Category Archives: Bruichladdich

Angry, Bruichladdich

Bruichladdich X4+3

Islay region – 63.5%ABV – 700ml bottle (not available through US stores) – £49 | €58

E=MC2 | a2 + b2 = c2 | ei∏ = -1 | Ax = b <—– what does it all mean?  Perhaps Bruichladdich’s X4+3 can help us solve problems such as these (or at least get us tipsy enough so as we just don’t give a rat tuckas about it…).

The Bruichladdich X4+3 is a damn interesting… whisky?  Hmmm, let’s see.

Ok, before I begin, please know that I am not one for the technicalities.  Actually, scratch that.  I LOVE geeking out on all of the technical ins-and-outs of…pretty much anything, but, ESPECIALLY whisky (oh yeah, and guitar effects pedals).  I just don’t like writing on these subjects.  Too many damn words.  I will, however, try to summarize some techy stuff for you and hope that I get it all right[ish].

Most whiskies (be they Scotch, American, Japanese, Welsh, Swedish, etc, etc…) are distilled twice, two and a half times or three times.  That’s just how it is folks.  Almost all Scotch whisky is distilled twice (The Campbeltown whisky “Springbank” is distilled 2.5 times and Hazelburn distills 3 times).  The Irish, for the most part distill 3 times and it’s a bit of a mixture here in the US.

The good folks over at Bruichladdich thought that they’d go and one-up everyone by quadruple distilling their spirit (unpeated spirit) then age it for 3 years in both ex-bourbon and French oak barrels.

So, 4x distilled, aged three years (X4+3… get it?  Good.).

On top of this, the spirit that goes into the barrels is corked at 90%ABV (feck!).  The average is in the 60’s (63.5 – 67% – average.  Though, some may say otherwise).

Is this the best example of “mine is bigger than yours” or what?

Truth be told, this process is nothing new and the Bruich’laddies are not trying to one-up anybody.  This process of quadruple distilling goes back hundreds of years but has not been mimicked until present date.  The earliest mention of it was back in 1695 by Martin Martin.  He explained the drinking of this type of spirit as such: “…The first taste affect all the members of the body.  Two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose; and if ANY man should exceed this, it would presently stop his breath and endanger his life.”

G-d, I’m getting thirsty!

So, is this or is this not whisky?  Re-cap: traditional whisky is 2-3 times distilled, poured into barrels at 63.5% ABV.  The X4+3 is quadruple distilled and poured into barrels at 90%ABV…

Eh, screw it.  Let’s just taste this stuff.

On the nose – Powerfully strong and filled with limes, grapefruit, strawberries and rocket fuel.

I’m actually getting some grape lollypops and cranberry juice here.

Not as chemically as I expected but powerfully spirited!  Candied fruits.

With water — Peppery (think scotch bonnet – sweet and feckin’ hot as $hit), gooseberries, toy model glue.

On the mouth – Bent plastic superheroes, He-man toys and Transformers (More Than Meets The Eye™).

**Loads** of poached pears with touch of cinnamon.

With water — All of the focus is on those poached pears.  Straight forward but now getting duo-dimensional as some malty notes reared their head(s).

I liked it more without water when I got those plasticy notes along-side the pear notes.

Great mouth feel with water.

Finish – The first three layers of skin in my mouth have been removed but, I’m cool with that.

In sum – This is one to bring out to parties to say, “Hey guys/gals… check this out!”.  It’s beats huffing glue, that’s for sure!

All joking aside, I would never reach for this.  However, the X4+3 is a damn interesting dram and one that may work quite well with the mixologists out there (what, with all the fruits and high alcohol content).  Also, kudos to Bruichladdich for doing something that has not been done for centuries, bottling it and marketing it.  That’s brass balls baby!

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Bruichladdich, Cold Winter, Need To Bundle Up, Port Charlotte

Port Charlotte “PC6” – Bruichladdich’s heavily peated young whisky

Islay region – 61.6%ABV – 750ml bottle – $120 | £95 | €115

Let the love affair begin.  I’ve heard lots of good news about Bruichladdich’s newer Port Charlotte range.  LOTS of good news.  And lately, I’ve been hearing some great stuff about the “PC6”.  In case you haven’t figured it out yet, “PC” stands for “Port Charlotte” and the “6” tells us that, you guessed it, it’s a 6 year old whisky.

My first reaction to the fact that this is only six years old is similar to the reaction many people have had — “only six years old and it’s how much money???”  Oy vey ishmir!

I had a conversation with a guy from Binny’s a while back on the same subject – why so much for such a young whisky (at the time we were discussing last year’s Ardbeg Supernova)?  He brought up a good point: “Who cares?  Is it good whisky?” he asked.  “Yes”, I told him.  He went on. “Then why does age matter?  You’re paying for a well crafted single malt.  You’re paying for a work of art.  Who cares how old it is”.  Like I said, he makes a good point.  Deep in the back of my head there’s that little voice that says “still though…” —   But truly, I think he’s right.

So what’s all of this good news I speak about?  Check out my links below.  Firstly, let’s taste this and see if it’s worth it’s weight in whisky (a special thanks to DH for the sample!!):

On the nose — Big-ass smoke!  Powerfully pungent with smoke like burning driftwood (think salty peat or perhaps a beach bonfire).  Sparklers on the 4th of July (for my US readers out there).  Soured & sweet milk notes (baby vomit).

Serge of Whisky Fun nailed it with his detection of buttered mashed potatoes – on the nose Serge (pun intended)! Leather jackets and damp horse stable.  That leather smell alone makes me want to break out Iggy Pop’s “Raw Power”.  Either that or Yes’ Close to the Edge and put in on full blast – two very different albums but somehow both fitting to this whisky.  Powerful yet complex and beautiful.

On the mouth — Mmmm, mmmm – chewy smoked cheese, electrical charges and spent matches, tannic, drying but first a nice juicy entry.  Fruity notes and buttermilk biscuits (albeit burnt ones).

The peat is wonderful here and somehow refreshing even in this hot weather (it hit 89 deg fahrenheit today!).  At 61.6% ABV I know I should add a little water but this is so nice at full strength.

Finish — It’s all on the leather and now some great grassy floral notes (almost rose petal) come out, then some burn arrives and it gets a tad effervescent.  Even an hour later and my mouth is still filled with smoke and ash.  Love it!

In sum — Wonderfully heavily-peated expression.  If you’re not a peat fan, you probably have not read this far down in the review…  If you’re interested in getting into peated and smokey whiskies this will surely pique your interest (but may scare the living shit out of you; in a good way though, like the first time you saw The Exorcist.  Scary as hell but, you watched it again and could not wait for the pea soup to flow).  If you’re a peathead, welcome to heaven.

See what others have to say:

Serge of Whisky Fun!

Dr. Whisky

The Casks

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Bruichladdich, Refreshed, Springtime, Takin' It Easy

Bruichladdich 19yr old Black Arts

Ok, before you begin to read my post on this dram, you may want to hit play on the youtube video below (so as to set the mood):

Is it playing?  Good.  Just keep it sort of quiet and in the background.  Umm, a little lower in the volume… there.  Good.

When I was young, about six years in age, my uncle started feeding me music from all sorts of great bands.  Bands he loved and wanted me to love in kind.  Two of the bands stuck out and I still love them to this day.  The Ramones and Black Sabbath.  In fact, the first album I ever owned was Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album.

Let’s put the Ramones to the side for now and focus on Black Sabbath.  Here I was six years old, listening to Black Sabbath and… was I scared?  A bit (I mean, listen to this song for “Peat’s” sake – you do have the video playing, right?).  But mostly, I was entranced.  Even at six, I knew that these guys were on some level beyond any other band I’d ever heard.

As I got older, I became more obsessed with the music of Black Sabbath and (here comes a crazy geek moment) Dungeons and Dragons.  There, I said it.  I was into D&D big time.  D&D, Lord of the Rings, you name it, I was into it.

You must be thinking “Hey Hatton, where are you going with this?” or, “Dude, D&D… seriously!?”

The point I am coming to is that I saw something mystical and magical in this music and those role playing games and sipping on this whisky took me back there.

Yes, nearly 31 years later and I came across this interesting and new Bruichladdich expression called Black Arts and I’m taken back to those things that got me interested in the “strange”.  But, come to think of it, it was not just strange.  It was new, different, unique and artistic – something I think this expression is.

What is Bruichladdich’s Black Arts expression?  First, let’s take a look at their bottle:

You’ll notice a matte black finish on the bottle and cylinder.  This, as I understand it, is a follow up to Bruichladdich’s “Blacker Still” expression.  Just looking at it and I get a creepy-cool feeling.  It’s the type of feeling you get when you’re around a campfire telling ghost stories – the good creepy.  You want more.

And yes, I wanted more.  I wanted to open the bottle right away but, before I did, I took a closer look at the bottle and saw a Star of David on there.  Wait a sec.  Hold you’re horses.  What does this mean?  I don’t know any Jew that works in the Black Arts – What’s going on here!?!?

I did some reading up on what this star meant and found that Bruichladdich says the star is actually “two triangles that represent the reconciliation of the opposites of fire and water”.  In fact, here’s the full quote from Bruichladdich’s product sheet: “Alchemy, the black art, the eternal search for rejuvenation and immortality, gave us whisky.  Gebber the Arab is said to be the first distiller of al-iksir, the water of life, in Persia around 790 AD.” (or, CE and I prefer to say.  C.E. being the Common Era) “The spirits Eau de vie, Aqua Vitae, Vodka, Aquavit, Uisque Beatha all share that same original meaning.  Geber understood that precious metals were hidden in alloys and ores.  By the rearrangement of base metal’s qualities, via elixir, it could be transmutated into Gold.  Elixir also existed as a dry, red powder made from Philosophers’ stone.  If it could turn poor metal into gold – it could give eternal life.  The two triangles that represent the reconciliation of the opposites of fire and water.”

Cool stuff, right?

Speaking of “red powder”, after I poured a dram, I wondered if Bruichladdich found this Philosophers’ stone and put a wee bit into each cask.  The reason I wondered this….well, take a look at the color of this whisky (on your left – click on it for a larger image).

While it may be tough to see here in this picture.  I will tell you that, in person, this fluid is red.  Red whisky.  I’ve never seen anything like this before and, just like when I first heard Black Sabbath, I was entranced.  Just a note here: this is the natural color of the whisky; no color added.

How did they get this whisky red?  Is it the red powder from the Philosophers’ stone?  If you think the answer is “yes” then I suggest you check yourself into an insane asylum.  While you may think the good folks at Bruichladdich are alchemists with all of those great expressions they come out with, this is the real world and they’re using real science here, not alchemy.

So, how did they get it red?  A little birdy told me that this whisky was finished in three red wine casks, one right after the other.  Awesome.

OK, I think it’s about high time I get to the tasting:

Islay region – 51.1%ABV – 700ml bottle – £75 | €94 (this bottle is not available through US stores)

On the nose — 51.1% alcohol be damned! I can sniff this all night with no issues.  Big red fruits!  Raspberry, strawberry, cranberry and some fruit of the more tropical variety — passion fruit & papaya (all of these berries makes me think of my daughter’s book called “Jamberry”).  Wow.  Some nail polish remover notes here, something a bit sour and some over steeped green tea…  I’m in love with this nose!  This is just the right influence of wine on the whisky.  Some spiciness on the nose and a bit of honey (which I did not expect here).  With a few drops of water the fruits get very juicy smelling – almost over ripe.

On the mouth — Great entry here and I’m a bit taken aback.  What a balance!  The fruits are big but dry – like a good & fruity cabernet.  Grassy, fresh hay.  Quite grapey, quite winey.  The mouth feel is nice nothing too special about it though.  Let’s add a few drops of water.  With water the mouth feel evolves into something completely different and beautiful.  I feel like an alchemist turning dried fruits into re-ripened fruits.  There’s something deep in the background that resembles the faintest whiff of smoke but, I dont think this was at all peated.

Finish — Longer and slightly burning.  Wow, increasingly burning and getting stronger by the second.  Cool stuff.

In sum — This is a true artisan’s whisky.  And while some folks thought this dram crossed the line a bit between wine finishes and whisky; to me, the extra finishing was something of pure genius.  What a great marriage between wine and whisky.  While the two whiskies are nothing alike, the mystery surrounding the Bruichladdich Black Arts reminds me of the mysteries around the Glenmorangie Signet.  Two very different whiskies; two very great whiskies.  My hat’s off to the folks at Bruichladdich.  They’ve created a magical dram here.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Bruichladdich, Cold Winter, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

Bruichladdich 3D3

Islay region – 46%ABV – 750ml bottle – $55 | £40

Another great Bruichladdich came my way.  This time in the form of a sample from my friend “O.K.”  Bruichladdich is one of these lesser known whiskies here in the states – especially when going to a bar (unless it’s a really good one like The Daily Pint that I just went to with a new friend – a post on that later with details of a new reader challenge issued to yours truly!).

A run of the mill bar in the US just does not carry a good selection of Scotch whiskies (or American whiskeys for that matter).  Most bars have the token Jameson, Dewar’s, Johnnie Walker Red & Black label, Chivas Regal 12yr and maybe a 12yr Glenlivet or Glenfiddich.  I’m not knocking these whiskies – they’re all nice and very drinkable.  But, nothing super special.

I would love to start seeing some (at the very least) entry level Highland Park, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg, Glenmorangie, Balblair, Cragganmore… the list can go on and on.  I’ve been trying to edu-m’cate my local watering holes but, I can’t do it everywhere I go.  Your average red-blooded American does not have access to the finer Scotch whiskies and it’s a damn shame.

Let me get on to my review of the whisky at hand: Bruichladdich 3D3!

On the nose — Sweet peat, honey, green apples, something a bit bitter (can’t quite place it), baby vomit, latex gloves, cheddar cheese (or more like salty cheese crackers, think Gold Fish) – came back for another nosing and found some nice flowery notes popped up and slight grassiness – perhaps lemongrass – Loving this nose – very complex!

On the mouth — Nice peat attach right up front – quite good, I like this at 46%, briny and a little like cocktail sauce (or the lemons from it),

Nice chewy mouth feel, celery salt.  This is really done well – Kudos ‘laddies!

Finish — Long, peaty, smoke, honey and rubber.  The peat has violated every part of my mouth (wow, that sounds a little…dirty) – a Bruichladdich done quite right!

In sum — There are so many great Bruichladdich expressions and while all of them (at least the ones I tried) are quite different from one another, you know you’re going to go on a great ride with these malts.  This being said, you can, for the most part, always count on a delicious fruitiness to be your driver through the Bruichladdich journey.  While I normally go for the peatier stuff during the cold seasons, I would have no problem reaching for this at any time of year.

For those confused by the “Baby vomit” descriptor, check out Guid Scotch Drink’s “Say What!?” post to better understand what I’m really smelling when I say “Baby Vomit”

Also, check out Whisky Israel’s post of the Bruichladdich 3D3, Gal has gone to great lengths to fill you in on who this malt was made for (or is in honor of): Norrie Campbell

A World of Discovery, Bruichladdich, Refreshed, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

Bruichladdich 18yr (not 2nd edition)

Islay region – 46%ABV – 750ml bottle – $101 and up | £50 | €61 (prices shown are for the 2nd edition)

I feel somewhat bad that my first review of the Bruichladdich line was a bad review. But hey, it was what it was and looking at the big picture, I had to post an uncomplimentary post at some point or another.

I suppose, however, what I should have done is review the ‘laddie 18yr expression first as, after all, the 18yr was the very first ‘laddich I’ve every had and it made me come back for more. Also, I received this bottle as a gift (free scotch! who could ask for anything more??). Happy birthday to me!

Bruichladdich (a distillery from the Islay region of Scotland) is known for having a *very* expansive line of whisky expressions. They do a lot with special wood finishes and currently have the peatiest malt on the market today (The Octomore); they have both unpeated & lightly peated malts as well. The 18yr has little if any traces of peat, this is a sweeter one as you’ll soon read.

This beauty was matured in ex-bourbons casks then transferred to Pinot casks for finishing. Pinot is known to be a very soft, silky tasting wine, almost buttery (at least the ones I’ve had). I knew the make up of the scotch before I opened the bottle and was really looking forward to tasting!

Initial whiffs – Fresh fruits (think nectarine and maybe… pear??), vanilla with perhaps some cinnamon, some oak comes through, and a tad bit of citrus. This is what Bruichladdich is known for – even with their peaty expressions, the fruit really comes through and shines.

Palate – Very sweet, the wine-y-ness comes through here (slightly tannic, very slight though), almonds (maybe marzipan but without the bite that you can get from the marzipan), orange syrup, great mouth feel

Finish — Long and fruity, some nuttiness comes back in the end – oh, a something sort of earthy now too, grassy almost?

In sum — I love the bottle style, very cool & swanky. Well worth the money paid for it (thanks birthday gifters! You know who you are). This is one I’d revisit again, and again, and again… Quite complex and worth waiting for warmer weather to enjoy. This is not an easy drinking whisky though – this is one to “taste”, not “drink”