This is my second look at my favorite bottling by Bruichladdich, the Bere Barley 2010. Bere is a very very old six-row variety of barley; the grain used in this bottling was grown on the far northern Orkney Islands. Bere only yields about 50% what modern barley varieties do, so it's fallen from favor almost entirely - but it also has a really outstanding, rich buttery taste to it. This was an experiment by Bruichladdich, and in my mind it was 100% successful. It's a wonderful bottle.
Aged for 8 years in ex-bourbon casks, unpeated, no filter or color, and bottled at a wonderful 50% ABV (bravo, Bruichladdich). Let's dig right in to this ancient grain:
Nose: Rich and creamy, a really complex and delicious nose full of strawberries, macerated blueberries, buttercream, hay and fresh cut grass ("farmy" smells), barley sugars, orange blossoms, and honey. Very consistent with the last bottle I had. Slices of pear? So much fruit it's unreal.
Mouthfeel: Very oily, coats the mouth, medium body.
Palate: Ahhhh, there we go. This is just amazing stuff. Huge sweet malted barley, sweet oak wood, berries and orchard fruit, honeydew melon (!), actual honey, a little orange zest, more fresh grass. Just an absolutely wonderful, delectable series of flavors. Masterful, even; I don't know if others feel this way, but this is probably in my top five scotches of all time.
Finish: Nice finish, too. Dark chocolate, some caffe latte, jasmine tea leaves, zesty oak tannins, and honey. Hints of smoke.
Verdict: Just amazing stuff. I don't understand why more people don't talk about this one - it's fresh, complex, perfectly balanced and rounded, full of interesting and somewhat unusual flavors that all complement each other, and is bottled at a very pleasing 50%. What's not to love?? Perhaps it's the earthiness/farminess of the flavors that puts some people off, I don't know. But I can't recommend this highly enough. Just a really incredible bottle of scotch.
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