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):
"A vatting of 80 casks, 6 vintages, 3 barley types, and 8 cask types [...]"
It goes on to report that the majority of the casks (41/80) are dated 2014, which would imply roughly a 7 year maturation average, but many other dates are redacted, so who knows what the eldest and youngest are, or what the final average could possibly be.
The barley is a mix of Islay-grown, Scottish mainland, and organic Scottish mainland. The casking is super fascinating, involving a mix of first fill bourbon (some assorted mix of "Jack Daniels, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam and Old Grandad"), French wine, sherry wine, and Chilean white wine (!). How interesting! Bottled at a very stout and appreciated 50% ABV. Let's dig in:
Nose: Salt air, fresh pepper, hay, straw, grass, malted barley, vanilla, soft brine, butter, cream. A soft, gentle nose with a lot of fresh earthy aromas. I grew up in a small farming town in Maryland, and this reminds me of both Spring and Autumn farm scents: big hay rolls sitting in the fields, the scent of the first or last lawn mowing, etc.
Halfway through the bottle, a sulfurous note appears, along with apples. Neither are unwelcome in this household, and both add interesting dimensions to the nose.
Mouthfeel: Full, creamy, fatty.
Palate: Honey, vanilla, cream, straw, hay, salt, pepper, oak, and a lovely sweeping "fresh cut grass" note that concludes the development. Very fresh and delicious. Also exceedingly smooth. I gave my mom (the gifter of the bottle) the first wee dram from it and even she commented on the unusual smoothness - at 50% ABV! Bruichladdich has this Classic Laddie thing down pat.
Finish: Drier than expected: smoking hay, burning grass clippings, dry oak tannins, soft vanilla. This must be all the white wine cask influence at work - dry finish, somewhat clipped, on the short side, but still pleasant. It wraps things up nicely, albeit abruptly.
Verdict: Another big win for Bruichladdich, in my books. I haven't had a bad bottle from them in years. In fact, I could just as easily say I haven't had an uninteresting bottle from them - everything has been great, interesting, and worth my time. Considering over the last 15 months I've had single cask natural strength scotch almost exclusively, this is pretty high praise - Bruichladdich is really doing something right here. Big, fresh flavors, great casking, bottled with integrity at a strength I respect and that doesn't let the spirit down in any way... this is great stuff. Highly recommended.
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