Whisky Online Blog

Now that I’ve just typed that title it occurs to me that it is exactly the sort of name that might be given to an official Bruichladdich bottling these days, perhaps someone will read this and be inspired (wishful thinking Angus). Anyway, today I have gathered together three very different indie Bruichladdichs that descend in age and ascend in strength (which is not as often the case as you may think). Like it’s alliterative neighbour Bowmore from across Loch Indaal, Bruichladdich is also a distillery with some distinctive eras of flavour separation. Although not as extreme as the Bowmore example the evidence is there in bottle for all to taste. Lush, green, coastal and elegant in the 60s and 70s, the style that built it’s reputation, difficult in the 80s and 90s, and now emerging, new, fascinating and better and better with each older bottling. So lets try something from each of those ‘eras’ if you will. First up, it’s something truly unusual…

Bruichladdich 1971-2010 39yo. Private Cask. 39%. 70 & 5cl. Sample from 5cl. 

If I am right (which it is entirely possible I’m not) then the last bottling done below the official bottling strength of 40% was a cask of 1949 Macallan bottled by Signatory in the late 80s which was at 37.9%. I’m not aware of any others since then. Obviously you can get around this wee law by simply removing the word ‘whisky’ from your label. But it is interesting that few people bother to do it, considerable numbers of casks do inevitably dip below this strength, many are simply vatted or, horrors, disgorged. It seems a shame as naturally low cask strength drams can often be fascinating and delicious. If anyone knows of other bottlings/bottlers that have done this then please let me know.

Colour: Rich Gold

Nose: Dense and lusciously fruity at first nosing, loads of melons, greengages, ripe bananas and grapefruit, typical early seventies Bruichladdich. There is also some dusty maltiness in there that hints at oxidisation which would undoubtedly start to happen to such a low strength spirit after so long. A crisp coastal salty note as well with underground notes of preserved lemon, oysters, camphor, pine resin and something like fresh butter. A very fresh and invigorating nose, quite reminiscent of the glorious 1970 OB. Fresh crab meat, pink grapefruit and more coastal zing. This nose positively sings. I think this is clearly from a very ‘tired’ cask but sometimes that is exactly what a distillate needs for a long maturation life and I think this is one of those drams that really proves the point. Lets see if the palate can hold up to the spectacular nose.

Palate: On the palate it is definitely a little weak but there are some wonderful notes of polished oak, cereals, green tea, wet rocks, minerals, wood resins, a touch of spice and seaweed. More green fruits as well, loads of apples, pears, kumquats and grapefruit. Quite liqueur like as well with some concentrated notes of fruit syrups and herbs. There are a few weakish notes of cardboard right at the back which suggest it has become a little too tired but the rest is remarkably fresh. It seems that the high age and low strength has helped it and hindered it in different ways.

Finish: Sadly it is very short and a little weakish but there are some very nice flavours of salt, oak and tea lingering around with some fading fruits.

Comments: This is a whisky that is full of extremes. On one hand it is quite clearly a little tired but on the other it has an absolutely beautiful nose and it’s highs are very high indeed. A difficult one but very fascinating to taste all the same.

Score: 84/100 (but the nose was worth 94)

This next one is a Douglas Laing sample of which I have box loads thanks to Wayne’s stashing abilities. However it also means that I have no photograph, you’ll just have to use your imaginations. (This will probably be a frequent recurrence in in the coming year due to the sheer quantity of DL samples I have accrued.)

Bruichladdich 15yo. Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask. ref: OMC 1610. 50%. 70cl.

This is from the very inconsistent era in the early 90s.

Colour: White wine

Nose: Obviously younger, rawer and more punchy but this one has some very nice citrus, saline and cereal notes, not immature at all. There is some nice fruit as well but it is different and more austere than the 71. Lots of white fruits, stone fruits, white flowers, seaspray and minerals. Very nice actually. A little more sweetness here as well which is to be expected but it is very gentle and nicely integrated with subtle notes of vanilla cream and candy floss. After time some greener notes of seaweed, grass and melon start to emerge. Quite a classic laddie profile this one, thus destroying my theory of the ‘dodgy’ middle years. Never mind.

Palate: Quite concise at first with some fresh notes of herbs, a little lavender, salt, citrus juices, chamomile tea, quite herbal on the palate really. Cereals, mashed potatoes, lots of mashy vegetal qualities in general. Again this is classic refill cask characteristics, this is exactly the sort of cask that the distillery would have felt compelled to ‘ACE’ in some godawful wine cask, kudos to Douglas Laing for giving us the lovely naked spirit. Goes on with a little honey, sweet white wine, water crackers, quite an odd balance between sweet and savoury here.

Finish: Medium and very herbaceous with notes of milk, wet pebbles, minerals, white fruits and hessian.

Comments: Good mid aged Bruichladdich. Plenty of distillery character and quite coastal. A little lack of personality overall perhaps but still very decent stuff.

Score: 83/100

Bruichladdich 2001-2011, 10yo. Queen Of The Moorlands/Whisky Online. Sherry Hoggie no: 312. 200 bottles. 62.5%. 70cl.

This is a new bottling that we did in conjunction with David Wood and his excellent Queen Of The Moorlands label. As far as I know this is the first independent bottling of the new Bruichladdich spirit distilled since 2001 (please let me know if that’s wrong). Everyone is saying deservedly great things about the new 10yo bottling (notes coming here very soon) so it will be interesting to try this full sherried indi variant.

Colour: Old Mahogany

Nose: If you were to have a boiling smoothie of sticky toffee pudding, treacle and melted fudge squirted up your nostrils it might be of a similar sensation to nosing this whisky. After a little rest time in the glass it calms down and we get a whole churn of fresh butter along with more notes of fudge sauce, massive notes of farmyard, hay, horse stables, cured meats, this is meatier than the meatiest Mortlach. Then we get herbs, wet earth, leather, soil and lots of spice. There is a slight dirtiness to it but the kind that works more in a rustic and earthy way. It also gets quieter and cleaner with some breathing time. This really is a huge whisky, after more time a lovely coastal edge starts to develop as well, water is obligatory here so lets see what happens… Now it becomes saltier and unusually quite mentholated for such a young whisky, then more meaty notes like cold roast beef and horseradish. There are also more leafy notes and more fruits, then medicine, a little grass and something like seawed. This is actually a very beautiful nose now. With a little water it became much easier and quite Bruichladdie-esque.

Palate: Neat the delivery is understandably a bit hot, volcanic even, with notes of wet leaves, mulch, hummus, pebbles, stewed fruits, baked apples, brown sugar, caramel, more fudge and slightly larger dirty note, this time manifested as earth, mushrooms and a touch of matchsticks. Some will find this level of dirtiness too much but I actually really enjoy it, although this whisky is not necessarily an easy one. Lets add water and stave off any further tongue erosion… With water, still quite strong and intense, really oily and almost kippery with some distinctive medicinal notes like bandage and ointment. Was Bruichladdich still doing lightly peated malt at this point? It’s only the 312th cask. This is a monster of a whisky. With further water reduction it gets finally a bit lighter and much more medicinal, fruity and nutty with some big chunks of chocolate floating about in there. Still a touch of dirtiness but water really calms that down a fair bit.

Finish: Long, fat, sweet, rich and quite blustery with coastal, nutty, sweet and medical notes all vying for attention.

Comments: When I first tried this, and I did several times before sitting down to write these notes, I was never too sure about it, it is clearly a monstrous whisky, massively powerful and alive with flavour, but I thought it was maybe too dirty in places or too extreme in others, or sometimes a little one-dimensional. It just goes to show how some whiskies really need time and attention to show their best, this is definitely one of those malts that has many of its complexities cloaked by the high alcohol. It really needs time and patience (as well as plenty water) to let it come out of its shell and show to its full potential. I also noticed that when I opened the bottle it was more closed than it is now that there are a few inches out of it and the liquid inside has had more of a chance to ‘freshen up’ as it were. Perhaps the answer is to decant this one? It’s definitely one of those bottles that, with a few decades of ageing in glass, should easily go past 90 points. My advice, don’t rush this whisky and don’t have too many other drams around it, just pour a large one, pull up the water jug and sit down with it for a good hour or so. It should suit storms, hurricanes, long winters, rainy afternoons, bar room brawls, scout camping trips, zombie apocalypses and nights by the fire. Hats off to David and Wayne for bottling this one, but the real glory must go to the team at Bruichladdich for making such a brilliant spirit.

Score: 89/100 (I know this is technically and ‘in house’ bottling of sorts but I really do think this is classy stuff.

On a personal level 2010 has been a year of extreme ups and downs, thankfully whisky was always part of the ups so I look back on the last twelve months and am happy to see them filled with many great and glorious drams, memories and friends. Probably the biggest whisky development for me was starting this blog which I have enjoyed very much so far and will continue to develop it through 2011. The tastings aspect of it will change quite dramatically in the new year as I am about to go traveling and I suspect there are not quite as many samples of rare and interesting malt whisky to be found in South America (although you never know). In the coming months you can expect to find more scribbling about such spirits as Pisco, Cachaca, Rum, Tequila, Mezcal and various American Whiskeys. However in the meantime I have decided to save the best of 2010 till last. Many writers/commentators/bloggers like to do a top drams of the year thing at this time and while I would like to do that I’m really not up to speed with current releases enough and I’d much rather just do some notes on the one dram that stands out above all others, not necessarily in terms of sheer quality but for its wonderful history and gobsmacking emotional power. It’s this old baby right here…

Mackie's Ancient Brand

Malt Mill!!! Well sort of, actually its not Malt Mill but rather a blend that used Malt Mill as a base malt. This was opened by Serge at his 50th Birthday party much to everyone’s delight. It was bottled for the American market sometime around the early forties and bears a spring cap. There was also a UK version called ‘Mackie’s Ancient Scotch’ and even a version that stated ‘Malt Mill’ on the label although Nick Morgan from Diageo assures us that Malt Mill was never bottled as a single malt (a huge bummer for the legions of whisky loons that would invert their own grandmother to taste the stuff) so this is probably as close as we’ll ever get to trying Malt Mill. But what is Malt Mill and who is this Mackie character? Well…

The site of the old Malt Mill distillery as it appears today at Lagavulin.

In the early 1900s there was a famous whisky man named Peter Mackie, a resourceful, forceful and notorious whisky maker and seller who was fortunate enough to be the agent for both Lagavulin (a distillery he owned) and the neighboring Laphroaig. However in 1907 he lost the agency for Laphroaig and out of spite and frustration decided to make his own Laphroaig up the road at Lagavulin. However as we all know by now it is, for various mystical and scientific reasons, pretty much impossible to completely replicate another distillery’s make at a different site. So Mr Mackie did not make Laphroaig but he did end up making Malt Mill and he must have found a use for it because it was made as a single malt until 1960. It was said to be one of the most heavily peated spirits ever produced, with floor malted barley dried with exceptionally old, deep dug peat. Direct fired stills, worm tubs and long ferments would all have contributed to an exceptionally dense and old style make. The stills used in the latter days of production were modeled on Lagavulin and in fact when the two distilleries were merged into one in 1960 the stills from Malt Mill were used to make Lagavulin until 1969 when the distillery was modernised. So if you can get your hands on any of the old official Lagavulin white label 12yo bottlings from between 1972-79 then there’s a good chance that all the liquid inside was distilled through Malt Mill’s stills. We tasted a 1979 rotation 12yo on Islay a couple of years ago and it was, like most old OB Lagavulins, stunning, about 95/100 if I remember correctly. So who knows, Malt Mill was probably stunning as a single malt. I asked Nick Morgan from Diageo about the possibility of any Malt Mill existing in sample bottles anywhere in the archives. I thought this might be a real possibility as blenders and excisemen were always taking samples for the labs and several could still exist. The answer was a not too encouraging ‘probably not’ but not a definite no so that’s something at least. There is one known sample in existence, a tiny bottle of new make spirit from the last distillation in 1960, a clear glass bottle sealed with red wax that is occasionally displayed at the distillery. Needless to say, persuading Diageo to open this bottle would be like trying to get the Queen to make a cameo in a porn film.

If you tinker with the Google-tron it will inevitably regurgitate this image for you, apparently an old bottle of Malt Mill, if Diageo are correct this must either be a blend or, far more likely, a great, big, dirty, stinking FAKE! So it seems that the only thing we can do (obviously when I say ‘we’ I mean me, sorry about that) is taste this Mackie’s stuff.

Unfortunately reading the back label reveals it is undoubtedly a blend. Every repetition of the word 'blended' reads like a stab in the palate

Mackie’s Ancient Brand. US Import. Rotation early 1940s. Spring Cap. 4/5 Quarts. 86.8 proof. (Malt Mill blended probably with Lagavulin and, sadly, some grain whisky also, impossible to know for sure though what the mix is.)

Colour: Dark, dirty gold with a real greenish tinge. (This is probably from the corruption of the metal and paper underside of the spring cap seal.)

Nose: Well this is the most peaty blend I’ve ever encountered, it jumps out of the glass and across the room before you even stick your nose in there. In fact it is a good deal peatier than many ‘heavily peated’ malts, that intense aroma of raw, root, earthy, dark peat is more pronounced and intense than anything you’ll find current bottlings of Octomore or Supernova, they appear positively limp wristed by comparison to this thing. Massive notes of seashore, boiled seaweed, wet dogs, thick, simmering, crusty peat, tincture, engine oil, peat oil, grist, malt barns, green olives in brine and some fruity notes of fig rolls and dried apricots as well. Sultanas, menthol, steel wool and other beautiful old style metallic notes of rusty iron, graphite and pencil shavings. Camphor, seashore, hessian, minerals, soot, various spices, a little soap and iodine. Very old school, like an old OB Lagavulin 12yo but with more oomph.

Palate: Soft delivery but again the peat flavours are massive and concentrated, very coastal, oily and now a little waxy as well with even more naked minerality. Green notes and more metallic characters with some raisins, creosote, tar, fishnets, kreels, cordite, eucalyptus, aloe vera, white spirit, muesli and old workshops and farmyard flavours. Very immense and very old school, quite incredible after so long in bottle, something to be said for spring caps. Further notes of earth and medicine with salt and pepper and more simmering spiciness. Green fruity flourishes in the background and becomes eventually quite elegant with some notes of varnish and beeswax.

Finish: Long, oily and, yes, very peaty. Beautiful metallic notes, menthol, medicine and seawater notes.

Comments: I am reliably informed that this is very similar to an old 1950′s rotation bottle of Lagavulin, if this is so it would probably mean that Malt Mill was quite a bit heavier than Lagavulin, if you can imagine such a thing. Anyway there is no way to know for sure what the make up of this blend is but it definitely contains a high proportion of Malt Mill and in terms of taste, you’d be forgiven for saying it was 100% malt. It’s a beast.

Score: I’m reluctant to score this because it’s such a pointless thing to score really. In purely olfactory analytical terms I think it’s worth 93/100 but on an emotional level and considering I’m probably never going to taste such a thing again, then it’s more like 100/100. Huge thanks to Serge for opening this quaffable little time capsule.

There is always one last dram to be had for the patient ones among us...

Now, there is one last thing to be done. It is around this time each year that people hand out awards, best dram, best distillery, that kind of fluff. Anyway I have a wee award to be given out, not your average one though, as someone who sells a lot of bottles of whisky I get the opportunity to read many labels and marketing bumpf. So it is with great honor that I announce the first winner of the ‘Whisky Online Whisky Bull Shit Of The Year Award’

There have been many valiant attempts this year, the marketing droids just seem to push themselves further and further each year, Glengoyne, Laphroaig and Jura all made valiant efforts, as did repeat offenders and old favourites Bruichladdich but lets celebrate a newcomer instead, the winner by a mile is Tobermory! Their vomit inducing effort on the booklet enclosed with this year’s 15yo expression was whisky bullshit of the highest order. In case you missed it I’ll recreate it here in all its bowel-knotting glory.

“There are only a small number of bottles available around the world of this jewel-like 15 year old dram, but its exceptional provenance and the craftsmanship it is imbued with, are perceptible in every rare drop.

Perhaps inspired by being in the world-famous Tobermory distillery (founded 1798 and still the island’s only distillery), our Master Blender Ian MacMillan, a man of 35 years’ experience, is an obsessively dedicated artisan and perfectionist. Not content with the standard 15 year period of aging, he developed a rare dual-location-maturation; first transferring the spirit into gloriously refined Gonzales Byass Oloroso Sherry casks and then painstakingly moving each cask from the mainland, where the whisky develops, back to the island for its final year. Here they look out on to the Sound Of Mull allowing the delicate liquids within to absorb the Inner Hebrides’ life-giving ocean mists.”

What a piece of work I think you’ll agree, as soon as you’ve finished with the sick bucket I invite you to enjoy one last time that most breathtaking of closing phrases “the inner hebrides’ life giving ocean mists.” What a money shot that was, think of the marketing offices the length and breadth of the whisky world full of young executives tentatively placing an old service revolver to their temples as they see in one line the ultimate potential of whisky bullshit laid out in Godlike glory before them. Unattainable, unbeatable and suitably incomprehensible, how could anyone top that? Tune in next year to find out.

From all of us at whisky online, have a fantastic hogmanay and all the best for the new year. I hope you all start 2011 as you mean to continue, I know I will.

Slante!

Here are a couple of Laddies I picked up at the Whisky Show in London the other week. I am very fond of naked, natural Bruichladdich when it gets a little age behind it and all that lovely coastal, fruity duality comes shining forth, so lets hope these wont disappoint.

'MCMLXXVII', the first in Bruichladdich's new 'catchy title' series. Look out next moth for the 'Mr McEwan's Mobile Mid-Atlantic Medical Misfit Masochist's Monolith Edition: Alliteration Finish'.

Bruichladdich ‘MCMLXXVII’. 1977, 32yo OB. 47.4%. 844 bottles. 70cl.

Colour: Delicate Gold (whatever that means)

Nose: Ahh… seventies Bruichladdich! It’s amazing how so few malts can carry the maturity of age and still retain such an invigorating freshness. The nose is almost reminiscent of an old early seventies Clynelish. Lots of coastal attributes, citrus, seaweed, wet pebbles, flints, minerals, heather and sea salt. Then the fruits start to come through, lots of guavas, papaya, pomegranate, slightly green banana, lychee and some white flowers with a little vanilla dancing about. There is even something slightly smoky, like very dry, delicately acrid struck flints. Lamp oil and hessian now, becomes a little industrial with these notes of old boiler sheds and furniture wax. Still deliriously fresh, like standing on a blustery shore after a stormy night. Like the Ardbeg 72 yesterday, this is really evocative of the place it was made.

Palate: Sharp and very pristine on the palate, oily with a big citrus bite and full on minerality. Interesting hints of sunflower seeds, dates, muesli and freshly baked bread. Clear and aridly dry coastal flavours now, very saline and delicately floral. The oiliness becomes very gentle and the crisp saltiness becomes pretty intense but it’s balanced by some lovely green fruitiness and flavours of sandalwood, lanolin, fleeting lavender and a little sootiness. This practically defines the words ‘fresh’ and ‘coastal’.

Finish: Long and drying with citrus rind, grease, waxiness, more minerals and salt.

Comments: I remember trying a cask of 1977 Bruichladdich at the distillery back in 2006. I remember it being good then but perhaps not this good. This is a dram that’s really worth paying attention to, there’s a lot in there to reward a fresh palate. I think this really has benefitted from an Island maturation.

Score: 91/100

Last year's multivintage 'DNA' bottling. Let's see if it can stand the salty might of the 1977.

Bruichalddich DNA. OB. 36yo, bottled 2009. Multivinatage late 60s/ early 70s. 41%. 70cl. Finished in Le Pin Pomerol red wine casks (sadly).

Colour: Amber

Nose: Lots of nicely aged fruit character and some lovely big oiliness but without the same intense coastal freshness of the 77, probably due to more intense wood activity. The wine influence is quite subdued for now thankfully and what come through are some lovely stewed fruits, sultanas, marzipan, demerara sugars, aged rum and a little boot polish. Cranberry juice, a little salty zing, paraffin, nutmeg, cocoanut and some nice pecan aromas. Very nice nose, fragile but quite balanced and with an beguiling complexity about it.

Palate: A little more obvious wine influence here, quite a bit sharper than expected with some hints of berry fruit, and redcurrant jam. More citric cranberry flavours, nutmeg and walnut oil with some nice notes of mocha and bitter dark chocolate. Biscotti, a little cinnamon and more jam flavours, good gentle development here even if the wine and wood influence is a little awkward and clumsy on the palate. Final notes of sawdust and fresh pine needles. A Christmasy dram perhaps?

Finish: Not the longest but quite compact and reveals a nice freshness even after many years and a wine cask to contend with.

Comments: The impression I get from drinking this whisky is that it was a good enough dram to withstand being in a wine cask, rather than the wine cask actually contributing anything positive to it. Anyway, it’s very nice Bruichladdich that carries the distillery character quite charmingly while being very drinkable to boot.

Score: 87/100