Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie 21/137 (NAS)

 

Thank you to mom for this unexpected Christmas gift! Almost a year after my last look at Bruichladdich and their core expression, let's have another glass. An unpeated Islay made with all Scottish barley, this is bottle 21/137, which carries the following information on the Bruichladdich website (and kudos to them for providing this): 

Old Tub Bourbon by Jim Beam

Here is another rare "general spirits" review, much like the Guyanese rum review from a little while back. Thanks to Rob Martin for sharing the bottle! Old Tub is an old school unfiltered bourbon made by Jim Beam. This website describes better than I can the exact ins-and-outs of Old Tub. I will note only that the only filtration they do is particulate (to remove little pieces of wood that break off the barrel), and since it's Bottled in Bond it's aged at least 4 years and is at least 50% ABV. Let's dig in: 

Ardnamurchan AD/03.21:02

 

This is the inaugural bottle released in the American market. Here are the basic stats: Aged somewhere around ~6 years, only 5004 bottles released, 35% ex-sherry casks and 65% ex-bourbon, 50/50 peated/unpeated, non-chill-filtered, uncolored, bottled at 46.8% ABV. 

Ardnamurchan is the much-heralded new distillery in the western Highlands, and I was much intrigued by the first bottle I had through the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). Thank you to Rob Martin for this one! Let's see how this one comes across...

Highland Park 13 Year (SMWS 4.301 "Sooty Clouds")

 

The third and final bottle of a trio of independently bottled Highland Parks from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), as part of a distillery deep dive they did in December of 2021. I couldn't resist - I think independent Highland Park is the best Highland Park. 

This one, like "A Horned Beast" (4.300) before it, is considered peated rather than oily and coastal by the standards of the SMWS flavor categories. I'm curious - normally Highland Park isn't considered super peaty, but rather quite lightly peated, almost as an afterthought. 

Highland Park 13 Year (SMWS 4.300 "A Horned Beast")

 

I'm intrigued that this independent bottling of Highland Park from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") is considered peated (and not even lightly peated!) instead of oily and coastal, the usual category determination. I have never had a well-and-truly-peated bottling of Highland Park, so I'm ultra curious about this one. 

Part of a trio of 13 year Highland Parks released by SMWS as part of a distillery deep dive, this is the second one I'm partaking in. I love independently bottled Highland Park, which is coastal, fragrant, lightly sweet and salty, and filled with personality. 

Highland Park 13 Year (SMWS 4.298 "I See Seashore")

 

This is part of a "distillery deep dive" in Highland Park from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), a trio of 13 year bottles that all come from the same revatting experiment as two lovely previous bottles I had from SMWS: "Dining by the Harbour" and "By the Beautiful Sea." 

I have consistently found that independently bottled Highland Park (often called "Orkney Distillery" or "Unnamed Orkney" on independent bottle labels) is where the spirit really shines, divorced from the marketing juggernaut that continues to amuse and frustrate the scotch-loving public with watered down bottles and overripe names. 

I almost wish they would go way over the top with the whole effort. Instead of "Viking Honor" and "Viking Scars" and "Viking Heart" and "Loyalty of the Wolf" and "Spirit of the Bear" etc etc etc (ugh), they should get creative with the naming. "Untamable Fury of the Malmsteen" ... "The Angriest Rooster" ... "A Barbarian, Reading a Book" ... "Dragons Dreaming of Scary Children" and so on. I would be 1000% more likely to actually buy a bottle if they had some humor or personality. Instead, I continue to boycott the ridiculous expressions, with the sole exception of the surprisingly good Cask Strength bottles, which really deserve more attention. I look forward to reviewing the Batch No. 2 very soon.  

Ardnamurchan 5 Year (SMWS 149.2 "Peaty Peninsula")

 

Ever since my friend Rob had a bottle of the newly released whisky from Highland distillery Ardnamurchan, I've been very interested in trying some. This month's outturn from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") offered a 5 year expression, aged entirely in a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt - I couldn't say no!

Glenfarclas 7 Year (SMWS 1.238 "Well-Danced Upon Flood")

 

I am quite a fan of Glenfarclas, and will nearly always take a chance on an independent expression of their spirit when I can find it. This young 7-year bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") fit the bill nicely. It's actually the second bottle I've had that follows this casking: 5 years in ex-bourbon, 2 year finish in PX sherry oak. This one is apparently much closer to the "normal" Glenfarclas sherry-forward profile.