Lochindaal 12 Year (Berry Brothers and Rudd)

 

Few distilleries seem to get things right as much or as often as Bruichladdich these days. In an era where official distillery bottlings seem hopelessly flawed - bottled at the legal minimum, chill filtered, poor casks and too-safe spirit, and - worst of all - rising prices for all of that, Bruichladdich has gone the other direction: consistently high quality, bottling at 50%, interesting wine casks and high quality bourbon casks, no chill filtration ... what drinkers of scotch like to call "integrity presentation."

This goes also for their very highly regarded peated line, released under the Port Charlotte and Octomore labels. For a time in the late 2000s/early 2010s, under the old owners, they had a third expression, Lochindaal, named after Loch Indaal which is right by the distillery. It was positioned right between Port Charlotte (40 ppm) and Octomore (80+ ppm) in terms of peating; most sources I've seen say ~50-55 parts per million.

Because Lochindaal was only made for a few years, and almost all the casks were sold to independent bottlers, there are fewer and fewer bottles out there every year. I managed to pick up a bottle of 12 year old Lochindaal from Berry Brothers and Rudd here in Washington DC. Here are the official notes: 

This is a first fill Bourbon barrel of the rarely seen heavily peated malt Lochindaal from Bruichladdich distillery. It immediately makes itself known, throwing a myriad of aromas out of the glass: peat smoke, vanilla pods, camphor, cloves, damp wool and fireworks all come to mind.

The palate is equally powerfull with waves of fruit, spice and peat smoke all fighting for prominence. Flavours of bonfire ash, paraffin, lime juice and gingerbread all pop out. It's as subtle as a sledgehammer and yet as complex as Chaucer.

Pretty interesting, no? I'm especially interested in the cloves and fireworks, the gingerbread (!). This bottle was distilled in 2010, aged 12 years in an ex-bourbon cask #4339, and bottled by Berry Brothers (and Mr Rudd) at 59.8% ABV. Let's investigate this extinct bottle:

Nose: A savory maritime explosion: Peat, salt, coal, limes, ash, spices, ginger, sour oyster brine (red wine vinegar). With a short rest in the glass, cocoa powder, and a subtle vanilla sweetness. 

With more time, it gets sweeter: key lime pie, vanilla creme. 

With a few drops of water: apples, vinegar, peat, and coal are the most prominent scents. 

Mouthfeel: Oily, medium/heavy, silky smooth.

Palate: Lemon and lime, sea ash, salt, black pepper, anchovies in the tin, chili pepper, dark chocolate... but no gingerbread.

After time, it sweetens and loosens up a bit: apple pie, vanilla ice cream, sweet lime, manuka honey. It's extremely moreish and pleasant when this sweet side kicks in, and it's possible to pick out layer after layer after layer. Very complex, but all balanced. 

With a splash of water: key lime pie with vanilla creme, sea salt, wood ash come to the front. 

Finish: Long, long finish - salt, pepper, ash, and lime zest/peel. 

Verdict: This is interesting and high quality peated whisky. It starts out so savory and dry and slowly but steadily becomes a balanced sweet-and-savory many-layered beast. It is reminiscent of Port Charlotte with all the knobs turned up to 11. 

I really like this, and the 59.8% is very dangerous because each glass encourages another glass, so you can hunt down all the various flavors and layers as they unfold.