Whisky : Bruichladdich 10 Year Private Cask 1525 “Uisge Luing”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 58.5%

Cask : French Oak Rivesaltes Wine Hogshead

Age : 10 Year

Nose :  Floral, caramel, and clover honey.  Toffee and caramel cream led into notes of parchment and cupcake frosting while hints of lactic Laddie funk (baby vomit some might say) lingered in the background.  Floral notes of a soft winter cheese along with dark honey and rose petals which become more prevalent with time.

Palate : Thick and sticky with notes of honey, florals, and dulce de leche.  Caramel flan and toffee hit the palate first before an intense floral essence took over.  Dried citrus peel, vanilla extract, and Rose petals arrived as a prominent dryness developed.  Faint notes of lactic funk and sulphur proved a distraction from intriguing notes of parchment, leather, and rose hip tea.  

Finish :  Lingering notes of dried flowers and cigarette burns on velvet.

Score : 3 

Mental Image : Garden Party with Beetlejuice

Notes :  Maybe I was expecting too much out of this bottle— I was really hoping it might approach the brilliance that was Dramfool’s Bruiladdich 14 Year “Mad Yacht Queen.”  That dram was aged in a sauternes wine cask from a well-known and impossible to pronounce without first hearing its name producer.  I figured there was a chance that since this was aged in a sweet fortified wine cask it might have some of that same magical fruit-cream-funk profile.  This was intriguingly floral, but the palate was one contrast after another and I really did not like the whole effect.

A few drops of water toned down the funk and brought out more toffee and caramel along with a smooth creamy mouthfeel.  Those sweet sugar notes never felt complimentary to the impression of floral extracts and perfume.  A bit of rubber never truly disappeared from the finish and that note seemed to hang on desperately to the end.  The Laddie funk and the sweet wine cask never came together harmoniously.

Overall, this was not to my taste.  I have not had a ton of Rivesaltes finished drams, so I have no idea if this is par for the course or if something went a bit funky wrong between the cask and the malt.  I am sure there are people out there who will love this, but the mix of spoiled honey, hints of sulphur, sweet caramel, and intense florals just did not work for me.

Photo Credit : Whiskybase