Review 199: Bruichladdich 12 Year 2nd Edition

Review 199    

1/12/13

Bruichladdich 12 Year 2^nd Edition: 46% abv

Background: Well, so long as we are doing Bruichladdich, we might as well move on to the next standard offering from them. First, a little more on Bruichladdich. Pronounced Brook-laddie, the name is Gaelic for “raised beach”. Bruichladdich sits on the west side of Islay, and is one of the less publicized malts of the island. You will come to expect that with Bruichladdich, you will see craft presentation. The 12 Year is no exception, with explicit writing on the bottle telling you that it is 46%, non-chill filtered, and natural color. That’s a great sign. Bruichladdich’s 12 Year old whisky is lightly peated, aged in Bourbon oak casks, and made by Master Distiller Jim McEwan. This whisky is sort of an anomaly to me, but we’ll get to that later in the review. Now, some notes!

Straight

Nose: The nose starts off in a very odd way. Despite being a bourbon barrel-aged whisky, there is something remarkably “sherried” smelling to this. Starting off with a rich smell of caramel, vanilla bean, chocolate, raisons, honey, and sweet malt, you would be convinced that this was a Sherry monster. The whisky is also distinctively floral in its aroma. The amount of fruitiness in here is incredible, with a succulent, rich aroma of berries and other juicy delights. There is a slightly acidic Champagne flavor that also coats the top of the glass. There is some smoky oak char and light peat to be enjoyed in this whisky. Sporadically, a little bit of campfire marshmellows is noticeable, sort of like a burnt sugar smell.

Arrival: The arrival is definitely thick, chocolately, and sweet. There was a front of acidity in the arrival, that transformed into a wave of sweetness. There is a very juicy, beautiful mixture of cherries, strawberries, and raspberries in the arrival. The arrival is definitely succulent.

Body: The body has the mysteriously raison-esque Sherry character to it. There is a lot of chocolate and caramel that add to a rich, thick body. The mouth-feel here is just incredible and thick. The body becomes quite acidic and salty as it leads into the finish.

Finish: The finish closes off with a mixture of tart fruits, dry maltiness, and coastal saltiness. It really closes the whisky reminding you that you’re dealing with a unique Islay. It has tart cranberry, fresh maltiness, cinnamon and pepper that help add to the complexity, not to mention slight traces of pecan. You will find most of the peatiness here as well. The salt becomes quite strong here in the finish. A bit of oak is also noticeable here. As the finish concludes, a grainy graham cracker flavor closes the whole event.

With Water

Nose: And to add to our craziness, the sherry flavor we’ve been accounting for all over comes out dominantly after adding water. Vanilla bean becomes more prevalent. It is also interesting how there is more of a raw grain flavor than before.

Arrival: The arrival has settled down substantially, with less attacking flavor. It seems that there is less complexity as well though. The sherry is still very dominant.

Body: There is a more confectionary, sugary flavor that comes through in the body. There is some tartness, but it is mostly sweetness and fruitiness.

Finish: The finish has brought out the darker flavors of chocolate and caramel, with an added subtle coffee to it. The finish has a bit less coastal flavor to it, with a good amount malt and more vegetal flavor, similar to the ten year. This still has a big, juicy fruitiness to it.

Final Comments: Back to the anomaly that I referenced earlier today. I just cannot believe that this whisky is not sherried! We have had a number of experiences with sherry barrel aged whiskies, and if I was blindfolded, I would have said it was one. None-the-less, this is a fantastic, balanced whisky, and Bruichladdich proves itself again. In general, this takes the other end of the spectrum from the 10 year, offering up succulent, delicious fruit notes to couple the Islay coastal style. This is just such an enjoyable whisky to sit down and sip on, we can’t help but swoon over it.

 

Why you’d buy it: It will put you in your happy place.

Why you wouldn’t: It doesn’t have that Islay peat style to it.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 198: Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten

Review 198    

1/11/13

Bruichladdich The Laddie 10 Year: 46% abv

Background: This is a pretty exciting occasion for KCM. This will be our first Bruichladdich review, which is exciting for a reason. Bruichladdich, around since 1881, is an Islay distillery that chose not to take the path of Laphroaig or Ardbeg, and is classically non-traditional in their style. Bruichladdich is truly a craft distillery, producing a large number of variants of whiskies, with a limited number of mainstays. Most Bruichladdich’s are unique bottlings that last a short amount of time. This however, is a newer release in an effort to solidify Bruichladdich’s core range of offerings. With a unique, blue pastel color adorning the bottle and canister, this one is hard to miss. Along with that, it is bottled at 46%, is natural color, and un-chill filtered. You’ll find that most Bruichladdich’s are found in this form. This is also aged in Bourbon oak casks, and is NOT peated. That would be considered unusual for a lot of Islay distilleries. So let us find out what this bad boy is like!

Straight

Nose: The nose is strong and vibrant, displaying notes of oak, molasses, vanilla and caramel. The oak is fresh and intense, and coupled with a young, bold maltiness, makes this malt very compelling on the nose. In addition to the oak, a bit of cedar is also noticeable. There is an expected saltiness that really floods the aroma as the whisky starts to open up, and in addition is a very earthy, vegetal smell. There is a red apple note that complements some of the sweet notes in the whisky, with a slight instance of kiwi and green grapes. Despite the explicit mention of not peat in this malt, there is definitely a smoky, earthy peat-like aroma that emanates from this whisky. A little bit of cinnamon flavor in the nose adds to the spiciness. There is a little bit of honey that also becomes prevalent.

Arrival: There is sweetness and maltiness in the arrival, with a slight zest of peat and spiciness. This is a very balanced whisky, bringing out a wide range of flavors. There is a little bit of sugarcane, candy sweetness, and rum-like flavor leading into the body. Vanilla is also prevalent here.

Body: The body contains a good blend of maltiness, spiciness and peat flavor. There is some distinctive seaweed and pepper that can be tasted in the body. There is rum-like sweetness and honey in the  body.

Finish: The finish has some sweetness, maltiness, and oak to it. There is a fantastic blend of molasses, caramel, malt and vanilla that contributes to the complexity in the finish. Along with this, prepare to find some yeasty, wheat-like flavor as well. There is a raw, peaty flavor in the finish. The finish does contain a little bit of apple to it. There is a lot of saltiness that also contributes to a beautiful sense of balance. There is a very vegetal flavor that comes into the finish.

With Water

Nose: There is a lot more maltiness, vanilla, and creaminess to it. This is starting to smell like a sugar cookie, in all honesty. There is more of an alcohol-like smell, with clove spice coming through that was not as obvious as before.

Arrival: The arrival is more sweet after adding water. The oak intensity has subsided, with a slightly pine-wood bitterness.

Body: There is more peat smoke in the body than there was before. There is a balanced blend of spicy complexity in the body, although the body is still a little shallow.

Finish: There is more spiciness in the finish, akin to allspice. There is also a bit more mintiness in the finish as well. There is also a tart, different cranberry flavor in the finish now.

Final Comments: For a first flagship ten year old, this whisky kicks ass! One of the most interesting aspects of this whisky is seeing how a non-peated whisky can be influenced by peat in the environment and peat exposure to the water. So distinctively can you find the salty, peaty atmosphere in this whisky, it is hard not to imagine yourself on the shores of Islay. This whisky is the definition of balance, complexity, and overall uniqueness. And if you don’t like the salty, intense complexity of this whisky, just add a little bit of water and let it sweeten up. This might not be a beginner’s whisky, but if you like a more vegetal, earthy, coastal whisky, this should be a staple in your cabinet.

 

Why you’d buy it: You just should.

Why you wouldn’t: Probably something to do with communism I imagine.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 180: Port Charlotte PC6

Review 180

10/06/13

Port Charlotte PC6: 61.6% abv

Background: Cuairt beatha – the walk of life – I think this bottle is implying that the walk of life includes heavily peated Scotch. I highly support that sentiment. This whisky is of course a single malt Scotch from our good friends at Bruichladdich distillery. Being part of their heavily peated series, it goes under the title of Port Charlotte. Jim McEwan joined the Bruichladdich team in 2001 and started a series of peated heavyweights, called the PC series. PC6 has had exposure to ex-bourbon casks and a Madeira finishing cask as well. The bottle being drunk here is bottle 17,265 out of 18,000. It is 6 years old, as the name (PC6) suggests, and I’m really excited to try it.  

Straight

Nose:  Mmm. The smokey, intense, fragrant smell of peat never fails to excite me. This one is intense in vanilla, an interesting fruitiness, and a smell very reminiscent of pancake syrup. There is also an odd savory note that expresses itself on the top of the glass after some time in the glass. It reminds me slightly of a raw New York strip right before it’s slapped on the grill, which sounds like something you might not want to smell in a whisky, I realize. Don’t worry; it so subtle, you probably wouldn’t even notice. There is an assortment of berry fruitiness that is coming through prominently. This isn’t a dry smelling peat smoke, like you get out of Kilchoman. It is a thick, honey-sweet smoke that doesn’t overwhelm the senses, unless you’ve never smelled a peated Scotch that is. Baked apples with caramel are sort of a secondary notion in the nose. There is an earthy, herbal sense to it that sits in the background of some of the more dominant smells. Toasted nuts and fried bread are noticeable…fried bread, syrup, toasted nuts, and earthiness. Well, this whisky is obviously a funnel cake that’s been dropped on the ground (just a joke). The nose doesn’t display a challenging complexity, but it does have a diversity of flavors.

Arrival: The arrival starts off mellow enough, before quickly becoming excessively hot. If you’re looking for flavor without having added water to this whisky, look quickly. This will numb your tongue before you blink. The peat is assertive up front, but with a sweet, syrupy arrival parallel in prominence. It seems as if the Madeira is pretty dominantly asserting itself up front. Along with some honey, there is a slight citrus bite and some notes of fruits, but they don’t hold a candle to the intense battle the peat and Madeira are having up front. There is an earthy, slightly tobacco-like flavor in the arrival.

Body: The body banishes the initial sweetness, letting an earthy, grassy, and peat-like flavor to dominate. In the body, there is a really intense, but odd sort of quinine flavor that becomes apparent quickly and then dissipates. The body is probably the least eventful part of the whisky.

           

Finish: The finish is lasting, with the peaty, tobacco, and herbal flavors dragging through until the bitter end (ha ha). There is some slight peppercorn, with mild suggestions of sweetness showing dwindling signs of existence. There is orange rind present in the finish, for certain, and some mint and fluoride flavor as well. There is almost a piney, woody intensity in the finish that seems slightly like gin, without the extreme flavor. The finish is very diverse and interesting, without a doubt

With Water

Nose: With a little bit of water, notes of citrus start developing. The syrup-like sweetness has backed off a bit and to some extent, so has the peat. Maltiness is more prevalent, and some intense woodiness and ash smell has developed. There is still a level of sweetness present in the form of soft fruit notes.

Arrival: The arrival has lost some intensity, allowing the drinker to actually take some time and reflect on the taste (a nice feature). It is still peaty, in a zesty fashion, but has a basic element of marmalade sweetness to it. It is extremely earthy on the arrival now.

Body: The body actually takes a less intense and dry approach this time around, with some interesting lemon candy flavor coming through, with slightly floral elements complimenting it. It is better-rounded with water. There is vanilla present as well.

           

Finish: The finish is very much a reflection of how the body transformed after adding water. The balance changes, with the peppery dry/hot mouth feel still existing, but not completely destroying the taste buds. Much of the same flavors are present, with the smoky peat seeming to even out into a pleasant blanket of thick flavor on the tongue. That being said, the finish has become less complex and less eventful. At 61%, I would have guessed it to be a little more forgiving on the complexity side, but just playing with the water to whisky ratio could fix that.

Final Comments: PC6 is an expensive dram, to be sure, especially at the young age of 6 years old. I can’t say it isn’t an experience, and the  Madeira cask finish is very well done in this case. Bruichladdich has produced a ton of fantastic malts, before and after McEwan. This particular malt isn’t a mind-blowing combination of complexity and uniqueness, but I believe it is does pretty well. The nose is inviting and different, and I think for a whisky this young, Bruichladdich does a good job of using the vibrant youth of the grain to make an exciting, yet enjoyable and tolerable malt. The million dollar question, or at least $125 question, is whether or not this is worth the buy. It is hard to say whether or not $125 is justifiable. It seems overpriced for value, but at 61%, at least they aren’t shorting you material. I guess I would say, if you enjoy peated whisky and are running out of “new” alternatives, the PC series won’t treat you wrong, but maybe the Peat Project, their newly released Scotch, will do just the same thing for you.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like the adventurous expressions by Bruichladdich and “want to catch them all”

Why you wouldn’t: It is hard to run across this bottle anymore, and you’ve tasted Peat Project

Score: 8.5/10