BRUCHLADDICH OCTOMORE 07.4
by David Green, The Red Fox
My love and passion for whisky started in 2010 when I
joined Brunning and Price, it was more forced on me
as the pubs have top shelves rammed with single malts
and it was a case of learning on the job.
It was a spirit I had never really ‘got along’ with - I think it was
probably from the time I sneaked into my grandfathers drinks
cabinet as a teenager and took a drink, straight from the bottle,
and I never really got over that musty, burning sensation.
Over the years many people have said to me ‘its because you
haven’t yet found the right whisky for you’ and today I couldn’t
agree more with that sentence, with so many flavours and taste
profiles - it’s a case of finding a malt that suits you.
Personally I love big bold flavours and started to edge towards
Islay as a region, with familiar names such as Laphroaig,
Lagavulin, and Ardbeg, they tend of have a smoky character
derived from peat, some describe it as a medicinal taste.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to visit Islay and the
Bruichladdich Distillery (pronounced “Brook-laddie”) and
that’s really where the romance flourished, the hot warm
feeling as you enter the still room and the sweet malt aroma
coming from the mash tuns greeted you as you walked into the
distillery.
22 wirrallife.com
Bruichladdich distillery was built in 1881 and today the
production methods involve a combination of ancient and
modern techniques.
They believe that whisky should have a character, an
authenticity derived from where it is distilled and the
philosophies of those distil it. ‘Terroir’ which is how a particular
region's climate, soils and aspect (terrain) affect the taste, is
really important and that comes across in everything they do
They don’t just buy barley from anywhere, they get a lot of it
grown on Islay and believe this is one of the best ways to get the
bold flavours. Mothballed in 1993 the distillery it was bought
by a small independent group of private individuals and in May
2001 the first distillation took place under new management.
Modern technology is kept to a minimum while tried and tested
and time-honoured methods are enshrined which the owners
maintain produce the best results, sometimes even to the
surprise of the experts.
Bruichladdich as a company, strives to be a progressive force
in the whisky world and produce a number of malts including
the Classic Laddie — a peat-free whisky that’s very drinkable,
somewhat sweet and a tad salty, and comes in an opaque
turquoise bottle.