Bruichladdich 26yo 1965-1991 53.5% G&M Cask cask#5525/5530/5531
An amber orange colored Bruichladdich, distilled in the days when most Ib's were merely sold in Italy and Britain by Gordon and Macphail. Bottled twenty years ago I guess this could be exposed to some bottle maturation. Smells a bit burnt, sulphury, and sweet, ripe mangos and kiwi, along some more coastal notes of dried seaweed and parmesan cheese(???). The taste is really concentrated on a mix of middle sweet sherry, let's say amontillado, and a nice peaty/coastal finish of salt, pepper, fish stock and lemon skin.
Amazing old style peat/sherry mix: 8.5
Port Charlotte 8yo 2001-2010 66% OB cask#826 btl.245/286
A highly peated whisky at an amazing strength. It has definitely caught some colour from the cask. Fantastic nose, lots of herbs, lemon, mint, tawny port, dark chocolate, lime, earthy notes, there's just a lot going on here and it works very well together. The taste has a lot of apples, dark berries, forest fruits, wet grass, custard sauce, caramel, rock dust, this is amazing.
To me it seems when it comes to peat, its the young one's game: 9.5
*I've received a mail from owner of bottle saying that this is a sherry-matured whisky, and Port Sgioba really means Port Charlotte in gaelic. No port wine here then.
Port Charlotte NAS 46% OB An Turas Mor
The sidekick of Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte is a fairly new project. I believe I was very pleased with the first version I tried, one bottled for Michael Krügers Whiskyauction.com. Smells of herb, mints, greens, autumn leaves, wet grass, some small hints of peat. The taste is sweet and coastal, like crab meat, really delicate even though the peat in this one is far too weak compared to what I expected. When that is said he has a warming taste of leather and onion, it's just the aftertaste that brings the whole thing down a notch with some bitter spirity notes.
A nice whisky, just a tad bland: 4.5
Bruichladdich NAS 2009 50% OB Infinity Edt.3.10
A Bruichladdich matured in American oak, also known as Bourbon, and Syrah red wine cask. Smells sort of vanilla and anis, like a sweet jägermeister, weird but exciting stuff. The taste is sweet, bourbonised at first, really sweet anis and hints of mint. Then it turns burnt and sulphury. It finishes on spirity notes and I believe it needs water. Now it turns lighter, just way too spirity and sulphury, almost like a fino sherry.
These dry red wine notes needs a milder spirit: 4.5
Bruichladdich NAS 46% OB Laddie Classic Edt.1
Another one from the ever-expanding range of NAS-bottlings from the very inventive Islay distillery Bruichladdich. Smells like some "sterile" peat, just not enough balls, a tame peatiness with lots of grassy flavours, agricultural greens, mosqito-spray, cheap aftershave. The taste is the same, I remember this taste from licking deodorant stick when I was a small kid. Water helps a bit, creates some sweet grainy notes, like cereal and tofu, and it gets rid of much of the awful spirity notes.
With water it leaps one point extra: 2
Bruichladdich NAS 46% OB Rocks
This one's supposed to taste like the old rocks on which Bruichladdich distillery stands, I don't know what to expect to be all fair. Sweet smell, salty, caramel, peat, oysters, cuba libre, espresso. The taste is also peaty and unfortunately a bit spirity with a bitter taste of agricultural weed. The aftertaste is bitter and burnt, but far from peaty, a disappointment from Bruichladdich, a distillery of which I find many of its experimental young malts sort of like playing bingo. There's no chance even trying to guess what's gonna come.
Starts good, but needs bigger amount of older vintages, I guess: 4.5
Bruichladdich 36yo 1970-2006 40.1% OB btl.x/2502
I traded about 1dl of this baby for some 1972 Glengoyne about half a year ago, finally time to try some as I've already retraded a bit of it. Yes, trading whisky opens new doors. This has a pretty restrained, mild scent, pears, honey, no smoke that I can detect in this one. The taste is spicy, dried juniper berries, dark roasted coffee, tickles the tip of my tounge with some sweet and sour notes. Just a perfect and beautiful Bruichladdich, with some half masked peatiness that doesn't show before the finish.
A stunner: 9
Bruichladdich 19yo 1989-2008 51.1% OB Black Art
Finishing this Bruichladdich vertical with this sherry-matured Black Art, perhaps Bruichladdichs trying to make something like Bowmore Black? I hope not. This smells Oloroso, honey, cinnamon, dark chocolate and chilli. The taste is both peaty, coastal, peppery, dry, herbal, but this classic Islay notes completely overshadows any possible sherry influence. A nice malt, that needs some water to bring out the characters from the cask. It has a long and sharp peppery aftertaste. Enough alternative casked malts for now.
A good malt, but not quite up there: 5
Bruichladdich 16yo 46% OB Chateau D'Yquem Sauternes
A sauternes finished Bruichladdich, I love many of the sweet sauternes finishes on unpeated malts, for instance the Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or. On the other hand, how will it work combined with coastal peatiness? Smells sweet, bananas, figs, tangerines, maybe a christmas malt? The taste is definately Sauternes influenced, lots of sweetness, fruits, a bit spirity, very little peatiness as far as I can detect. It reminds me sort a banana liqueur. Something if your a sweet tooth, for me it's a fun malt, but not refined enough to enjoy as more than a fruity starter malt. Do not add water, the sweetness will disappear.
A non-coastal Islayer: 6
Bruichladdich 17yo 46% OB Pedro Ximenez
Pedro Ximenez is a sweet and dark sherry, not far from the Oloroso perhaps? The smell is sweet, dry, cinnamon, hay, burnt cotton. Taste, oh yes, we're absolutely in Oloroso country here, very sweet, again cinnamon, toffee, honey, krauterlikör, leather and lots of liquorice. With water it gets drier, just not my cup of candy. When undiluted I think this is a noce surprise, as I'm usually not a huge fan of sherried Bruichladdichs under 30yo.
A good try, but these finishing tactics will never be my first choice: 5
Bruichladdich 15yo 46% Alchemist
Alchemist is a serie of which I've not tried too many, but rumours say they have/had w very good bottling of Highland Park. Anyway, after a travel last week, on which I tried mostly highlanders I believe it's time to go to Islay. This has a pale straw colour, smells like a classic, the old 12yo OB, before they started all the experimentation with casks at the distillery. Malty, peaty and spirity. The taste is dry, spirity, needs water. When watered down it gets even more spirity, maybe not more, but all other tastes disappears. The aftertaste is austere and lacking any real flavours even after 15 years in wood.
An old style laddie, not that that's a quality mark: 2
Bruichladdich/Octomore NAS 61% OB 02.2 Orpheus
I don't know the excact ppm level in this one, as it seems to be an ongoing scientific experimental phase to see how much peat you're able to put into malt whisky. I've been interested to try one anyhow, just to see if it's some quality whisky in there as well or if it's just spirit peated to the max? It doesn't smell that strong, but the peat is there, very smooth. For a 61% I'm surprised, I'd expected something far stronger. The taste is really peaty and minty, a strange combination, like an after eight with alcohol and ashes. It needs some time to develop character, then it becomes creamy, toffee-like, and very burnt, malt syrup, and gasolin. I'd never believe I'd like this one so well. It's a very sweet, smoky malt, kind of like a cuban cigar with more oakiness. The aftertaste of course, is peat, peat and even more peat, ashes and burnt tyres.
A kind peaty malt, not like those Ardbegs. hmhmhm...: 6
Bruichladdich 14yo 46% OB Links st. Andrews
I don't know to much about the golfcourses on Islay, but I believe they are few and far between. Anyway, this is a commemoration to the st. Andrews Course. It smells peaty and coastal, peat and salt, classic islay. The taste is actually very soft, a round, woody, calm, irony and rustic intro before topping it all with a gentle peaty finish. This is one to reckon with anyhow, a beautiful flavour designed peaty malt. Finally a generous, brave and wonderful islay at an affordable price.
All creds to Bruichladdich for this one: 7.5
Bruichladdich NAS 46% OB Waves
Bruichladdich are hitting the market with a huge variety of bottlings nowadays, everything from older sherried varieties, to crazy peated youngsters. Waves, I have no clue what this consists of, but I'm sure it's out there on the web somewhere. The nose is very flat, no peat, no sherry, no bourbon, no whisky? The taste is all on vanilla and peat, a very good combination. It's a bit like a milder, watered down version of Ardbegs Almost There. Now there's nothing much to get excited about, but it's fresh, good and tasty.
A good, young(I guess) whisky: 6
Bruichladdich 17yo 46% OB XVII
I'm finishing off with a small peat vertical today, starting with one of the more matured OB bottlings from Bruichladdich. This one is quite mildly peated at a modest 5ppm and bourbon matured. This is also a very sweet and light malt, so the peat is undoubtfully very present odorwise. The taste has at first a bit vanilla and some coastal salty thing. It's a nice semi-fruity malt with hints of watermelon and kiwi, but it doesn't challenge me at all. Kind of two-dimentional and on the verge of being boring.
I like some of the young alternative/pretentious ones better: 4
Bruichladdich NAS 46% OB 3D3
This is the third edition of these Bruichladdichs consisting of different batches making around 40ppm when combined. As far as I know this is the most peated whisky from Bruichladdich distillery apart from the peat-beast Octomore (Port Charlotte as well?). I believe the nose says it all, it just reeks of peat, peat, peat and even more peat. The taste shows another side of it, it's like a bit dry and sweet floral and sour thing, madeira? I guess it could be a result of the many idividual Bruichladdich components of this one. It's a charming and easy whisky with a nice and interesting peatiness.
Beautiful whisky, crafted to the max: 8.5
Bruichladdich 7yo 2002-2009 46% OB for Jon Bertelsen
A surprisingly sweet and mild Bruichladdich, hard to recognize any peat at all compared to other distillery bottlings I've tried. The taste is maritime, salty, shrimps, sushi, olive oil, and white pepper. It's a very pale whisky, and a good choice by Jon Bertelsen, well developed at such a young age. Much more straight forward and honest, if I should say so, than the much peat- and cask-masked varieties Bruichladdich are flaunting themselves with nowadays.
An easy youngster, one to start off with: 6.5
Bruichladdich 13yo 1994-2007 46% OB (Exclusive to Oddbins)
A special bottling for Oddbins, matured in Oloroso sherry casks. Very intense, sweet sherried nose, much the same on the flavour. Just a bit too much for me I'm afraid. Very young, alcohol, peat and sherry, chaotic. Add some water and a sweetness with hints of radish appears.
A fancy Islay: 4
Bruichladdich 10yo 40% OB
An 80's bottling with the very flatering statement "Scotland's most Westerly Distillery". I guess there's advertisement in just about anything. Smells a bit smoky, bourbon, vanilla, toast, boiled ham and tuna. It tastes peaty, but not too much, as I find it's more an example of the peat shining more than usual as a result of absence of other flavours. A straight-forward, clean bourbon-matured Bruichladdich.
Traditional Bruichladdich, nowadays a rarity: 5
Port Charlotte 7yo 2001-2009 46% Thomas Krüger
An exciting new project from Bruichladdich, it's a peaty young whisky, about 40ppm, but it's not that different from the standard Bruichladdich I think, just more peat. It comes of a tad bland to me. It's very smoky on the palate as well, peat and some blackberries. The aftertaste is, I'm afraid, just a mixture of peat and alcohol. If I was to blindtaste this, I'd guess it was a newmake, definately needs some more time to mature.
Can eventually turn interesting, let's keep an eye on it: 4
Lochindaal 10yo 43% OB
A Bruichladdich-thingy, they really do market their whiskies under many a name these day. It smells kind of bland, actually very bland, perhaps it needs some water? Let's try without first. The taste is much like the nose, sweet and tame, with absolutely no Islay-character at all, I'll try with water. Now there's some taste of unripe apples, grape cores and rum'n'chocolate coming forth.
A strange Islay: 5
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