My favourite of the Heritage range expressions which have grown slowly over the range. Plenty of peat influence and smoke but also some estery fruits which complement well. 84/100
Good balance and approachable sherried Islay malt. Pleasant but could be so much more! At 40% this is a bit soft and a bit safe for me I’d like a touch more intensity to these flavours and experience.
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 […]
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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.
Pre 1: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC 10: 46%
Pre 2: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC 10: 50%
Post-Reveal Commentary: Old PC 10 vs new PC 10 = Both tasty. I don’t have anything to complain about.
1A: Elements Of Islay PI5: 63.1%
1B: Boutique-y Port Charlotte Batch 5: 51.1%
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?…
2A: Malts of Scotland Lochindaal 12 years (07-19): 58.1% – ex-Bourbon
2B: Alexander Murray Bruichladdich 12 years (05-17): 56%
2C: SMWS 127.36 Bruichladdich 11 Years (02-13): 63.2% – ex-Bourbon
2D: Whisky-Fassle Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 years (08-19): 62.7% – ex-Bourbon
2E: Chorlton Whisky Port Charlotte 15 years: 54.9% – ex-Bourbon
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!
3A: Darkness Lochindaal 9 years: 51.8% – ex-Moscatel
3B: Whisky Broker Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 15 years (04-19): 53.9% – ex-Sherry Butt
3C: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte OLC 01: 55.1% – X Cask
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!
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Entertaining, nice sweet and herbal quality, very volatile in the glass, phenolic – that touch of peat is very present and prominent. Green fruits and waxy pine and herb leaves. 83/100
This tasting started life as a virtual event. I’d broken down all the bottles for this, and part 2, into sample bottles and we were all prepared to have these two epic tastings take place on Zoom. And then everyone started to get vaccinated. So we punted them a few months further out and did […]
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This tasting started life as a virtual event. I’d broken down all the bottles for this, and part 2, into sample bottles and we were all prepared to have these two epic tastings take place on Zoom. And then everyone started to get vaccinated. So we punted them a few months further out and did them in person instead.
It was kind of odd, but actually quite nice, to see everyone show up with their whisky sample bottles ready to go. There was no bottle passing, looking for where the blanks went, etc. We all just sat down and started tasting, comparing and talking. It left more time for socializing after and reduced the “rushed” feeling of doing some of these mega verticals.
Everyone drank as much, or as little, as they wanted and there was no pressure to “get your money’s worth”. You already had it in the samples in front of you. If you wanted to sip 1/3 and save 2/3 for later you could. I really liked it.
I wish there was an easy way to merge the benefits of the remote and in-person like this. This is the perfect setup for a blind, but the logistics of it are a nightmare unless you have a machine that bottles minis… I’d love one of those.
The point is, this was a great setup, the night was amazing, and now let’s talk about what we drank.
1A: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Scottish Barley: 50%
1B: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Islay Barley: 50%
1C: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2012: 50%
Post-Reveal Commentary: This grouping of all Scottish-sourced barley was fun. It was interesting to see the differences in the years and how they compared. I’d love to do a super vertical of all of these releases.
2A: Claxton’s Bruichladdich 8 years (11-19): 57.9%
2B: Malts of Scotland Rhinns 8 years (11-19): 56.2% – ex-Red Wine Hogshead
2C: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte CC 01 2007: 57.8% – ex-Eau de Vie (French Oak)
2D: Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1: 59.9% – ex-Bourbon
2E: Bruichladdich Octomore 9.3: 62.9% – ex-Bourbon, Virgin oak, ex-Rivesaltes, ex-Syrah
2F: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011: 56.1% – ex-Bourbon, ex-Red wine (French Oak)
Post-Reveal Commentary: The thing about OB vs Indie ‘Laddie is that they’re not all that different. Some whiskies change quite a bit when they’re done as a SiB through an indie bottler vs when it’s a cask vatting orchestrated by a master blender. Bowmore is a great example of this.
I don’t care much for OB Bowmore, there’s a plasticy funk they blend towards that I don’t care for. But it’s one of my favorite distilleries to snag when it’s an indie SiB, particularly Signatory, because it doesn’t have that note and I love it. ‘Laddie on the other hand is tasty, and similar, in both. Except for that Malts of Scotland Rhinns, that was absolute dreck.
3A: Bruichladdich Octomore 9.1: 59.1% – ex-Bourbon
3B: Bruichladdich Octomore 8.1: 59.3% – ex-Bourbon
3C: Bruichladdich Octomore 4.2 (Comus): 61% – ex-Bourbon, ex-Sauternes
Post-Reveal Commentary: This Octomore face off was awesome. Octomore is always a great way to end an evening, but here we got to try two consecutive .1 editions against my favorite release to-date. There’s just something magical about that Comus.
If you’re a peated Bruichladdich fan, then this will be a series for you… and me. I’m a fan, so this was one I was really looking forward to. This night was awesome and it fueled the fire of expectation for the following week when we were going to sit down for part 2.
Though luckily you won’t have to wait a whole week. Part 2 will be up tomorrow. See you then.
Cheers!
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Very peaty as expected, I felt this one was much better when reduced with water as lots of flavours were masked or locked away behind the wall of peat smoke. 87/100
Sweeter and smokier than 10.1 and a nice addition of both tropical and stone fruits, I don’t think I’d have picked out the Sauternes influence here but in my defence Octomore’s are pretty robust spirit to begin with! 88/100
Solid. A touch non-descript in places though I often find with blends it can be hard to discern distinct taste notes. A good mixture of sweet and peat without resorting to too much ‘cask’ influences. 83/100
A fire-breathing beast of a dram from Spey which manages to capture everything from the light fruity apple nature of Spey’s distillate and plenty of Bourbon cask classic flavours too. Perfect at CS or with a healthy sploosh of water, the smoke travels …
To kick off a quick Penderyn mini-run, we’re digging into the Penderyn Peated Single Malt. This is one I’ve been looking forward to trying for a while because of how much I enjoy Penderyn’s Celt release from the Red Dragon series. Next to the Penderyn Madeira, the Celt is my favorite in their core series… […]
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To kick off a quick Penderyn mini-run, we’re digging into the Penderyn Peated Single Malt. This is one I’ve been looking forward to trying for a while because of how much I enjoy Penderyn’s Celt release from the Red Dragon series. Next to the Penderyn Madeira, the Celt is my favorite in their core series… well, at least it was till this week.
Buuuuut, you’re going to have to wait a few days to see which one(s) supplanted Madeira as my favorite. As you can probably tell, the Peated didn’t surpass the warm fruity goodness of the Madeira, but there is something going on in this whisky that isn’t entirely terrible. To see just how not entirely terrible we’ll need stop yakking and jump into the review.
Region: Wales
Distiller: Penderyn
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: NAS (5+ Years)
ABV: 46%
Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Price: $70*
EYE
Pale hay
NOSE
Spirity vanilla, fruit, smoke, SweetTarts and minerality.
The spirity character pops at first, followed by the peat and then doubles back to become very prominent as it opens.
PALATE
Spirity vanilla, fruit, smoke, SweetTarts and minerality with a bit of melon rind and banana taffy.
It’s a tad more complex, but the Penderyn Peated Single Malt is still dominated by that spirity profile.
FINISH
Medium -> Spirity, vanilla and banana taffy fade to minerally smoke.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Not fully balanced, med-thin body, and a thin watery feel.
I like the Celt more, it has more to offer and presents a deeper, warmer, profile while still pulling in the peat. This comes through rather spirity with very little oak or maturity to speak of. Net-net… I’m just not getting a ton out of this one. It’s super light under the peat.
Of all the Penderyn I’ve had, I have to say this Penderyn Peated Single Malt is my least favorite. Which is unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to this release. But that’s why I like tasting before buying. Wish it was something we could all do more easily.
SCORE: 2/5
*Disclosure: The sample for this Welsh Whisky review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Summary
Youthful and spirity, it’s not quite there and offers up very little to the senses. It’s a nice spirit but needs more maturing.
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