Here were have one of the oldest Bruichladdich I have reviewed, and a dram shared thanks to a friend’s birthday. Coupling bottle splits and birthday parties is a fantastic idea and I am glad to know several people who took that approach in the last couple of years— if I were more of a party animal I would as well. 

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Whisky: Bruichladdich 27 Year (1985) MCMLXXXV

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 49.3%

Cask: Oak

Age: 27 Years (Distilled 27 Feb. 1985, Bottled 22 Aug. 2012)

Notes: Citrusy and coastal, I pictured lemonade and coconuts on the deck of a beachside bungalow. Sea shells and coastal brine infused the air with a peppery minerality, while parched seagrass and number two pencils completed the impression sketching dunes under wispy clouds in the early evening. A peculiar set of notes, but anyone who has taken a coastal walk along the dunes on a cloudy evening will recognize it right away— especially if you collected sea shells and driftwood. With time, old comic books and papers arrived with a touch of floral incense and cream. Medium-bodied, the flavor profile was woody and fruity, still coastal, but with more clearly defined tropical fruits, mostly bitter orange and pineapple, among the peppery brine and sandy minerals. As the dram rested, I found more driftwood and pencils to accompany old comic books and hints of plumeria (I was less lost among the dunes on the palate). The finish was medium to long and oily with peppery brine, soft driftwood, and lemon peel.

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Score: 8-9 (89)

Mental Image: Coastal Cabins at Dawn

Conclusion: Wow— I expected this to be good, but I did not expect it to be this good.  I enjoyed my prior experiences with 1980s Bruichladdich, the 1984 vintage was wonderful, but that was about it— they were good, but not always remarkable. Certainly not the level where I thought they justified the price or hype. Perhaps I had the right expectations coming into this whisky; there was no hype man telling me how amazing this was going to be, and as usual I did not bother checking reviews until I had already written up my thoughts. I loved the coastal aroma, the fruity profile, and the tinge of spirited pepper that provided some liveliness to the whisky— in fact, if there was any major difference with this whisky, it was how alive it still felt. Overall, wonderful stuff.