Which all boils down to this being a single cask official bottling of Bruichladdich, fully matured in a first-fill Oloroso sherry cask, selected and bottled exclusively for the Facebook group "Friends of Bruichladdich" and it's 4,000-or so members. Bruichladdich don't do many private bottlings these days, at least certainly not like they did in the past, but it seems that they made an exception for this group of die-hard 'laddie fans, which is spearheaded by two of their largest private customers and frequent visitors to the distillery. This bottling seems to be a slight extension of Bruichladdich's micro-provenance series, which are a series of single cask bottlings that are often matured in unusual cask types, and are only sold in tiny numbers through the distillery's own website and physical store. Although there are some exceptions, those have mostly been released in series' of three 200ml bottlings, the most recent being the Bruichladdich MP7 (Micro-Provenance number 7) series, but they can come from either the un-peated Bruichladdich spirit, the heavily peated Port Charlotte spirit, or the super-heavily peated Octomore spirit. This particular bottling is a little different, though. This was a single cask that was selected by and bottled for the aforementioned Facebook group founders, in full-sized bottles, at a retail price of 175 GBP. Which isn't exactly cheap, particularly if you're then having it shipped overseas and are at the mercy of your local customs agency, but for what you're getting here that's a decent price. Needless to say, it sold out very quickly regardless!
One of only two Islay distilleries that produces an un-peated single malt as it's core range, Bruichladdich don't offer a sherry cask-matured whisky as part of their core line-up. They tend to focus on either the standard bourbon casks or wine casks instead, usually of the French variety, and that's basically been the case since the distillery's resurrection circa 2001. But like the other un-peated whisky produced on Islay, Bunnahabhain, sherry cask-matured bottlings of Bruichladdich can be fantastic, and they're usually found in the arsenals of independent bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory Vintage and some of the smaller companies. A sherry cask-matured official bottling is all but unheard of, unless one has the coin required to splurge on a few of the 1990 vintage bottlings that were released in the last couple of years, or is lucky enough to get their hands on a distillery-only Valinch bottling. On that note I must admit that the one example that I've been lucky enough to try, the 25-year old 1990/25, was a truly delicious whisky. Most serious whisky enthusiasts are partial to what is commonly referred to as the "sherry bomb", a.k.a. a heavily-sherry cask-influenced whisky often from the likes of Glendronach, Aberlour, or Glenfarclas. Islay whisky is very rarely found in this guise, even more rarely in official bottlings from the distilleries and their owners. So convincing Bruichladdich to sell this single Oloroso cask to a what is effectively a Facebook group must have been quite the task, particularly since the distillery is now owned by Remy Cointreau. That's not to say that the new-ish corporate owners have been restrictive, in fact it seems quite the opposite in Bruichladdich's case with plenty of new investment and no corporate pressure, cost-cutting or shortcuts at all, but you'd have to assume that buying a single cask of mature whisky would've been far easier under the distillery's previous private owners. Regardless of how it happened, it's a great thing and both concerned parties have done very well!
So, what we have here is a 15-year old single cask Bruichladdich from an Oloroso sherry cask, which I would assume came from the distillery's preferred sherry Bodega, Fernando de Castilla in Jerez, Spain. There's plenty of information to be found on the label as well, such as the exact date of distillation (22 May 2003), the barley variety (Optic), plus the warehouse and the exact location within that the cask was kept in (Warehouse 12, location C5). It was bottled at a substantial cask strength of 63.1% ABV on 15 October 2018, and of course is non-chill filtered and naturally coloured - like all malts that leave the distillery gates on the shore of Loch Indaal. It's important to remember that Bruichladdich are one of the few Islay distilleries that mature all of their whisky on the island, and are one of only two Ileachs that bottle their whisky on-site at the distillery. It's also worth noting that Bruichladdich do not reduce the strength of their new make spirit before filling it into casks, where the majority of Scottish malt distilleries dilute down to 63.5% before filling. Which is why some cask strength bottlings of Bruichladdich can carry serious ABV numbers that are significantly higher than most similarly aged bottlings from other Scottish distilleries. The sample for this review came from a very generous fellow whisky nerd who was lucky enough to get hold of a bottle of this very precious whisky. The opportunity to try a single cask official bottling of Bruichladdich is not something that happens everyday, let alone a sherry matured example, so this is a special one!
Distilled 22/5/2003, matured in a single Oloroso sherry cask, bottled 15/10/2018. Exclusive to the Friends of Bruichladdich Facebook group. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Very dark amber. Has to be the darkest Bruichladdich that I've seen to date!
Nose: Ooh, it's a big one! Loads of leather, dried fruit and raspberry dark chocolate. Musty & nutty dry sherry, some baked red apple, red liquorice and a slight salty tang. There's a bit of nose prickle, but it's 63.1% remember! Chocolate mousse and a little dried orange come through further on.
Texture: Yep, still a big one! Medium-heavy weight, thick & creamy in feel, loads of flavour and a little heat, but not in an overly harsh or rough way.
Taste: Sherry bomb! Big boozy dried fruit, lots of that lovely raspberry dark chocolate again, and a bit of sharp chilli-like heat although it fades fairly quickly. Some orange liqueur, more leather, and a bit of a musty 'rancio' note found in excellent quality dry fortifieds, reminiscent of cured meat, salted almonds and a bit of mushroom. Delicious!
Finish: Long! A little boozy heat, but behind that is a truckload of flavour - chocolate mousse and that musty rancio note again, more orange liqueur and salted almond. Some dark grape must and a little dank earthy dunnage note - that mushroom & salted nuts again. Very tasty.
Score: 4 out of 5. Not miles away from a 4.5 score either
Notes: It's a big, boozy sherry bomb of a 'laddie, and it's a great whisky! Boat loads of flavour, plenty of character and loads of complexity. A really interesting dram this, and it shows a more aggressive and dirtier style of Bruichladdich that is very rarely seen, and is really enjoyable. I love those leathery dried fruit & raspberry dark chocolate notes too, and that musty & salty rancio tang. I did try adding a little water after the tasting & scoring, and while it did tame the beast slightly I have to say I prefer it neat. The sheer volume of flavour and character on offer here are well worth that touch of spirit-y heat. If only Bruichladdich would bottle something like this more often!
This single cask wasn't a cheap proposition for the overseas buyers, particularly with local customs charges taken into account, but I have to say it's well worth it for the unique experience that this whisky offers the Bruichladdich fan. Very well done to the duo that managed to pry this excellent cask out of the distillery's hands, and thanks to Bruichladdich for letting them have it, and for their continued excellent work! Long live the Friends of Bruichladdich.
Cheers!
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