Bruichladdich - Port Charlotte - Octomore whisky (Islay)

In 1938 Bruichladdich (also known as Bruichladdie) was sold to Hatim Attari, Joheph W. Hobbs and Alexander W. Tolmie. And the distillery kept changing hands like a hot potato. In 1952 it was sold to Ross & Coulter Ltd, who in turn sold it to A.B. Grant in 1960. Invergordon Distillers acquired Bruichladdich in 1968 and expanded the number of stills from two to four in 1975, before selling it to JBB / Whyte & Mackay.

Apart from the traditionally lightly peated spirit that
is still produced under the name Bruichladdich, two
more heavily peated malts are being produced at
the distillery. A heavily peated (40 PPM) malt under
the name 'Port Charlotte' (the name of the village
two miles south of the distillery) is being produced
since the start (or shortly afterwards) and they
also have an even more heavily peated (80.5 PPM)
malt with the name 'Octomore'.
 
Octomore is the name of another silent Islay
distillery in the area, situated in a farm next to
the warehouses of the old Lochindaal distillery.
The original Octomore distillery was closed in
1852, three decades before Bruichladdich was
built. However, a link with the past still remains;
Bruichladdich distillery uses spring water from
Octomore farm.
 
The picture at the right was taken during the
Islay Festival of 2005 (Feis Ile) when a bunch
of malt maniacs visited the island. The picture
shows (from left to right) Serge Valentin, Peter
Silver, Olivier Humbrecht, Thomas Lipka and
Davin de Kergommeaux. Check out Malt Maniacs
for their perspectives on our whisky experiences.

Driving force behind the purchase was Murray McDavid's Mark Reynier. Together with other seasoned professionals like Jim McEwan (formerly of Bowmore) they managed to get production started again in May 2001. Although that new spirit couldn't legally be sold as 'whisky' for at least three years, the new owners also acquired a lot of maturing stocks that were laid down by Invergordon and JBB / Whyte & Mackay. These stocks were used to establish the brand as quickly as possible.

Bruichladdich was constructed in 1881 by
Robert, William and John Gourlay Harvey.
Members of the Harvey family remained
owners and shareholders until 1929 when
the Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed.

Until recently, Associated Scottish Distillers also offered a
so-called 'bastard' bottling of Bruichladdich under the name Loch
Indaal or Lochindaal. This bottle was named after the old
Lochindaal distillery located East of the village of Port Charlotte,
which used to have its own distilleries. Lochindaal operated until
1929 when it was dismantled. Its warehouses are now used to
store the Port Charlotte malt. Until recently Bruichladdich was the
only surviving distillery on the Western peninsula, but since the
brand new Kilchoman distillery was opened in 2005 by proprietor Anthony Willis, the number of western Islay distilleries doubled.
The westernmost distillery of Scotland is Abhainn Dearg though.

And the future looks bright for the friendly people of Bruichladdich... With the new bottling plant that was opened in 2003, Bruichladdich can now bottle its own malts on site, providing some much needed employment opportunities on this relatively remote part of Islay in the process. It's much more convenient for Bruichladdich as well; before they opened the bottling plant they shipped tankers full of spring water from the farm of James Brown's (not the R&B legend) at Octomore to the mainland to dilute the whisky from the casks to 46%.

The Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed again in January 1995 and sold in 2000 to a consortium of twenty five different shareholders that operated under the name 'Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd.'.

The overwhelming success that Mark and Jim have had with the bottlings they released from these old stocks is a perfect illustration of the crucial role of careful cask selection; within one or two years Bruichladdich was transformed from an 'ugly duckling' brand into a beautiful swan.
Well, I'm sure their clever marketing also helped ;-)

1) For their first new bottlings the new owners used extremely lightly peated barley of 2 PPM.

2) William Harvey (the father of the Harvey brothers that built Bruichladdich in 1881) was the owner of two other distilleries; Yoker and Dundashill.

3) Bruichladdich distillery is open to visitors all year, Monday to Friday.
Tours are available at 10.30am 11.30am and 2.30am (and at 10.30am on Summer Saturdays).

4) Bruichladdich is one of almost two dozen malt whisky distilleries that were founded over a century ago during the 'whisky boom' of the late 19th century and which have managed to survive until this day. The other survivors include Aberfeldy, Ardmore, Aultmore, Balvenie, Benriach, Benromach, Bunnahabhain, Craigellachie, Dalwhinnie, Dufftown, Glendullan, Glenfiddich, Glenrothes, Glentauchers, Knockandu, Knockdhu, Longmorn, Tamdhu and Tomatin.

5) More trivia about Bruichladdich distillery will be added later...
 

Octomore 5yo '2nd Edition' (62.5%, OB, 140ppm, Bottled 2009, 15,000 Bts.)
Nose: Sharp peat with a hint of rubber and some citrus in the distant background. Anthracite and smoke.
Quite extreme. Some meaty notes. I'm not always a fan of extreme, but this is right up my alley.
More industrial than organic in the beginning; but that changes a bit after fifteen minutes.
Taste: Surprisingly sweet start, followed by loads of tar and smoke.
Dry, salty and phenolic centre and finish. Rubbery - which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Score: 88 points - This whisky benefits from some breathing.

Bruichladdich 2003/2009 'Organic' (46%, OB, 15,000 Bts.)
Nose: Fresh. Green apples. Quite undefined. Whiff of oil? Most of the flavours are gone after a minute.
Taste: Sparkly start. Dry, slightly uneven centre. A faint sweetness. Some beer notes in the finish.
Score: 75 points - the score may not seem that impressive, but it actually IS for such a young whisky.

Bruichladdich 1992/2009 'Sherry Edition 2' (46%, OB, PX cask finish, 6000 Bts.)
Nose: Rich and oaky. Fruits. Cough syrup. Growing complexity after some breathing. My kind of profile.
There is a 'pressure cooked' element that betrays many finished whiskies, but for me it works in this case.
Taste: Woody start with sweetness marching to the foreground. Cough syrup in the sweet centre.
Some smoke with a hint of organics in the finish. As finishes go, this is fairly well integrated.
Score: 87 points - some people might have troubles with finished whiskies, but I like this one.

Bruichladdich 18yo (46%, OB, Matured in Petit Manseng casks from Clos Uroulat, Sweet Jurançon, +/- 2008)
Nose: Nondescript and a little depressing. Finished? Rotting milk powder. A little metallic?
Taste: Hmm, something feels off. Aspirin in the bitter finish. Sour and bitter with a harsh mouth feel.
Score: 72 points - I can't imagine how bad the whisky was, that this finishing was considered an improvement.
I should point out that opinions vary about this one though; Mark Gillespie scored it in the 90's.

Bruichladdich NAS 'Infinity' (55.5%, OB, Bottled 2005)
Nose: Big and fruity. Clay? Hints of smoke and sulphur? A little bit dirty. Some organics. Yeah, I dig this...
Meaty. Nice development - a pleasure cruise for the nose. Horse Stable. Or should I call it 'horse unstable'?
Taste: Hint of perfume? Just a touch of bitterness. Strong tannins. Smoke. Could be a Bowmore or G'garioch?
The taste is not nearly as enjoyable as I imagined at first, but it improves considerably after 5 minutes. Sweeter.
Score: 87 points - by no means perfect (especially on the palate), but the nose is right up my alley.
I had it in the lower 80's for a long time, but it eventually reaches the upper 80's. Needs time!

Bruichladdich 3D 'Moine Mhor' (50%, OB, Bottled 2005)
Nose: Peat and organics. Not especially powerful. Seems to open up a little bit with time. Yes it does.
Lovely nose. Light and farmy. Sweet. Quite grainy with the faintest hint of peat. Grows on me.
Taste: Peaty start, but it flattens out quickly. A little dry and sombre with a hint of liquorice in the finish.
Score: 84 points - A good peaty whisky, but it seems to lack the depth and complexity of some others.

Bruichladdich 1989/2004 (57.9%, G&M Reserve, C#1957, 275 Bts.)
Nose: Polished with quite some wood. Raisins & other fruits in the background - my kind of profile.
Growing complexity. Possibly more cask influence than distillery influence but I like it a lot.
Taste: Loads of smoke - hardly recognisable as a Bruichladdich! Quite some wood too.
Nice fruity tannins and anthracite in the finish. Wonderful mouth feel; powerful yet smooth at c/s.
Score: 89 points - which makes it one of the very best Laddies I've ever tried.

Bruichladdich 1989/2004 (57.9%, G&M Reserve, C#1957, 275 Bts.)
Nose: Polished with quite some wood. Raisins & other fruits in the background - my kind of profile.
Growing complexity. Possibly more cask influence than distillery influence but I like it a lot.
Taste: Loads of smoke - hardly recognisable as a Bruichladdich! Quite some wood too.
Nice fruity tannins and anthracite in the finish. Wonderful mouth feel; powerful yet smooth at c/s.
Score: 89 points - which makes it one of the very best Laddies I've ever tried.

Bruichladdich 1990/2003 'Valinch Flora McBabe' (55.2%, OB, C#3666, 700 Bts., D. 09/'90 Btl. 12/'03)
Nose: Whiff of smoke and organics; a lot of 'balls' for a Bunny. Then more perfumy notes emerge.
Some artificial blackbarry candy fruits. Cassis? Was this wine finished? Later more chalk and clay.
Taste: Easily drinkable at cask strength. Smooth with a solid afterburn. Faint dry, peaty finish.
Score: 82 points - which is once again a few points below those awarded by other maniacs.
It started out in the mid 80's for me, but lost steam after a few minutes. Light tannins, flat finish.

Bruichladdich 10yo (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2001 under new ownership, 70cl)
Nose: Light, soft and sweet. Some banana? Almost flowery. More expressive than I expected.
More 'volume' than the old 10yo, but it slowly fades away over time. Still hardly any peat.
Taste: Clean and smooth, but not a lot of depth. Not as much to enjoy as in the nose.
Score: 77 points - an improvement compared to the previous expression of the 10yo.

Bruichladdich 15yo (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2001 under new ownership, 70cl)
Nose: More sherried than the new 10yo. Slightly dry. Spicy. Some salt. More salty than peaty.
Cookie-dough sweetness. Growing complexity. This one needs a little bit of time, though.
Taste: Smooth, but with a peaty twang in the background. More potent than the 'old' 15yo.
The taste follows the beat of the nose, but plays a different melody. Recommendable.
Score: 83 points - a major improvement on the 15yo bottled by the previous owners.

Bruichladdich 15yo (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 1998 under previous ownership, 33cl)
Nose: Restrained. Sweetish notes. Soap? A little oily. Not a lot of depth, I'm afraid.
Not unlike a very young Caol Ila without the peat. Where's the Islay power I'm looking for?
Taste: Malty start, then some salt and smoke - just a little bit. It's very easily drinkable.
It has a salty bite to it, but it's nothing like the big Islay malts - Ardbeg, Laphroaig, etc.
Score: 77 points - a little above average, bit not something I'd recommend.

Bruichladdich 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 1995 under previous ownership, 70cl)
Nose: Smoky, yet subtle aroma. Tingly with some oiliness. Did I imagine that touch of seaweed?
This is odd... It's an Islay whisky but I can find not peat whatsoever. Am I dreaming?
Taste: Rather soft and a little salty. Very light - the lightest Islay I ever tasted actually.
Score: 75 points - not really my cup of tea; I want to be swept off my feet...

Bruichladdich 16yo 1979/1995 (43%, Signatory, C#834-35)
Nose: Clean and grassy, sweetening out. Balanced. Grassy notes evolve to 'veggy' notes. String beans?
Growing complexity with notes of dust and freshly sawn dry wood. More alcoholic over time. Rubber?
Taste: Quite sharp with a very satisfying after burn in the throat. Trace of peat, but not much.
Score: 78 points - although it might have reached the 80's based on the nose alone.
 

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Bruichladdich whisky I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the complete whisky list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most single malts I've sampled and scored, though. You can find a specific expression through the search box at the top of each distillery profile. The mAlmanac now contains (purely personal) selections of some of the best single malts and the worst whiskies I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value. But those tasting notes and scores only reflect my own, purely personal opinions.

On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the whisky made at this distillery.
Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.
 

The Bruichladdich distillery is located on
the north shore of Lochindaal, near the
town of Port Charlotte (fine dining!) and
directly opposite Bowmore. This made it
the  westernmost distillery in Scotland until
Kilchoman was officially opened in 2005.

2000 - At the start of the new millennium the Bruichladdich distillery is bought by bottler Murray McDavid.
Reports say that the price of the distillery was 6,500,000 GBP at the time - including maturing stocks.
 
2001 - The driving force behind the purchase of the distillery was Murray McDavid's Mark Reynier. Shortly after the distillery was obtained by the new owners, Bowmore's Jim McEwan was called in as production director.
 
2006 - The first bottling of Port Charlotte is released; a more heavily peated brand of the Bruichladdich.
 
2008 - The first bottling of yet another brand of is released; the very heavily peated Octomore.