Bruichladdich 20 Year – Cadenhead Small Batch (2014)
Strength: 51.9% ABV
Distilled-Bottled: 1993 – 2014
Purchased: 2021 for $140 + tax
Aged: 20 years
Casks: Bourbon Hogshead (234 Bottles)
Presentation: Non-chill filtered, Natural Color.
Score: 9. Wow. (Skip to the review)
Where Is the Whisky?
The tale of Bruichladdich distillery on Islay is well known amongst Scotch whisky enthusiasts. The journey that the distillery has taken over the last 140+ years is a microcosm of the history of Scotch itself. A rollercoaster of tradition, obscurity, near death, rebirth, triumph and global renown. I have made no secret of the place this distillery has had in my whisky life, and the fact that a story like Bruichladdich can even exist is enough to make me love Scotch as a category.
There is room for complaints however (from a place of love!). Distillation was restarted by Jim McEwan and crew back in 2001, which means we are, at the time of writing, about 22 years removed from this distillery’s rebirth. Yet, the core range and official bottlings rarely exceed 10 years in age. There is an occasional Feis Ile bottling and maybe a single barrel selection here and there, but otherwise we are largely limited to NAS, 10 year age statements or vintages hovering in the 10 year old range as well. Even the core Classic Laddie bottling only has an 8 year age statement if purchased through the travel-retail market. The Black Art releases break the 20 year mark but those are pre-revival casks. I have to assume that there are casks 15-20 years old sitting in the Bruichladdich warehouses, but for whatever reason the distillery has chosen not to present these at any scale to the market. Of course this leads to conspiracy theories and conjecture, but until something changes we are left to wait patiently.
There have been opportunities to try pre-revival Bruichladdich of significant ages for considerably less than the $400-700 that the Black Art releases have generally cost. Some have come from the distillery, many released shortly after the revival, which now fetch considerable premiums at auction, however the affordable gems have largely come from independent bottlers, like Signatory and in this review’s case, William Cadenheads. Being that I have yet to try anything remotely close to 20 years old from the contemporary casks, I can only hope that they are able to recreate the magic that has emerged from this bottling.
The Review
Nose: Fresh oysters. Unequivocally, fresh oysters. This has to be one of the most maritime malts I have ever nosed, and I dig it. There are lemon wedges here too, albeit faint, and the lightest whiff of the original maltiness. I would not consider this overly complex in terms of layers and layers of notes, but it is certainly one of the most unique experiences I have had with a malt thus far. This bottle has been open a while, and I do not recall getting the intense ‘ocean in a glass’ vibe prior to the last ⅓-½ of the bottle.
Palate: Salty and sweet honey up front and then comes those oysters. The nose plays out pretty cleanly here. You can find the maltiness, some vanilla and the lemon if you look for it. There is a touch of bitter, probably from 20 years in oak. Definitely more layered on the palate than the nose, but largely it tastes like it smells. The provided tasting notes say ‘rum-like notes’ and I suppose I can see that, although I pick up the ester-y notes on the finish. Good mouthfeel overall.
Finish: The saltiness carries through, but a drying grassy sensation takes over. Maybe more akin to a saltine cracker than grassy, but it is accompanied with some earthiness. The vanilla picks up here as well, with a lemon tartness. Let’s go with lemon merengue. Medium long, consistent, and delicious.
Overall: The tag on the bottle says this was aged in bourbon hogsheads. If this isn’t a refill cask, I will eat my shoe. Maybe even bordering on a well used cask. This is all spirit, time and environment and it shines with the wood only imparting enough flavoring to recognize this as whisky. I have not had a lot of pre-revival Bruichladdich, although I do have a couple other bottles in line when this one is gone. What I have had is nothing short of excellent, and it makes me want to demand that Adam Hannett and Remy Cointreau start giving us older expressions of their current spirit immediately. I do not know what they are doing with their now 20 year old stock since reopening, but frankly I am over the NAS and 10 year old (give or take) expressions. I mean, those are still great whiskies, but if their barrels in the warehouses right now are anything like this then they are doing us all a disservice by hoarding it. Regardless, this is a great bottle and one that holds a special place in my personal journey. Score: 9/10. Wow.
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