Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Bruichladdich.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 50%.
Age: NAS though I’ve heard the components for this were around 6 years old. Bottled in 2017.
Cask type: A very Laddie-esque vatting of 1st-fill bourbon barrels, 2nd-fill virgin oak (i.e. ex-Scotch-only casks) and several ex-red wine casks of different varieties.
Price: $40 for a 3x 200mL set.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 3 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: fermenting apples, earth, hay stables, leaf-burning smoke, a hint of custard, new sneakers, honey, vanilla cake.
Palate: medium body ~ more farmy hay, overripe apples and leafy smoke following through, menthol, minerals, waxes, vanilla, ointments, smoked cereals.
Finish: medium-long ~ on smoke and minerals, bits of copper and menthol, pool chemicals, fades a bit as it sits, smoke comes forward with a pipe tobacco edge, more ripe apples, camphor, black pepper.
Conclusion: This is very, very good whisky. It’s autumnal and complex, and nostalgic for me as it evokes memories of my youth in the Northwest and the cold, wet days that often defined late autumn. It feels very old-school compared to modern Port Charlotte 10yr, which replaced this whisky and still remains one of my favorite standards. It’s possible that the red wine casks in here, not used in the 10yr, lead to a complexity reminiscent more of Benromach or Springbank than most spirits coming from Islay of late (this complexity is echoed by the special Port Charlotte releases that use red wine casks, like MRC:01 and PAC:01.)
I had a chance to buy a full bottle of this years ago, and didn’t, because I was naïve, new to whisky, and had swallowed wholesale the idea that age statements were super important. Boy, am I kicking myself for that decision— this one’s a banger.
Final Score: 89.
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 