I had to steel myself with some recent Glenfarclas 105 (what is it, a 5yo now?) for this task.

Blogger won't let me display this content. Too many Xs.

The Review

Distillery: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Age: 3 years
Bottling year: 2009
First Maturation: 50/50 mix of ex-bourbon and virgin American oak casks
Product full name: Bruichladdich X4+3 Uisquebaugh Baul
Alcohol by Volume: 63.5%
Limited Bottling: 15,000
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(Thanks to Brett, Patron Saint of Happy Pups, for the sample!)

The nose starts off with some creamy barley, salty butter and hay. Imitation vanilla extract. With time, some fruit notes roll in. Offseason apples and tinned pineapple. Reducing it to ~50%abv brings out some cinnamon and florals. More sugars. When reduced further to ~43%abv the nose is nearly gone. Light grainy notes, vanilla and caramel.

The palate is a much different creature. Medicinal and metallic with burnt barley and burnt herbs. Plenty of heat, of course. Some caramel, but more wool. And a mineral sparkle. When reduced to ~50%abv it loses some of those unique phenols, but picks up more sweetness. Peppery. Maybe some ham. Dropped to ~43%abv it gets sweeter still. The edge is gone. All that's left is caramel and brown sugar.

Not a lot going on in the finish. Mostly spicy ethyl, grass and a grain eau de vie. Some hints of ham and bitter burnt bread. When dropped to ~50%abv, it's hot, burnt and peppery, with tart lemon and a hint of florals. At ~43%abv, it's tangy and peppery.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Like yesterday's whisky, the nose and palate are totally different, but flipped around. The palate is kinda wacko, and I like it. Reminds me of the weirder refill cask Auchentoshan (triple-distilled) indies I've had. But the nose is almost grain whisky...with new oak. I have no idea if this linked to the very high alcohol content the X4 and grain whisky both have when they're fresh off the still. But the similarity is striking. The finish doesn't have much going on, but that's probably because it's young. I do like the eau de vie characteristic though. If the finish and the nose matched the palate, I'd be shouting "Get Some X4" right now. But they don't.

It's still worth a try if you can find a single pour somewhere, just for the palate's rude glory. I wish I could say that the X4 will blossom with additional aging, but there's a lot of new oak in there. Serge may have been on to something 10 years ago; the X4's peak might have been when it was born.

Availability - Scarce, you may have to search the auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (just for the palate, don't add water please!)

Winey Bruichladdich: 21 year old Cuvee 382 La Berenice

HEY! I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THIS WHISKY! Read below.

Distillery: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Age: minimum 21 years
Bottling year: 2012
First Maturation: ex-bourbon casks
Finish: Limousin oak ex-Sauternes and ex-Barsac sweet wine casks
Product full name: Bruichladdich 21 year old Cuvée 382 La Berenice MG41 L'Age D'Or
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(Bottle was from an OCSC event, sample poured from mid-bottle two days after opening)

NEAT
The color is medium gold, much darker than Monday's 19yo Signatory. The nose starts off pretty quirky, with burnt oak, grass and cucumber skin. But after five minutes it changes completely. Lots of toffee, bright white fruit notes and a creamy crème fraîche thing. It's a little on the perfumy side. But there's also a salty beach air note and green grapes. The palate is, er, odder than the nose. It's very sweet and very perfumed. Also bitter, fizzy and acidic. Soapy. A whirlwind of weird. There are some oranges and fresh ginger mixed in. After 20 minutes, it becomes violently sweet. The finish has the acid and the perfume, too. Also golden raisins and bitter almonds.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose is rich and candied now. Full of toffee pudding and nutty sherry-like notes. It's still grassy in the background. The palate has mellowed out. Still too sweet. Soft and creamy, a little floral and bitter. And soapy. The finish is sweet, soapy, drying and creamy, with orange peel.

THE IMPORTANT PART!

Remember when soap didn't smell like anything. When it was just, you know, Soap. White and awful—kind of like Trump, though he's sorta salmon-colored. Soap was just there to strip the world of several layers and not to make it smell like honeydew lavender rosemary.

When I was a kid we had an industrial-sized vat of Soap tucked under the rusty lawnmower blades and spider nests. When it was cleaning time, we'd grab Soap and the dented black iron cabbage-picking bucket that sat behind the broken chainsaw. All you'd need was a small squirt of that white spunk and you'd suddenly have a bucketful of fluffy Soap foam once the hose spray hit it. We needed that nuclear saponification when it was time to scrub the rotten egg crust and horse blood off the west side of my uncle's garbage truck using only the discarded shih tzu heads from the taxidermy dumpster next door.

And that, my dear Mathilda, is why soapy whisky makes Papa Bear sad.

This whisky's nose and palate are from two different dimensions. The nose can almost be called lovely, which more or less screws the fakakta palate because one's expectations are set so high. But the nose is a bit heavy on the perfume, which makes me wonder—between the soap and perfume—if the whisky isn't trying to warn us of something. Like, perhaps a certain Bruichladdich taxidermist was too busy trying to apply Rogue Dior to a stuffed Highland grice to recognize the whole thing belonged in the dumpster.

But it smells nice.

Availability - Many specialty retailers in the US and Europe, four years after its release
Pricing - $130-$180 (w/o VAT & shipping) in Europe, $180-$200 in the US
Rating - 71

Indie Bruichladdich: 19 year old 1992 Signatory UCF, cask #3627

There were more posts planned for last week but Shit Happened and—unrelated—I suddenly received a lot of paid work. But now let us return to our regularly scheduled Bruichladdich program.

Last week, I reviewed the second edition of Bruichladdich 12yo and a previous version of Bruichladdich 10yo. Both of these were distilled before Mark Reynier and Jim McEwan controlled the distillery, as was today's whisky. This hogshead was matured (at least partially) and bottled by my favorite indie, Signatory. The Pitlochry-based company has put out at least a dozen of these Unchillfiltered Collection bottlings of 1992 Invergordon Distillers Bruichladdich. I regrettably passed up many of these when they were on the shelves at a good price. Luckily for me, Jordan of Chemistry of the Cocktail did not! He sent me a sample of cask 3627 (thanks!) when we did a swap.

Distillery: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Independent Bottler: Signatory
Age: 19 years (November 20, 1992 - March 5, 2012)
Maturation: Hogshead
Cask#: 3627
Bottle: 87 of 342
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No

NEAT
Its color is a medium amber. The nose is all barley up front. Then lemons, yellow plums, cocoa and a hint of vanilla. There are hints, here and there, of beach sand, orange blossoms and Belgian ale. The big notes in the palate are toffee, butterscotch and something peat-ish (smoked nuts & bandages?). It picks up a sharp bitterness halfway through. Some subtler notes of flowers, vanilla bean and peppery arugula. A bit of bitterness in the finish as well. Then toffee and caramel. Tart acidic limes. It gets sweeter and more aromatic with time.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Some more stone fruits and caramel in the nose. More of the briny/beachy salt note. And barley. Big pepper and better bitterness (okay enough Bs) in the palate. It's also sweeter with gentle barrel notes. Tart citrus (probably grapefruits) and a hint of soap. The finish becomes mild, sweet, malty and citric. A little bit of caramel in there too.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This Signatory Bruichladdich is a nice simple drinker. The oak notes are mostly reserved, though when they do show, they decently complement the spirit. Its highlights and flaws are both relatively minor. The good palate stuff is all mildly pleasant, while the bitterness tends to be a bit much and the diluted version's soap note is, well, soapy. Overall this Siggy 'Laddie will appeal most to those who like a little barley in their whisky. But for folks looking for lots of wood, there are plenty of options elsewhere.

Availability - Less than a dozen US specialty retailers
Pricing - was $90 upon release, now it's $120-$150
Rating - 84

Meditations on Fatherhood and the Bruichladdich 12 year old Second Edition (2011)

As per the first sentence below, I did indeed write this post before Election Day. Sunday night to be precise. The intent was to post it on Wednesday, but when that day came I felt that a day of silence would be best. Though it may look as if I foresaw the election result, I did not. I was really just commenting on the general swamp of the long term American mood. Anyway, here's the post, on Thursday.

---

I write this post before Election Day, knowing it will be scheduled for The Day After Election Day. Perhaps it'll be my least read post ever because this is the last thing anyone's going to want to read this morning. Or maybe people will be flocking to non-election related news in order to take care of their own mental health. It's likely that the anxiety which preceded today will continue long past tomorrow.

Two floors above me, my two-year-old daughter sleeps quietly, or maybe with a little snore since she's under the weather. When she has a cold she requests hugs nonstop. My wife and I are happy to oblige, partly because my daughter is swooningly beautiful and partly because we know that once she's well again there will be fewer hug appeals. Watching her while she napped this afternoon, I thought about the world she'll grow up in. I knew that, between my parents' generation and my own, we'd leave her a garbage world. But I'd always thought it would be a broccoli-filled kitchen trash bag reality. Not a dumpster fire.

I love Mathilda and want to do everything I can to help her grow into being a strong confident woman. The first two and a half years of childhood have been tough for her and her parents, and I've heard the next year will be a challenge as well. My missteps have outnumbered my successes, but I have more time to get things right. All I want to do in this life is to get things right. Today, when discussing what video she and I were going to watch or what music we should listen to, Mathilda held up her index finger and said, "One thing at a time."

I'm crumbling just typing that.

So clearly what is important right now is this review of the second edition of Bruichladdich 12 year old. Bottled in the wake of the retirement of the first ten year old by The Reynier-McEwan Era of Bruichladdich, this 12yo contained only whisky distilled by the previous ownership, Whyte & Mackay (who had purchased Invergordon Distillers).

Two things of note about this whisky. The ten year old which it replaced was made from a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, while this 12 was from only bourbon casks. I assume the ownership realized they could put those sherry casks into more expensive bottles. Secondly, the distillery was mothballed from 1995 to 2001, except for a few weeks of peated production (by the Jura folks!) in 1998. That means there's a very good chance there's a considerable amount 17+ year old whisky in this 2011 bottling of the "12" year old. Must be one of the reasons they retired it by the end of that year.

In any case, I had no idea of either of any of these facts when I conducted my tasting. I will say this is a very good whisky, old content or no. Thank you to Jordan of Chemistry of the Cocktail who recommended this whisky when we did a sample swap.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Ownership that released the whisky: Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd.
Whisky distilled by: Whyte & Mackay

Region: Islay

Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: at least 12 years old

Maturation: refill and first fill ex-bourbon casks

Bottled: May 2011

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

The nose lifts off with some bright candy notes, think Skittles and gummi bears. After a minute of air, those notes fade out, replaced by caramel sauce, butter, some milk chocolate, and definitely something peaty. Less than Springbank- or Ardmore-peaty, but it's there. There's also rubber cement, strawberry candy, Concord Grape Manischewitz, and some really nice toasty oak. A few drops of water bring out ripe autumn apples, vanilla bean, and hint of the old 10's florals.

Vanilla fudge, fruity tobacco and baking spices start off the palate. The sweetness remains mellow even as the palate gets very berried. I'm thinking tart blackberries and raspberry jam. Then limes, brown sugar and a hint of green tea. With a few drops of water it gets naked-er. Sweet, fruity, slightly tart, some funky maltiness. Never mind, here's some oak. But it's like a vanilla cookie to go with the berries.

Vanilla bean, bitter chocolate and tart berries in the finish. Small notes of barley and green tea too. With a few drops of water it develops a balance of barley and vanilla. Mild sweetness meets mild tartness.

Damn it if I'm not a decade late on discovering this one. I'd love to have this as a regular drinker. The blenders (McEwan included?) really nailed it. The palate and its berries(?!) hit all the right spots, with the sweetness staying in control, then the tartness and bitterness roll in late to complete the experience. The whisky is one of those increasingly rare examples that oak and spirit can coexist in peace. And the end result is we all win. Or at least those who get a chance to drink it. :(

I know I'm reducing my chance of chasing down a dusty of this now by posting this review, but there's no need for me to hoard the goodies. I wanted to share it with those of us who stand in the wreckage of former democracies. Don't go crazy, shilling out $100+ for this bottle. It ain't A or A- whisky, but it's a high B, maybe just on the cusp of a B+. Yes, I'm aware of the ridiculousness of the previous sentence. But if I find it for $50-$60...

Availability - maybe collecting dust on shelves somewhere, and at auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 87

Pre-McEwan Bruichladdich: 10 year old (2002)

Master Distiller Jim McEwan was quite lionized by the whisky industry long before his retirement last year thanks to his extensive career and large personality. While he likely created a considerable number of very good whiskies during his five whisky decades (though I'm having a difficult time naming anything other than Port Charlotte and Octomore, partially because I'm from a more recent anorak generation and partially because well...), he also was responsible for the ugliest non-Loch-Dhu non-Loch-Lomond single malts I have ever consumed -- FWP Bowmore, the Murray McDavid sweet wine casks, Kool-Aid finished young Bruichladdich, and Wine Spit Cup Luxury 'Laddie (aka Black Art). But I'm not going to spend my time besmirching his name because that's mean and pointless. It takes a village to raise a whisky, good or bad. What I will say is I enjoy the Bruichladdich single malt distilled by Invergordon Distillers much more than the non-peated stuff made by the Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd.

There were a number of different 10 year old releases in the '80s and '90s by Invergordon Distillers (and Whyte & Mackay), but this version of the 10 year old was released in 2001 by Bruichladdich Distillery Co. utilizing the stock picked up from the previous owners. Because the distillery was mothballed from 1995 to 2001, this 10yo had a limited existence, expiring in 2006 and then semi-replaced by a 12 year old (watch this space!). A new 10, distilled by Jim McEwan & Co., was released in 2011 to extensive fanfare, but was then retired less than three years later. At the moment there are no official 10yo Bruichladdich's, though an 8yo came out this year.

Today's sample was acquired via sample swap with Jordan of Chemistry of the Cocktail. His bottle was from 2002 and had a bottling code of 02/0072.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Ownership that released the whisky: Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd.
Whisky distilled by: Invergordon Distillers

Region: Islay

Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: at least 10 years old

Maturation: 40% ex-bourbon casks + 60% ex-sherry casks

Bottled: early 2002

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

The nose starts off a little raw. Sap, yeast, and wort. But then canned peaches roll in, along with European oak-inspired dried fruits. A bit floral (blossoms, not perfume) around the edges. A hint of grilled meat. Roasted marshmallows. The oak feels more toasted than charred. With a few drops of water the floral notes rise up a bit, as does some wort. Then brown sugar and honeydew.

Barley, butterscotch, and a spicy zing in the palate. Some nice oak notes of vanilla and honey. A small peep of horseradish bitterness. Oh, maybe orange bitters. An easy drink. With a few drops of water it gets sweeter. Caramel starts to appear, but also a bigger bitterness. Vanilla bean. Butterscotch candy.

It has a simple finish. Barley, apples and ground black pepper. A little of that rooty bitterness. With a few drops of water it gets a little more complex with more sweetness to match the pepper, as well as additional vanilla and butterscotch.

This is a nice balanced young whisky. It never WOWs, but there are no false steps. Oak is present but it never smothers the youthful spirit. There's no ethyl heat despite the youth and strength. I'd say the palate is the best part, delivering a little something for everyone (except peat lovers). It would be great slotted into the $30-$35 range, as I believe it was 14(!) years ago. If you can find it near that old price (and not much more), I'd recommend it.

Availability - mostly at auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Jefferson's Ocean Bourbon, batch 19

There's a whole story behind Jefferson's Ocean bourbon, but it doesn't matter. It's a non-age statement, non-distiller producer, diluted whiskey. The rest is a diversion. It's there to put you off the scent, to hypnotize you into paying irresponsibly for non-age statement, non-distiller producer, diluted whiskey. If you want the marketing tale then google "Jefferson's ocean". Even Fox News has a page on it.

Since it's whiskey, what matters is quality. That's what I'm going to try to suss out of my sample provided to me by The Recent Sku, MGPhD.

And that's it for the intro. I had an angrier one queued up, but it ain't worth it.

Brand: Jefferson's Ocean

Ownership: Castle Brands, Inc.
Distillery: Since they dropped "Kentucky" off the label, who knows where the bourbon is from. Many Great Possibilities.
Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Age: due to the lack of age statement, it should be at least 4 years old
Mashbill: I'm going to go out on a limb and say it has corn, rye and barley in it

Maturation: in charred white oak barrels coopered in Billy Ocean's backyard
Batch: 19

Alcohol by Volume: 45%

The nose runs thick with vanilla, cinnamon and wheat bread. Very floral, but it's not roses, nor jasmine (helpful!). A hint of dried apricots in the back. Mild green herbal notes (between oregano and chives). With 30+ minutes of air, it opens up into orange blossoms and Ferrero Rocher. Its palate starts off mildly, with some heat, green pepper, and a little bit of sweetness. After a few minutes it picks up rye-like spice and, ooh, lots of cherry sweetness. A bitter bite keeps it from going overboard (as it were). It expands with more air. More vanilla, more hot spirit, but also some limes and oranges. Bitter dandelion stems. Again, not much going in the finish at first. But then the cherry sweets arrive. Brown sugar. Orange candy. A slight bitter oak note.

That was much better than I had expected. The nose is cuddly, the palate never offends, the finish is a sweetie. The bitterness is necessary to balance things out. As can be corroborated by Sku and MAO (who, I've just learned, stole my Billy Ocean joke), this batch of Jefferson's Thing is perfectly bourbon bourbon. I'd be happy to pay $25-$30 for it. I don't know what the current batch number is but one can find Jefferson's Ocean for $65ish if one is lucky. Otherwise a number of retailers are selling batches for $150 BECAUSE POLLS SHOW THAT 100% OF GODS BLESS AMERICAN RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM. Keep up the good work everyone.

Availability - this batch and others can be found at many US specialty retailers
Pricing - $65-$150 (because if it's that expensive it has to be amazing)
Rating - 83