Bruichladdich 1989 Full Strength

Since its purchase and reopening in 2001 the Bruichladdich distillery has been showing a healthy imagination in its marketing and a variety in the types of whisky it releases. I remember in early 2004, while touring with a theatre company in Germany, being impressed by the market penetration they had achieved in even quite small German towns, noting a few large and professional displays in wine and spirit shops.
I mentioned in my first post having been privileged to hear their Head Distiller, Jim McEwan give a talk and tasting on Islay whiskies, and his expertise and enthusiasm for great whisky and for the island of his birth has clearly been a key part of their revival. They are promoting themselves as the wine-drinker’s whisky maker, with clean sophisticated tastes that suit the modern desire to match the flavours of drink and food and to find new combinations and connections. This is exactly the sort of modern-day marketing that the industry needs to embrace in order to develop a new generation of single malt aficionados. The new verve at the distillery is also an important boost to the island economy – it is the only one of the Islay distilleries to bottle on site rather than send its product away to be bottled elsewhere – indeed it is one of only three in Scotland. Their innovations have extended to a very good online presence, a variety of special offers and buyers clubs, and even an Academy of Distilling which offers residential courses.

So for my first specific tasting post I’ve chosen one of their bottlings - the Bruichladdich 1989 Full Strength.

The Bruichladdich 1989 Full Strength

This is a pale yellow malt which has been aged for 13 years in American Oak casks. It is presented at 57.1% alcohol - or around 100% Proof for those who prefer the old ways. Whichever way you measure it this is substantially stronger than your average bottle and although I have long been a fan of cask-strength malts I rather think this was the reason that I was initially a little disappointed with this particular Bruichladdich when I first tried it a couple of years ago. That high strength seems somehow to hold in the qualities of the spirit, as if reluctant to reveal itself until it’s sure that you have the ability to appreciate it.

The initial nose it restrained, more so than others I’ve tried from the same distillery, with little of the glorious explosion of scents that I was used to with similar concentrations of Caol Ila. This is a cooler experience altogether, and you could imagine it being drunk before or during a meal where it would be less likely to overpower the taste of the food, rather than afterwards when a stronger, warmer flavour might be required to finish off the experience.

No, this is a whisky that you need to spend time appreciating: working out what tastes it combines well with, or matching it to your mood. Despite the strength it doesn’t give that flame-in-the-throat-and-belly warmth that some cask strength malts provide, possibly because there is no caramel content, none of that slightly chocolaty flavour that some darker whiskies seem to have. Instead you have time to taste the subtle flavours that are present, and which only seem to become apparent after a few sips have been taken and the palate has become attuned to this new experience. There is a hint of citrus in the nose, and a suggestion of soft fruit on front of the tongue - dry with just a slight whiff of that Islay seashore salt tang. The Distillery pamphlet suggests a “sturdy oak foundation” but to me it was a very light oak, like a wood stain that only just brings out the grain of the wood but hardly affects its colour.

So what would a touch of water produce? This is a step I always feel reluctant to take, perhaps recalling early experiences of decent malts being drowned by over-watering at the hands of older relatives who knew less than they thought about appreciating quality drams. Here I applied a small amount, barely more than a few drops, and the difference was immediately apparent. Not however the sudden release of hidden multi-layered aromatics that I’ve experienced with, for instance, Springbank. This time I understood the allusion to wine in the advertising (shock horror - advertising that tells the truth!) for the character of the whisky seemed to change to one that reminded me strongly of a fine white wine. Instead of the expected release of complex competing flavours it seemed that the water uncovered but also combined the flavours of the spirit into a blend of subtle smoothness; understated, light, and refined. A dram that found no reason to shout its quality from the rooftops but which, like an old European aristocratic family, wished to be discreet while still making it apparent that it was a cut above the majority.

This particular Bruichladdich is a single malt which won’t be to everyone’s taste - those who like to be thrown into an evocative memory of west coast sights and smells may find it too reserved compared to the big-hitting seaweed-and-phenol style Islays, and there is no discernable peat or smoke in its palette. Rather this is one for the connoisseurs, who appreciate the subtle and the understated and if you fall into that category then you’ll likely enjoy it immensely. However, if you have an opportunity to do so, try to compare a number of their other products – there are a variety, some more aromatic and some lightly peated – for with quality of this standard you’ll be hard pressed not to find one that matches your tastes.