A week after our Peated Bruichladdich Part 1, we gathered for Part 2. And like last time we all arrived with our samples in tow and after the usual hi-hello pleasantries we got down to business. Just like we’re about to do with this recap.
I mean it, no long preamble or anything. We all know and love peated Bruichladdich. So let’s get to it.
Peated Bruichladdich Part 2 – Pre
Pre 1: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC 10: 46%
- Nose: Honied fruit, smoke, graham, cocoa and a light BBQ sweetness.
- Palate: Medicinal, fruity, smoke, plastic, malt.
- Finish: Long -> Medicinal, fruity, tannic
- Overall: (3 / 5) Nice and sweet with a great medicinal kick that compliments perfectly.
Pre 2: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC 10: 50%
- Nose: Plasticy smoke, malty, cocoa, hay, spice and mint.
- Palate: Candy, fruity, malty, smokey.
- Finish: Long -> Honied fruit, spice and smoke.
- Overall: (3 / 5) Not bad… not bad at all. In fact, I rather like it.
Post-Reveal Commentary: Old PC 10 vs new PC 10 = Both tasty. I don’t have anything to complain about.
Peated Bruichladdich Part 2 – Round 1
1A: Elements Of Islay PI5: 63.1%
- Nose: Vanilla, smoke, malt, fruit, cocoa, ash and saline.
- Palate: Floral, herbal, smoke, fruit, saline.
- Finish: Long -> Floral, smoke and malt.
- Overall: (3 / 5) Soft and light, as soft and light as peated Bruichladdich gets, but wonderfully interesting.
1B: Boutique-y Port Charlotte Batch 5: 51.1%
- Nose: Smoke, malt, olde candy, ash, wine and caramel.
- Palate: Smoke, charred fruit, candy sweetness, graham and a touch vomity.
- Finish: Long -> Sulfur, smoke, char and a bit of vomit.
- Overall: (2 / 5) Reading my notes it sounds awful, but it weirdly isn’t utter dreck. It’s not great, but in a weird way it’s kinda interesting and I don’t loathe it as much as I should.
Post-Reveal Commentary: I’ve never been a massive fan of Boutique-y whisky picks and the trend continues. Though why do I keep wanting to taste it again?…
Peated Bruichladdich Part 2 – Round 2
2A: Malts of Scotland Lochindaal 12 years (07-19): 58.1% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: Spirity, banana, malt, smoke, vomit, peach, caramel.
- Palate: Spirity, banana, malt, smoke, vomit, peach, caramel.
- Finish: Med-long -> Banana, alkaline, spirity, vomit.
- Overall: (0.5 / 5) 1B held a perverse allure…. this does not. Wow, this is bad. Might be the worst peated Bruichladdich I’ve ever had.
2B: Alexander Murray Bruichladdich 12 years (05-17): 56%
- Nose: Buttered popcorn, vanilla, old cigars, wood, red licorice, stale herbal spice.
- Palate: Watery version of the aroma.
- Finish: Med-long -> Buttered popcorn, wood, char, vomit.
- Overall: (1 / 5) What is going on with this round… this is not a fun round so far. Blegh, this is awful.
2C: SMWS 127.36 Bruichladdich 11 Years (02-13): 63.2% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: BBQ smoke, fruit, honey, herbal spice, hay and malt.
- Palate: BBQ smoke, fruit, honey, herbal spice, hay and malt with touches of soap.
- Finish: Long -> Smoke, malt and a touch of soap.
- Overall: (3 / 5) I don’t know if it’s the juxtaposition to the vomit twins 2A & B, but I’m enjoying this one quite a bit despite the light soapy notes.
2D: Whisky-Fassle Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 years (08-19): 62.7% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: Malt, honey, BBQ smoke, malt, olde candy, honey, spearmint.
- Palate: Malt, honey, apricot, BBQ smoke, malt, olde candy, honey, menthol.
- Finish: Long -> Smoke, BBQ sweetness, olde candy and menthol.
- Overall: (3.5 / 5) Not your typical peated Bruichladdich profile, but it’s nice.
2E: Chorlton Whisky Port Charlotte 15 years: 54.9% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: Candy sweetness, smoke, char, honey, malt, nuts and brine.
- Palate: Nuts, smoke, wood, char and malt with bits of graham, fruit and cocoa.
- Finish: Long -> Funky sweet and oaky smoke with some spice.
- Overall: (4 / 5) Wow, this is delicious. It’s by far the best of the night.
Post-Reveal Commentary: 2A and 2B are some of the worst Bruichladdich I’ve ever had. And what’s even sadder is that I have a bottle of 2B sitting at home, unopened. I’m now dreading opening what seems like an utter waste of money because it was just awful. The second half of the round though made up for it. They were all delicious and I’d love to have taken home that Chorlton!
Peated Bruichladdich Part 2 – Round 3
3A: Darkness Lochindaal 9 years: 51.8% – ex-Moscatel
- Nose: Smoke, orange peel, mint, malt, fruit and cocoa.
- Palate: Honied fruit, vanilla candy, smoke, citrus, malt, cocoa and a bit of mint.
- Finish: Long -> Smoked fruit.
- Overall: (3.5 / 5) This round is off to a better start than the last. This is something I’d like to drink regularly.
3B: Whisky Broker Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 15 years (04-19): 53.9% – ex-Sherry Butt
- Nose: Buttered popcorn jelly beans, vomit, butterscotch, smoke, dried fruit.
- Palate: Grape nuts, sulfur, buttered popcorn jelly beans and vomit.
- Finish: Long -> Funky, smoky, vomity.
- Overall: (1.5 / 5) This profile again? What the hell is going on with some of these releases?
3C: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte OLC 01: 55.1% – X Cask
- Nose: Fruit, oak, smoke, malt and toffee.
- Palate: Sweetly fruity, smoke, malt, dark sweets and spice.
- Finish: Long -> Malt, fruit and smoke.Overall: (3 / 5) Tasty. Fun. Good. A nice way to end the tasting.
Post-Reveal Commentary: A better round than 2 for sure, but man, when that vomity note hits hard, it’s just obscenely unpleasant. I don’t mind it in the background, it’s in a lot of Bruichladdich, but when it moves up like this… yikes.
After this tasting, I’m feeling less sure about single casks of peated Bruichladdich, though not by much. Instead of being 100% sure on them, I’m down to about 85% sure, which means I’ll still be buying them, though not from Alexander Murray and Boutique-Y. I’ve been burned by them too many times. Though this does make me wonder…
The vomity note is a light background note in a lot of Bruichladdich, including OBs, but what if they’re letting the really funky ones out to the IBs? Maybe having the IBs be hit-or-miss is a distillery tactic to keep people coming back to the OBs? It could work, but that would take a ton of work so that’s of course silly and cynical… but then again…
Despite some of the major letdowns of this round, it was still a great tasting all-in-all and it was immeasurably educational to try those awful Bruichladdich SiBs, to dive into the shallow end of the pool and see what it’s like when things go wrong. Though, obviously, more of it went right. Especially that Chorlton.
Till the next time, cheers!
