Bruichladdich 15 Year (2003) Micro-Provenance #545 Port Cask

Review by: The Muskox

I tried this when I was drunk off my ass.

Just when I thought we were done with the Laddies for the evening, I happened to mention to my buddy Myke that I’ve never tried a port-cask Bruichladdich. He stands right up, walks back to his house, and grabs this bottle. What a guy.

This one was selected for Willow Park Wines & Spirits in Calgary.

Distillery: Bruichladdich.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 53%. Cask strength.

Age: 15 years. Distilled June 18th 2003. Bottled October 15th 2018

Cask type: Cask #545, a port cask.

Price: Not sure what my buddy paid for this bottle.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Pretty much like you’d expect a port-cask Bruichladdich to smell like. Lots of bright fruit: cherries, red apple, banana, and sweet toasted coconut. Some of that Bruichladdich yogurt flavour, along with honey, vanilla buttercream icing, and light barley sugar. Some spice notes of clove and gingerbread, with just a hint of bubblegum.

Palate: Medium texture. A blast of cherries, ripe pineapple, and coconut on the arrival. The middle has a burst of salt, thick clarified butter, and honey. Nuttier notes of vanilla, malt, almonds and nougat on the back end.

Finish: Medium-length, sweet. More salted butter. Apple, cherry, peach, and a bit of mangosteen. Honey and graham crackers.

Conclusion: Another tasty Laddie! The port influence is nice and heavy, but those great buttery notes shine right through. The tropical fruit burst on the palate is great as well. Maybe it’s in part because it was the fourth whisky of the evening, but I felt like this one was the least fantastic of the evening. The bar was set pretty damn high, though. Still a great dram.

Final Score: 87.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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