Bruichladdich Peat Review

“Liquid Wet Earth  ”

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bruichladdich Peat

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 46 %

A Gorgeous Day at Bruichladdich!

Colour: Brass

Nose: Young Sweet Peat, Fish on the BBQ, light Brine, light Tar, light Ashes, light Leather, Straw, Buttered Toast, Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Lemon-Pepper, Mandarin Juice, Canned Pear, Canned Pineapple Slices, Caramel, Salt & Pepper. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. Not very complex but Well-Balanced. I like it!

The Mash Tun in Action!

Palate: Young, slightly Edgy and a bit Thin despite the 46%. I find Sweet Peat, Cold Smoke, light Tar, light Ashes, light Brine, slightly Bitter Oak, Black Coffee, light Plastic, Pepper, Salt, Aniseed, Licorice, light Vanilla, light Honey, Grass, Caramelised Banana, Smoked Pineapple, Barley and a hint of Cinnamon. 

Winding My Way Through the Wash Backs!

Finish: Middle-Long with Sweet Peat, Cold Smoke, Ashes, Salt, Pepper, Licorice, slightly Bitter Oak, light Vanilla, Citrus, Banana, Menthol and a hint of a home-made Cheese-Burger from the BBQ.

Tasting the New Spirit in the Stills Room!

With a couple of drops of water the Nose gets extra Pineapple, Grass and Malt. But Palate and Finish don't benefit from added Water. Better sip it neat!

Rating: 85  

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

Is the Spirit really Safe with my Brother in Law Around?

General Remarks: Peat was part of a trilogy with Waves (Mildly Peated) and Rocks (Unpeated). Waves, Peat and the earlier expressions Infinity and Links were phased out in the beginning of 2012. Late 2013, Rocks was the last of the series to be discontinued. Peat (35 ppm) is not Chill-Filtered and not artificially coloured. Peat matured for roughly 5-7 years in Ex-Bourbon Casks selected by Master-Distiller Jim McEwan. It was priced at an average 60 US Dollars in late 2012.

A Few Wonderful Casks!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good  

Conclusion: This is a peated Single Malt alright but quite different from more Medicinal Malts like Ardbeg or Laphraoig. The Bruichladdich Peat is more about Sweet Wet Earth if you know what I mean. And with additional Fruit, Fish, Salt and Spices to give it sufficient balance. I like the Nose. But on the Palate and in the Finish the Bruichladdich Peat is a bit Young and Edgy and I don't particularly like the Bitter Oak component. Still, if you like peated Whisky and you are able to  find it around somewhere, you should check it out! 

The Bottling Facility at Bruichladdich!

Some Data: Bruichladdich means The Shore Bank. The Distillery is located alongside the the A 847 (Bridgend - Portnahaven) in the little village of Bruichladdich, overlooking Loch Indaal. It was founded in 1881 by the Harvey Family from Glasgow. It changed hands for a couple of times until Whyte & Mackay Ltd bought the distillery in 1993 only to close it down until it was bought in 2000 by a couple of private investors headed by Mark Reynier who brought new life to the Distillery, profiling it as " The Progressive Hebridean Distillery" and introducing many special bottlings. In 2012, Buichladdich was sold to Remy Cointreau from France. The Distillery possesses a open cast iron Mash Tun, 6 Wash Backs (Oregon Pine) and 2 Pairs of Stills. In 2013 their total production capacity amounted to around 1,5 million litres, basically sold as Single Malt.

A Private Concert at the VC: Caledonia!

The water for the distillery is sourced from a Loch in the hills close to the Distillery (Mashing) and a Spring on the Octomore Farm (Bottling). The Distillery  opens from Monday - Friday from 09.00 to 17.00 hours and on Saturday from 10.00 to 16.00 (Easter-September) and from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 17.00 and Saturday from 10.00 to 14.00 (October to Easter). You can do the Standard Tour at 5 Pounds or book extended tours and tastings in advance.

The Very Nice Visitor Centre + Shop!

We visited Bruichladdich on Friday May 16, 2014. It was one of the two sunny days we had on Islay and the view from the Distillery towards the Loch is truly beautiful. First we had a look at the very nice Visitor Centre and the Shop. We then did the Standard Tour at 5 Pounds per person. The tour was nice, but not really special. The people at Bruichladdich are really nice and warm and you immediately feel at home there. In this respect I rank it 2nd only to Laphroaig on Islay. At the end of the tour we tasted the Port Charlotte 13 Years that matured on Chateau d' Yquem Casks and the 2006 Bere Barley. If you can only visit a few distilleries on Islay, Bruichladdich should certainly be one of them!

Jan van den Ende                                                                 August 10, 2014

Lovin' Whisky!

Kilchoman Loch Gorm Review

“A Dirty Peat Is A Joy Forever”

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2013

Type: Single Malt Whisky 

Age: 5 Years

ABV: 46 %

Date: 20/07/2014

On Our Way To Kilchoman!

Colour: Deep Gold/Amber

Nose: Give Loch Gorm some time to open up. Otherwise you might think it's only about Cold Smoke and Wet Clay. The Peat is there of course as you would have expected. Initially, I also find light Tar, light Burnt Rubber, Salt and some Medicinal tones. After a while Sweet Toasted Barley shows itself, accompanied by Orange, Pineapple, Dried Fruit, light Heather Honey, light Sherry, Nuts, Oak, Lemon Peel, Demerara Sugar, Herbs, Mint and BBQ. The Alcohol is not yet fully integrated. It's a young Islay and the Smoke and Peat are still very present and tend to overwhelm the Sherry tones. Loch Gorm is more about Spirit and less about Wood!

Palate: Young and not overly complicated. I find some Sweet Dark Red Fruits, Orange, Dirty Clay, light Tar, Spilled Gasoline, Medicinal Tones, Ashes, Toffee, Sweet Barley, Dried Fruits, Lemon, Salt and Pepper.

Finish: Quite Long and slightly Dirty with Wet Earth, Ashes, Smoke, Salt, Cocoa Butter, cheap Milk Chocolate, Citrus, Pepper and Menthol.

Truly a Farm Distillery!

The Loch Gorm opens up with added Water. Red Fruit, Orange and Peat start to appear more. You also get a bit of extra Vanilla. You can experiment with a few drops here if you like. As usual I prefer sipping it neat.  

Rating: 85

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5

Some of the Good Stuff!

General Remarks: The Loch Gorm was named after a Peaty Loch near the Distillery and was launched in 2013 as a new series of Sherry Cask matured Kilchomans. It's Uncoloured and Not Chill-Filtered which is great! It matured for a little over 5 Years in Ex-Oloroso Butts and was finished for about 6 weeks in Ex-Oloroso Hogsheads to gain extra flavour and colour. This First Edition was distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2013. Only 10.000 bottles were commercialised. The Loch Gorm 2013 is not cheap at around 100 US Dollars. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: After tasting the Loch Gorm I had the same feeling as when I was testing the Machir Bay last year although the latter possesses a different flavour profile and matures in different casks. But both are young, edgy, nervous and even a little rough sometimes. I can sense the inherent quality of the spirit but I strongly feel it needs more time in the cask to calm down and gain more balance. And when comparing the two mentioned young Kichomans I find that the combination of Ex-Bourbon Casks + Oloroso Finish seem to better enhance the Kilchoman spirit than mere Oloroso Casks. Back to Loch Gorm. If you don't like peated whiskies, you should leave this Kilchoman alone for the time being.  
However, if you like young Dirty Islay and smelling your soccer shorts after a disputed game played in muddy field conditions, Loch Gorm is just the Malt you are looking for. As for me, I really look forward tasting a 12 Year Kilchoman further on down the muddy road!

The Very Nice Visitor Centre!

Some Data: Kilchoman means Coman's Church. The Distillery is located at the Rockside Farm, some eight and a half miles from Bowmore. It is the newest distillery on Islay and was founded in 2005 by Anthony Wills. Kilchoman has its own Floor Maltings. Around 30% of the yearly Barley necessity is produced on the farm. The rest comes from Port Ellen. The Distillery possesses a stainless steel semi-lauter Mash Tun, 4 Wash Backs (Stainless Steel) and 1 Pair of Stills. In 2013 they produced around 140.000 litres, all sold as Single Malt.

The water for the distillery is sourced from the Allt Glean Osmail Burn. The Distillery usually opens from Monday - Friday from 10.00 to 17.00 hours and, depending on the season, also on Saturday. The standard tour costs around 4 pounds. You can also book the 5 days "Distillery Experience" where you can learn about - and participate in every part of the process from malting until bottling.

A Detail of the Visitor Centre!

We visited Kilchoman on Friday May 16, 2014. Thanks God, it was one of the few sunny days during our trip. Because of the good weather we decided not to do the Standard Tour but instead tour the Island a bit more. I'm glad we did that because it was the last sunny - and dry day during our holidays. We took some nice pictures that I will post later. We did have a good lunch at the nice Distillery cafe and had a look at the excellent Visitor Centre and Shop. I also became (for free) a Club member of the Distillery. The shop offers only one miniature, the Machir Bay. The Kilchoman people we met were all very friendly and it's easy to feel at home there. Hope to return one day to do the Tour! 

Jan van den Ende                                                                July 2014

The Writer Becoming a Club Member!