Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2012

My first of the Islay Barley series — and an impressive start. The color is a gold with unmatched clarity and brightness. I smell uniqueness: echinacea, brine, sphagnum moss, and dried pineapple. The palate is explosively multifaceted. The dried pineapple of the nose flares gooey pineapple upside down cake on the tongue. I taste wild blueberries, salt of sunflower seeds, wild yeast, and nori, too. My favorite aspect of this scotch is the finish. At 100 proof, it never stops expanding, like a little universe in your mouth that grows perpetually after the first star fuses into existence. With notes of inchoate peat, it spreads in an unending, estery wave, making sense of why this is called a spirit. The aftertaste that remains is a smoky vanilla grounded by sweet malt. The most interesting scotch I’ve had a bottle of in a long time, Bruichladdich never ceases to amaze.

Open 9 months Nose - Lemon peel, brine, ginger, white pepper, fresh grass, very light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Lemon custard, salted caramel, iodine, white pepper, gingerbread, light butterscotch, and light herbal mix. Finish is medium with bitter lemon oil, dried ginger, peppercorn medley, salt, musty malt, old grass, and light ethanol. This is a fine, coastal malt, but I've had better. The old version of Old Pulteney 12 easily tops this, and for a little more money Oban 14 is a better buy. Other cheaper Highland malts with a touch of brine would be good comparisons. I actually think light peat would improve this. I know the point of this expression is showcasing unpeated Islay malt, but if you can stand a little peat, Talisker 10 is a better version of this in every facet.

(The Spirits Embassy – The Bruichladdich Virtual Tasting Night, 26 March 2021). Nose: Barley sugar, boiled sweets, seaweed, saline Palate: A little hotter and sweeter than the Classic Laddie. Floral, vanilla, apple and pear / orchard fruit Finish: Citrus and sour on the finish with some almond/nutty/oak notes. The finish is very sweet overall. Quite an oily mouthfeel - almost chewy. This has very similar notes to the Classic Laddie, but much sweeter. This is apparently due to the later harvest of the Islay barley. 75% bourbon casks / 25% French sweet white wine casks

Grain forward. The nose is bright and sweet, white grapes and apples up front with a foundation of musty barley that gives nods to some hay and honey. The taste is honey and apples, in fact the finish is so close to honey crisp apples that it’s like a really heavily spiked cider. It’s almost like the emphasis of the nose and palate are flipped which makes it fun to go back and forth. Fresh and enjoyable.

Straw coloring. Floral sweet notes on the nose. Taste is full and bold. Lots of lemon, honey, melon, fresh grasses, and orange. No peat at all. Slight bitterness on the finish from the oak barrel.

Nose: grass, mint, apples, candied ginger, bit of brine. Palate: creamy, summer fruit, toasted nuts, bit of ginger spice. Finish: oaky spice, lingering sweetness. Really nice one.