When Whyte & Mackay mothballed Bruichladdich Distillery in January 1995 very few whisky drinkers gave a second thought. The company acquired Invergordon Distillers two years earlier and struggled with overcapacity. And obviously the whisky market then was not even close to what we are experiencing today. The turning point came in 2000 when Murray McDavid purchased Bruichladdich Distillery for £6.5 million, moreover the new owners appointed Jim McEwan, former Bowmore Global Ambassador and the most charismatic whisky personality, to a master distiller post. In the next few years a magical transformation took place and Bruichladdich Distillery earned a cult status. Today the distillery is owned by the French drink company Rémy Cointreau and ran by Adam Hannett (Jim McEwan left in 2015), who masterfully follows his mentor steps. Here we have our second exclusive bottling of Bruichladdich – the whisky distilled on November 23, 2007 from Troon barley variety was originally aged in ex-bourbon barrels till 2013 and then aged in ex-Sauternes cask #13/010-26. Bottled at natural strength of 60.3% abv for the 7th edition of Whisky Festival in Jastrzębia Góra with an outrun of 282 bottles.
Nose: slightly spirity, sea breeze, ripe apples and pears, apricots, orange peel, honey, vanilla, butterscotch, cocoa, hints of candied ginger and oak and a pinch of salt.
Palate: honey, vanilla, caramel, nectarines, Mirabelle jam, candied citrus peel, banana bread, toffee, cappuccino, ginger, hints of allspice and oak.
Finish: fairly long, with notes of honey, vanilla, milk chocolate, nectarines, oranges, walnuts, ginger and a dash of lemon pepper.
