Straight from the “Botti da orbi” tasting organized by our friend Corrado at the Corte dei Miracoli in Milan, here comes one of the latest crazy bottle by Bruichladdich. Fully matured in ex-Cognac casks for eight years – btw, with the French restrictions about naming d.o.p. products, will the be possible again in the future such a claim?
N: very open and aromatic, even if strength is pretty high, and very persuasive. The very first note is a lashing sea breeze, iodine. Then some hot, crisp bacon; red apples. It ain’t a ‘sweet’ whisky, or too sugary: it actually seems dry and sharp. Losing our decency and self control, we smell… some orange chutney. Maybe a note of what, some burnt toffee, or maybe carobs?, but it never gets too big. And peat, what about peat? Well peat is deep, industrial, there’s smog and motor oil. Good, very balanced.
P: surprise! The citrusy and orangey side gets on the main stage, without sounding too loud: so here’s a sugary side, winey, of caramelized oranges, burnt orange marmalade, carobs, boiled chestnuts. Then the sea: a lot of sea, salted water, bitter kelpies. The peat seems very organic, farmy almost, very strong, with again smog and motor oil. Very good.
F: long, lingering, all spread on a carpet of chestnuts and oranges, with acrid smoke and sea breeze.
Whiskytaly says this whisky is “provoking”, and we can see why: and yet the provocation was successful. It won’t be the kind of bottle that you drink in one night, glass after glass, because it’s quite fat and heavy: and yet again it can be varied, with a broad range of aromas – and souls. In the end, we like it, and we’re surprised given our little prejudice against weird barrels. This was damn good. 87/100
Recommended soundtrack: Puscifer – The Remedy.
