Bruichladdich

The Bruichladdich Distillery produces three ranges of single malts: Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Octomore. The distillery keeps the ranges quite separate as not to confuse the consumer, as the three ranges offer three quite different experiences. Bruichladdich is unpeated, while Port Charlotte is heavily peated, and lastly, Octomore is super-heavily peated.

Each of the ranges is a collection of single malts, as such The Bruichladdich Distillery entails an extensive, nuanced and intriguing assortment of Scotch single malt – for even the most experienced connoisseur there’s consequently a lot to explore and enjoy.

At The Core of The Distillery

The Bruichladdich Distillery was founded in 1881, and it’s since then had its home and base on the Hebridean island of Islay. Bruichladdich is one of eight Islay-distilleries, and the Bruichladdich pride themselves on how the entire production, from planting the barley to the bottling, takes place on Islay.

The distillery proudly attaches itself to the label of ‘nonconformist’, with which they refer to how they’re adamant to do things their way. The nonconformity is partially expressed in their core beliefs and values, some of which are:

The spirits should have character and an authenticity portraying where the spirits are distilled, the craftsmen as well as the philosophy behind it all.
While the past is respected and also visible (Victorian-age equipment is used in the distillation), innovation and progress are vitally important. It takes curiosity and restlessness continually to produce intriguing spirits, and being stuck in the shadows of the past will compromise with both integrity and creativity – and as such quality.

Bruichladdich is committed to keeping production on Islay, and there are several reasons for this:
The terroir is central and of utmost importance – for instance, Islay maturation gives a tell-tale salt-citrus tang. Bruichladdich believes that “Any artisanal, living product should speak of the place from which it comes, of the people who have created and nurtured it; of the soil, the air, the geography that influences it – of PLACE.”

Bruichladdich wishes to show commitment to their community – to provide jobs and to ensure talent development. Beyond the process of doing everything on-site, nearly everything is equally done by hand. Honesty and integrity come with manual labor, and having hands-on control of the entirety of the process also means having ultimate knowledge. Knowing every pipe, every valve and every nuance enables the fact they create single malt in three different styles.

Every bottle of whisky leaving the Bruichladdich Distillery is bottled naturally – it’s non-chill filtered and without color additives.

Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Octomore

In true Scottish fashion the distillery has adopted a motto, “Progressive Hebridean Distillers”, and the proof is in the pudding: The single malts certainly are progressive.

As mentioned before the Bruichladdich Distillery is home to three different ranges of single malt. Each range has its iconic style, thus they offer their own distinct experiences, and together they paint a picture of a most intriguing single malt distillery.

Bruichladdich range

The Bruichladdich range represents the unpeated expressions in the Bruichladdich arsenal. This range is characterized by being floral and complex, and it showcases barley in all its glory. The farmers’ skill, the artisanal methods developed through the centuries and the craftsmen’s expertise are bottled, and with every whiff of the bouquet, the craft is sensed.

The range currently consists of nine expressions, and it covers the age range and a variety of barley.
The Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2010 is an 8-year-old single malt, and it’s based on the very rare Bere barley. It took great effort and resilience to revive the six-row heritage barley variety, as it’s been excluded from the modern-day standardized whisky making for a long time due to a low amount of yield. However, the grain contributes with a unique flavor profile, and as such it has become the basis for this expression in support of “the people who grow for flavor”.

Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2010 was distilled in 2010 on a 2009 barley crop, and it was bottled in 2018. The expression displays a multitude of layers in both nose and mouth. Fragrant notes of cereal, porridge oat and malt pop out first followed by intense fruity notes along with meringue pie. The American oak is equally noticed with notes of honey, coconut, vanilla, fudge, and coffee. The palate is treated to a rich, viscous honey-like texture, and malted barley, sweet fruit, oak, honey, chocolate, and apricot jam characterize the flavor profile.

Port Charlotte

At the moment four vintage expression, as well as fifth aged expression, make out The Port Charlotte range. These single malts are heavily peated with a 40 PPM (parts per million; measures the phenol level), and they’re trickle distilled through a tall, narrow-necked still, which results in rich and aromatic spirits powered by peat and characterized by finesse and elegance.

Port Charlotte showcases vibrant and dynamic Islay single malt, and through the provenance of the barley, the influence of the cask and maturation the expressions explore the complex nature of whisky.

The Port Charlotte 10 has a truly well-balanced smoky, oaky, malty, floral and aldehydic character, naturally owing to the peat. It’s aged 10 years and is triple-casked: first six and a half years in 1st fill American cask, then a year in 2nd fill American cask and lastly two and a half years in French wine casks. In the nose notes of golden caramel, fudge, vanilla custard and spices like ginger, clove and nutmeg come forward on the back of the dry, oaky and peatashy style. The Islay signature of oceanic tang is equally prominent, and fruity notes along with floral notes of wild thyme, heather, and sea pink are also present.

Both bouquet and taste create visuals to the Atlantic coastline, which so very clearly characterize Islay single malt. The palate is exposed to a delicate and soft texture, where the smokiness wraps itself around the sweet oak and the extraordinary flavor balance. Among the taste, notes are smoked oysters, coconut, lemon, honey, and vanilla custard. The expression’s finish is quite simply magnificent – it’s, of course, smoky, but it also offers sweetness with the notes of orange, mango, malted barley, and Banoffee pie. The oak’s depth and quality are also impactful, and the fact it boasts of so many layers is evident with every sip.

Octomore

The Octomore range is now on its 10th series, and the 10th edition entails four expressions, which share the fact they’re all super-heavily peated. The Octomore range was introduced in 2002, and the newest iteration sets out to uncover a new realm of ‘softer smoke’, and it’s complex, multi-layered, and it’ll surprise each and everyone, even the most well versed in Octomore single malts.

Octomore Edition 10.3 was malted 114 PPM, the highest level among the expressions, and it’s aged six years entirely in American first-fill casks. The expression was distilled in 2013 on the back of the 2012 barley harvest – the barley is of the Concerto grain and from a single field, naturally grown on Islay.

This third expression in the current range has a character of marine freshness, the Islay air as well as a deep level of fruit. The aroma brings forward notes of peaty smoke, lemon drops, dry maybe a little medicinal, thyme, and then the oceanic sensation comes through along with the association to seashells.

The bouquet is rounded off with the oak’s vanilla and fudge notes. A marine saltiness is felt on the palate immediately followed by honey, and lemon and peat and oak equally jump forward. Pear and gooseberry are also a part of the flavor profile, and in its extension, the finish is sweet with tones of pastry and chocolate, although rubbery smoke and spice turn the finish more bitter at the end.

This was quite obviously a surface peak into the extensive collection behind the Bruichladdich name. They boast of so many glorious, intriguing and tasteful single malts, and every whisky connoisseur and collector is required to familiarise themselves with the unique Islay single malts, peated or not, from the Bruichladdich Distillery.