Bruichladdich

Danny and I attended a tasting today, sponsored by Bruichladdich. Islay malts with much less peat, but very flavorful nonetheless. Tasted a ten year old; a fourteen aged in sherry casks, and marketed under some golf theme; the fifteen year old, first edition, aged in both sherry and bourbon; and 3D Moine Mhor, which apparently is Gaelic for big peat. Bruichladdich cooked up this brew for European markets, who seem to crave the strong peaty flavor associated with Islay malts. It tasted too much like Bowmore for me, a bit medicinal.

The fourteen and fifteen, however, were wonderful. Our taste master, Andrew from Glasgow, now one of Bruichladdich’s thirty employees, insists that the scotch is so tasty for a couple reasons. One, because it isn’t chill filtered. That process, which helps keep the whisky from going cloudy, takes many of the oils produced during distillation out of the scotch. But according to Andrew, along with the oils goes a bunch of the taste. Two, Bruichladdich ships water from Islay to the bottling plant in Glasgow, so when they dilute the cask strength whisky, they are pouring Islay, naturally peaty water into the bottle. Very proud of his whisky was old Andrew.

One funny thing about these tastings. They always have you move up the ladder. Start with the tens and twelve’s, and move up to the bigger numbers. Of course, those whiskies taste better. But at the same time, we were wondering if everything didn’t just taste better because we had a couple glasses in us, and were by then really into the whole process. One would think that after drinking their fifteen, first edition, purportedly the master distiller’s favorite whisky, the ten wouldn’t taste quite so good. But who knows? Andrew was definitely right about one thing. The taste of Bruichladdich is distinctive. Here’s another one we need to keep in the cabinet. Soon we’ll need a bigger cabinet.