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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
GLENMORANGIE |
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Whisky
Tasting Journey
By Brett
Calish
Bruichladdich |
One of my
favorite movie quotes comes from Clint
Eastwood’s 1973 classic, Magnum Force:
“A man’s got to know his limitations.” I
learn more of mine every day. For those
of you who’ve read some of my past
thoughts on Bruichladdich (“Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?”),
you know that my lack of kindness has
less to do with taste and/or quality,
and more to do with variety. Walking
into a well-stocked liquor store, I’ll
stare at the dozen different bottlings
of “Laddie”. I will then realize that
this selection is different from the
last time I was in the store, when a
different dozen Laddie bottlings greeted
me. It is then that my brain
short-circuits, and I move on to other
whiskies. It’s too bad. The combination
of my itty-bitty brain and its inability
to process large varieties of similar
information is causing me to miss-out on
some wonderful whisky. If you are new to
Bruichladdich (pronounced brook-lah’-dee),
please understand that the incredible
variety that they offer has nothing to
do with hit-or-miss attempts to produce
something marketable. Quite the
contrary. Bruichladdich, built in 1881,
was closed in 1994. When it reopened
under new ownership in 2001,
Bruichladdich knew that it would be some
time before their spirit would be
matured and ready to be sold. But in
buying the distillery, the new owners
also bought all the whisky stocks, and
that is what we have the privilege of
enjoying today. By necessity, the Laddie
whiskies are limited, and unique from
each other. They are, by turns,
leftovers from another distillery
incarnation, stopgaps until the new
whisky is ready, and a delicious history
of a distillery that has always exuded
quality. And as an added, and not
insignificant, bonus – Bruichladdich
refuse to chill filter or color any of
their whisky! You have to support that!
Does this mean that I can keep them
straight in my head -- all the myriad
bottlings and their various qualities?
Absolutely not! The variety still makes
my head hurt. But that’s my limitation,
not yours. Good thing the whisky’s there
to ease my pain.
Here’s a small sampling:
Waves: Very youthful. A nose
oozing with Karo syrup as well as
peat, cinnamon, cloves, and whiffs
of citrus preludes a medium-bodied
mouthfeel. The short finish is also
lightly peated, with sponge cake,
berries, and Lorna Doones. And when
I say it has a short finish, I’m
talking, “Hey, didn’t I just have a
drink? I can’t remember.” In this
case, I didn’t struggle with that.
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Peat:
Wait, wait…I almost have it…it’s
ummm, ummm…Nope; I can’t quite
identify the central essence of this
one. And I was so close… Seriously,
though. It’s obvious that this dram
is chockfull of peat influence, but
that’s not all that this whisky has
to offer. The nose also holds fresh,
grassy notes, oak, smoke, honeydew,
vanilla, and Chex cereal. Peat is
interestingly not medicinal, which
is the opposite of what you’d expect
from such a heavily peated whisky.
This Laddie has a medium body, and a
dry, medium-long finish that also
balances the smoothness of the peat
with (possibly too much)
confectioner’s sugar sweetness.
Interesting dram. |
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Sherry Edition, 1998 (Manzanilla):
Drinking this whisky, I felt like a
character in On the Waterfront. The
nose is exceptionally briny,
recalling an old shipyard, which I
didn’t dislike. There’s also
buttered popcorn (reinforcing the
movie reference), and charcoal,
mixed nuts, and honey. A fun nose,
and I had high hopes for the rest.
The body though, started to
disappoint after a few seconds, with
a viscosity that quickly broke down.
And its medium-short finish also
didn’t help. A tad too sharp and
with essence of bitter oranges, it
nonetheless also displayed nice
brine, light peat, butter, ginger,
and a definite undercurrent of
limes. Although not unpleasant, the
finish was incongruous with the
nose. I prefer my whiskies to come
full circle. Pity. To bastardize
Brando, “It could’ve been a
contender.”
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Sherry Edition, 1998 (Oloroso):
Yum. This Laddie expression is very
straightforward, and beautifully put
together. It is unapologetically
sherried, heavier than the
Manzanilla, and more soothing to the
senses. In addition to sherry, the
nose contains oranges, vanilla,
honey, soft oak, toffee, and dried
plums. Very full-bodied, the finish
is, likewise, quite long, with more
sherry, more oak, ripe fruits, and a
slight sharpness that is quickly
enveloped by a velvet blanket of
syrupy sweetness. I really liked
this dram. It’s not complex, but
what it does, it does very well.
Despite, or because of, all the
sherry, this dram reminded me of a
cool, springtime day.
[Despite Bruichladdich
Distillery being closed from 1994
until 2001, these two whiskies are
from 1998. Sound impossible?
Actually, the distillery reopened
for just a few months in the summer
of 1998. The above whiskies were
distilled then. Cool, huh?]
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21
Year Old: I have found Oloroso
heaven. It is Bruichladdich 21 Year
Old. Deep and rich, with a nose
bursting with blackberries, apples,
oranges, brine, honey, and
well-oiled leather. This dram just
oozes maturity, beyond its years.
The surprising thing was how
light-bodied and lively it was –
almost “white wine-like”! The 21 YO
had a medium-length finish, and was
sharp and peaty, but also contained
a wonderful sweetness reminiscent of
a well-aged grain whisky. And, lest
we forget about the 21 years in
sherry casks, the dram floated away
on a bed of chocolate-covered
strawberries, graham crackers,
raspberry-filled truffles, and peach
pits. Very complex. Very sinful. My
favorite Bruichladdich, to date.
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