Bruichladdich 1986, (B.2005) LMDW 50th Anniversary / 46% / 0.7l

Bruichladdich Distillery is located on the western shore of the Isle of Islay, with a local road separating the buildings from Loch Indaal.

Bruichladdich (pronounced “Brook Laddie”) comes from the Gaelic word for “hill on the coast.” The distillery entered the new century under the ownership of privately owned Murray McDavid, which has promoted a once underrated whisky to cult status. Here we present a superb edition of Bruichladdich bottled for Paris’ La Maison du Whisky to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Distilled in 1986, when the distillery was owned by Invergordon Distillers, the whisky spent nearly two decades in a sherry butt, and was bottled in August 2005 in an edition of 690 bottles.

Nose:  fruity with rather shy tones of sherry, honeydew melon, juicy grapes, pears, apples, milk chocolate, honey, sweet bread, a bit of oak and a light gust of sea breeze.

Taste:  consistent with the aromas, pears, grapes, gooseberries, raisins, honey, toffee, nut nougat, light oak bitterness and a pinch of white pepper.

Finish:  quite long, initially sweet and fruity, soon drier with an increasingly stronger oak bitterness.