Another fantastic whisky from one of our very favourite distilleries. The 2009 “Vintage” of Bruichladdich’s super popular Islay Barley series. This is a hyper-Terroir (or “Uber-Provenance” as Bruichladdich puts it) bottling, made using strictly just barley grown on the Island of Islay.

Indeed, the bottling details the very farms and farmers that are responsible for supplying the grain that makes this superb dram: Gilbie McCormick of Claggan, Hunter Jackson at Cruach, Ian McKerrell of Island and Alastair Torrance from Mulindry. These farmers are producing different strains of barley (including the low-yield but highly flavoursome Publician and Oxbridge varieties), beyond the industry-standard Golden Promise variety.

Bruichladdich firmly believe that the source of the barley greatly impacts the final flavour of the whisky, which makes sense when one considers that it is one of just three ingredients (alongside yeast and water) that make whisky. As Bruichladdich say, they are “treating single malt whisky like a fine wine”.

Bruichladdich have clearly tried to emphasis the impact of the malt source on the flavour, by using a maturation process that places it front and centre. Rather than using sherry or wine casks, which provide dense fruity flavours, this whisky has been aged in American oak (sourced from the Ozark mountains) barrels aged in the coldest warehouse at Bruichladdich, so as not to overly affect the spirit with the oak.

The result is sweet, cereal-forward single malt, with soft sugar and vanilla notes drifting across the palate in a glissando. Notes of banana, apple peel, toffee, ginger, sponge cake and toasted nuts appear. Underlying all these flavours are classic “Laddie notes of cream and pressed flowers. The whisky is bottled at proof of 50% ABV, and without either chillfiltration or artificial colouration, allowing the aromas and flavours of the malt to really take hold.

A truly fantastic whisky from Bruichladdich, that demonstrates their vision of a whisky of Terroir.

More can be found on Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009 in this fascinating document.

• Product type
  Single Malt
• Distillery / brand
  Bruichladdich
• Country
  Scotland
• Region
  Islay
• Bottler
  Distillery Bottling
• Distillation date
  2009
• Non-chillfiltered
  Yes
• Natural colour
  Yes
• SKU
  026269