Bruichladdich Black Art 1992 05.1 Edition 24 Year

This Black Art 5.1 sample was sent to me a couple years ago by my friend and whisky guru @LeeEvolved. I had actually sampled the 4.1 version a bit earlier at Norfolk Wine & Spirits. My first blush reaction at that time was a whisky easily in the 4-star category, but Octomore wowed me more that day and was my eventual purchase. This expensive 24yo expression is made with lightly peated barley and much different than the heavily peated malt used for its Port Charlotte and Octomore brethren. My fascination with Bruichladdich is their ability to create this diverse range of whiskies using the same stills, two of which (wash) date back to 1881 when the distillery first opened. Their Octomore 8.3 release boasts the highest ppm count (smokiness) of any single malt on the market at 309 ppm, yet most agree it seems less smoky than their Port Charlotte expressions that average just 40-50 ppm. How can this be? Well, Andrew Jefford, and his book, Whisky Island: A Portrait of Islay and its Whiskies, gives us some insight into this mystery. We know that phenols are measured and advertised prior to distillation, but Jefford also learned their counts after distillation. He quotes these numbers at 20-25 ppm (estimated) for Port Charlotte and 46.4 ppm for Octomore during the 2003 season. Obviously, this is a closer comparison, but how does distillation alone take Octomore’s triple digit number down by this goodly amount. Let’s have a look. The distillery uses very tall plain-pot stills (6 meters) with long thin necks. This promotes refluxing or the capturing and returning of alcoholic toxins/volatiles back into the wash or spirit. A still’s lyne arm design can also be a factor. A rising arm (Ardbeg, Bowmore, & Laphroaig) also promotes refluxing. Bruichladdich’s stills utilizes a lyne arm that descends gently. Also, the size of the charge into the still is important. A smaller charge or fill amount means more copper contact for toxin elimination if the desire is to create a lighter, more elegant spirit. Coal Ila, for example, uses the smallest charge on Islay at 37 to 41% of fill capacity. Foreshots (heads) and aftershots (feints) contain the most undesirable components (congeners), where the middle cut contains the most desirable or good congeners. The amount of time spent at these cut points varies widely and can dictate a lighter, elegant versus a rich, oily, and more pungent style of spirit. In addition to all of this, Bruichladdich’s condensers are supposedly the biggest on Islay (2 tons each) and this could be their magic bullet. They each contain 210 one inch tubes, which means lots of copper contact. Also, the recovery temperature inside the condenser can be regulated. A higher temperature means slower condensation time and more copper contact for volatile extraction. Bruichladdich’s distillation configuration gives them a lot of flexibility as evidenced by the variety of distinct whisky styles they produce. This 24yo Black Art 5.1 comes rolling in at 48.4% ABV. Little is known about the cask types, but most guess at a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-wine. This seems confirmed by a fruity and robust nose, accompanied by vanilla toffee, toasted almonds and malt. The palate is sweet, rich and peppery. It then turns vermouth-like, drying into a resinous oak, malt and spicy finish. A very complex and delightful dram, indeed. A solid 4.25 stars. Thanks Lee!

Here’s another review from one of the bottles I opened for our room “happy hour” prior to Whiskyfest DC, back in April: The Bruichladdich Black Arts 5.1 (24 year old, 1992). This is a blended, annual release from ‘Laddie that is meant to showcase their wine cask finishing/blending skills. These bottles tend to be on the pricier side, I got mine for $307 from an online, UK seller. Bottles in the US average $400+. This batch is dirty, dark copper and amber in color that makes very small beads in the taster. It’s extremely oily and made a few legs. It’s bottled at 48.4% ABV. The nose starts out primarily with muddled wine grapes, sugary syrup and charred oak with an underlying touch of Coca Cola-type sweetness. The oak leads toward a charred, burned astringency but still allows the fruitiness to shine through. It smelled really great when I first opened the bottle. Oxidation and time were not kind to this bottle, but more of that towards the end of the review. The palate keeps the wine cask notes front and center: grapes, red berries and some sweet corn constantly rolled around on the tongue, fighting off a lot of the barrel flavors. There was a little cinnamon and pepper that seemed like it was trailing the other notes as you move the whisky across the tongue. It wasn’t off-putting, but it didn’t seem to be in harmony like you’d expect. The finish was warm and long. The berry notes ringing through until you rinsed them away with another sip or a bit of water post-sip. The barrel notes remained suspiciously absent here, as well. It’s a sweet, dessert dram that went over well during the hotel tasting because it kept my palate changing as we switched from peated, to bourbony, to wine infused drams. I think at the hotel I was prepared to award this thing 4.5 stars. I loved it. However, as I’ve been sipping through the bottom of this bottle since then (mid-April) things have fallen off quite dramatically. The syrupy, wine notes have mellowed, the oak is completely gone and all that was left the last 2-3 drams was a Kool-Aid type of sugary mess. It was almost not enjoyable. I don’t do anything special to try to preserve my opened bottles, but they also don’t usually sit around long either. I could see this one falling away after 8-10 months, but not 6-7 weeks. Oxidation is not your friend here. If you purchase or open a bottle of this, I highly recommend you drink it quickly. Share this one with friends and marvel in it’s freshness. You’ll be amazed at how good it is, just don’t leave it on the shelf. My $0.02. That said, I have to dock this one significantly because it’s super expensive and didn’t hold up for me. What was a 4.5 on opening day turned into a 2.5 in less than 2 months. Maybe I got a bad bottle or the cork didn’t seal as well (doubtful), but this has turned me off on the Black Arts series. I’ll just try something else from Bruichladdich and keep on moving. My score reflects the good and the bad I experienced here. 3.5 stars. Cheers.

Nose - Dark tannic red wine, dark red berries, dark caramel, plums, dried currants, dried cherries (w/ water) Less tannic, dried apples, dark cherry juice, plums, dusty white peppercorns Taste - Gentle white pepper heat, fruity tart & tannic cherry juice, candied ginger, saline, cocoa powder, chili powder, raisins but w/o the sweetness (w/ water) Dry peppercorn heat, unsweetened cherry juice, unsweetened cocoa powder, dried apples, poached pears Finish - Lingering gentle tingle, sweet but tart cherry juice, dark chocolate covered candied ginger, chili powder/sweet paprika (w/ water) Lingering gentle tingle, lightly tart/bitter cherries, cherry pit bitter, unsweetened cocoa powder, light saline Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - I have mixed feelings about this one because I feel as if I should enjoy it more than I did, but I really can't. There's nothing really bad about it, but it's just kind of boring and I think if I tasted this blind, I'm not sure I'd be able to pick it out as being Bruichladdich. I know Adam had some pretty big shoes to fill, but I have a feeling this one was either rushed or a cat ran through the blending room & just knocked a bunch of stuff into a vat & they just decided to go with it. It feels like they tried to incorporate some very tannic red wine finished/matured whisky with some dry sherry finished whisky and ended up with a blend that pulled only mediocre notes from both. There's none of that rich sherry goodness nor that bright tannic, but sweet lactic funk from a wine finished Bruichladdich. What you end up with is like a dark chocolate covered tart cherry, but they forgot to add any sugar, so you have this sort of bitter, tannic, tart "dessert" that is almost there, but not quite. Water brightens up the nose a bit, but doesn't help it much. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

A wine barrel finish on a very old whisky is often like a bad paint job on a neglected classic car, a clumsy attempt to cover up the shortcomings of the original cask. But it’s forgivable when it’s done by Bruichladdich for a couple of reasons. One, the management is transparent about the fact that the whisky they inherited when they restarted the distillery was mostly knackered. Two, the guy who led its revival had a background in the wine industry, so it’s fair to assume they know what makes a good wine cask. Yet even if you didn’t know any of the above, it’s hard not to love Black Art. Although the distillery is atypically secretive about the mix of casks in the blend, there’s no disguising the wine influence. From nose to tail, the flavors of old red wine are deeply integrated into the spirit. It would make for a rich and delicious nightcap. I also tried the new 6.1 version, which is just as good. It’s a little sweeter and softer, with chocolate notes.

Bruichladdich luxury tasting, Part II. I had my handwritten notes from the tasting event, but just haven't got around to adding them to the app. This is still delicious whisky, though I have to say the exclusive Bourbon influence (according to the Bruichladdich rep) makes for a more cakey, dessert like whisky that doesn't have the breadth of the other Black Arts I tried. Probably not worth the $400 price tag. N: Cedar, caramel, vanilla P: Black pepper and charcoal, salted chocolate, maple candy, pecans. F: Long and delicate, with pepper and burnt sugar.

Almost worth the price of admission alone for the gorgeous bottle and tin. What’s inside is pretty damn good too. 24 year old Laddie wearing various winey and fruity layers at a shade under 100 proof (48.4% alcohol). Not the cheapest whisky you’ll buy at ¥35,000 yen a bottle (£260/$322), but once it’s gone it’s gone. It ain’t going to be getting any cheaper. A labyrinthine flavour exploration and a must for any Bruichladdich fan. Lovely!