Bruichladdich 32 year old 1985
Review by Bruichladdich
- Colour
Blood orange.
- Nose
An amazing array of notes. Blood orange, nectarines, banana bread, desiccated coconut, vanilla custard, then more floral and nutty tones, geranium, marzipan, walnut, heather honey.
- Palate
Tremendous presence on the palate, the texture is wondrously soft and syrupy. The short ACE in the wine casks has given a warm, nutmeg hint and a layer of fruity notes, raspberry, blackcurrant jam and ripe plum, all perfectly balanced by years in American oak – cinder toffee, lemon meringue and coconut - bounty bar sweet. It opens continually to reveal layer upon layer of complexity.
- Finish
Long and gentle, the oak influence is strong with waves of soft vanilla wafer, toffee and sandalwood. Then lemon barley sugars, a hint of salted caramel and apricot syrup.
- Note
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32 years. A long journey with a few crossroads, a few considered and inspired decisions down the line. This dram comes from the final 22 casks of the legacy stock distilled back in 1985 by a previous generation of Bruichladdich stillmen.
This whisky was originally filled into gentle third fill Bourbon casks and lay untouched in warehouse 14 until 2012. Our then master distiller Jim McEwan discovered this forgotten parcel and re-casked it into fresh bourbon adding depth and complexity. Now in 2017 the final coup de grace is a tantalising nuance in French oak from one of the greatest French Chateaux. Truly this is a dram with a story to tell.
Limited to 4,200 bottles, the 1985 is bottled at the distillery without chill-filtration or artificial colouring at the natural strength of 48.7% alc. vol.
