Bruichladdich 1984 Golder Still
Review by Bruichladdich
- Colour
Liquid Gold.
- Nose
Layered and seductive aromas opening with mature malted barley biscuity notes. Drifts of lanolin and vanilla, followed by yellow fruits. All underpinned by distinctive marine aromas. Warm sand, sea sprays and canvas sails encased by mellow American oak.
- Palate
Appealingly harmonious. On entry the spirit reveals a compelling hand-made quality that only slow distillation can create. The integration of barley sugar, light oak, almond and buttery toffee in harmony with warm barley and bourbon sweet oak is slipstreamed by coastal sea breezes.
- Finish
Incredibly long, sweet and super mellow. The flavour coming back for encore after encore, never wanting to leave the stage. It will gently win your affections with its purity and Islay warmth and integrity.
- Conclusion
Medium weight, clean as a whistle with a marble smooth texture. Mellow and supple with excellent clarity. From a run of experimental, dumpy, squat puncheons that increased the wood to spirit ratio.
- Note
-
The "Still" series started with the now legendary (and sadly unobtainable) "Blacker Still" and concluded in 2008 with this absolutely sublime dram.
A rare limited edition, unique in that the classic 1984 spirit was matured in unusual, hand-made squat American Bourbon hogsheads – experimental "dumpy" casks that American coopers flirted with briefly in the eighties. This extra wood contact has produced a spirit reminiscent of an older style of whisky, an alluring and haunting barley sugar character of a bygone age. Bottled at a cask strength of 52%.
