Bruichladdich 
The distillery is located on the Rinns of Islay peninsula and was established in 1881. It had a difficult life, closing in 1994 and re-opening in 2001. It originally had its own maltings but these were removed and it now obtains its peated barley from Bairns of Inverness, though it uses Islay barley for its unpeated Islay editions. Bruichladdich produces three distinct ranges: unpeated as Bruichladdich, 35ppm peated as Port Charlotte and 160-350ppm as Octomore. The original Port Charlotte distillery closed in 1929 and only its name continues today. The old distillery warehouses remain and some are used for maturing the "Port Charlotte" brand.
Production is 1,500,000 litres per year. The distillery is owned by Remy Cointreau. Distillery output prior to 1994 was used for blending into White Horse.
What's in a number?
.1 editions are distilled from 100% Scottish barley. In recent years they have been primarily aged only in ex-American oak, in varying percentages of different ex-bourbon and ex-Tennessee whiskey casks. They are the backbone of each new series as they demonstrate the raw character of the clean Octomore spirit balanced with the neutral American oak casks.
.2 editions are distilled from 100% Scottish barley, as per their .1 counterpart, but matured in European oak casks along the lines of ex-Amarone, ex-Sauternes, ex-Austrian sweet wines and the like.
.3 editions are distilled from 100% Islay barley. They are single estate, single vintage bottlings from barley grown on farmer James Brown’s land. These whiskies are generally matured in a mixture of ex-American and ex-European oak, subject to change for each edition.
.4 editions first came onto the scene during the 7th series and maturation is in some virgin oak that introduces a tannic and spicey taste. Occasionally, the .4 edition is something weird and wonderful.
Warehouse Tasting Experience £50
Catriona lead the tasting session. I had attended previous tastings with Catriona and she was knowlegedable, friendly and engaging.
Three cask strength whiskies were available for tasting:
- Bruichladdich, 18 year old second fill Rievaulx wine cask, 62.2%, distilled in 2006. Single Islay farm barley. Soft, smooth, dark amber
- Port Charlotte, 8 year old heavily charred American virgin oak, 65.9%, 40ppm, mainland barley
- Octomore 14 year old 54.0%, distilled in 2010, 107ppm. Atypical Octomore due to its age. It's a combination of rum and Bourbon aged whisky and recasked in 2015 into Pomerol casks. Dark amber, smooth, elegant; smoke is barely perceived
Purchases
