Tasting notes by Jim McEwan
Colour - Golden Honey Hue
Aromas - Opens beautifully on a marine aroma that could only come from Islay! It’s an irresistible mature aroma with the sweetness of the malted barley in total harmony with the mellowness of the oak. Drifts of coastal and moorland plants & flowers emerge fresh & full of promise and add a touch of lemon & honey, sea air and toasted oak staves.
Taste - The viscosity of the spirit is superb, full bodied fresh & irresistible. It’s the crispness of the barley, the hints of spice from the casks original Bourbon days, caramelised oak sugars with a deep endowed purity that comes from traditional hand crafted distillation. The toasted malt treats the palate to a Hebridean overture of Atlantic coastal maturation like no other.
Finish - The spirit captures the Hebridean character of this unique rock in the Atlantic Ocean and its people.
Dramfool’s 57th and its sister 58th release are a classic pairing of from Islay. Release 57 is a first fill bourbon Bruichladdich 11 years old. A style of spirit and cask that many consider the perennial classic of Bruichladdich, and bottled at an age when the spirit is still vibrant and fresh. However, don’t consider this a simple or one dimensional whisky, its time paired with the fresh bourbon cask has had great impact, showing the constantly high quality casks the Bruichladdich team are renowned for using.
Distilled in 2010 and bottled at 11 years old, it is in its natural state with no added colour, bottled at cask strength of 59.7%, we have a limited outturn of just 173 bottles.
Not that we encourage over enjoyment of whisky but sitting with such similar spirits and tasting them side by side certainly shows not just the difference cask choice makes but the genius of the team behind Bruichladdich and the remarkable breadth of whiskies they have produced.
