Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
In my continuing effort to get through all of my random Bruichladdich samples, here are two very different 25 year olds. Both of these are made up of juice from before they were closed in 1994.
Tasted on 2/27/2021, neat in a Glencairn.
Stock image is from Bruichladdich, retrieved on 2021/02/27.
Bruichladdich 25 Year Cadenhead’s 175th Anniversary Collection
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Cadenhead’s (CA)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 54.0%, cask strength
Age: 25 years old, distilled in 1991, bottled in 2017.
Cask type: A single ex-bourbon hogshead
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 204 bottles from a single cask. Bottled for Cadenhead’s 175th anniversary.
Nose: seawater. Bright fruits: melon, apricots, apples. Vanilla. Somewhat earthy. Dry grass. Very mild camphor. A little floral. With Water: more fruity, and more grassy. The salt hit I got initially is muted.
Taste: salty. Apricots. A bit hot. Caramel. Damp earth. Oily. Medium-thick mouthfeel. Mild pepper. Creamy. With Water: the heat is gone, more spice, perhaps a bit thicker mouthfeel.
Finish: salty. Fruity. Caramel. Earthy. Camphor and black pepper. Creamy. Rather long finish. Tails off slightly bitter. With Water: more spice. Perhaps a bit dry.
Summary: This is excellent. Bright fruit, earthy, grassy, and maritime. Water brings out more spice on the palate, and more fruit and grass on the nose. This takes water really well. Not as complex as I’d have expected, but it’s nailing the notes it does have. Beautiful mouthfeel, and nicely integrated spice throughout. There’s an underlying earthiness throughout which is a nice complement to the bright fruit.
Would I buy a bottle? yep. I’m not gonna go hunting for it, but if I come across it for a few hundred, sure.
Final Score: 92.
Bruichladdich makes a big deal about using real sherry shipping casks in this one, supposedly some of the last they had. Old sherry casks are usually excellent, so I have high hopes for this one.
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 50.1%, cask strength
Age: 25 years old. Distilled in 1985. Bottled in 2011.
Cask type: American Oak Bourbon Casks & Sherry Butts
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 1,665 bottles.
Nose: seawater. Raisins and figs, but also some orange. Toffee. Earthy. Cinnamon. New leather. A touch of sulphur after a while, nice! With Water: more dark fruits. Almonds and walnuts. More oil. Seaweed. Even a bit mineral now. Wow.
Taste: raisins. Seawater. Chocolate covered caramel. Mild black pepper. Oily, thick mouthfeel. Rather spicy. With Water: more fruit. Some leather. Camphor. Add some salt to that chocolate.
Finish: raisins, figs. Seawater. Toffee. Earthy. Orange. Black pepper and cinnamon. Quite long. With Water: more rich dark fruits. Leather. More maritime. Wet rocks at the beach.
Summary: yea, this is superb. It reminds me a bit of some older sherried Islay malts without the big peat and smoke. This takes water really well and gets richer, darker, more fruity, and more maritime. Excellent mouthfeel. Great balance. Big and rich, beautiful fruit and maritime notes. Oily with dark chocolate and nuts. Good complexity, excellent balance.
Would I buy a bottle? yes, added to my watchlist. I’d pay current secondary for this.
Final Score: 96.
Comparison
Order: DNA3 > Cadenhead 175th
This is an easy ordering for me. I dig the sherry notes and complexity of the DNA3 over the other one. Everything is bigger, richer, darker, just better.
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.
Malt Runners 