Don't worry, they're just kidding.
What does a venerable Scottish distillery have to do with modern weapons of mass destruction? Actually nothing, one would think. But with Bruichladdich this story happened:
In 2003, one of the web cams used to track whisky production at Bruichladdich went down. As a result, distillery manager Mark Reynier received an email asking them to fix it. As for the sender of the mail, the distillery initially thought it was a joke. Because it was – the US Department of Defense. As it turned out, American agents were actually observing what was happening at Bruichladdich via webcam. Why? Because, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman when asked, Bruichladdich's ancient firing systems would also be suitable for the production of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). And finally, you would have to make sure that this is not...
The busy Mark Reynier took this grotesque story with humor and soon had an 18-year-old malt bottled under the name "WMD". The WMD is to be understood here as "whisky of mass distinction".
What does Bruichladdich mean? Translated, Bruichladdich means something like “slope on the coast”. A fairly accurate and dry description of such an exciting distillery. We'd rather stick with Laddie.
Where is Bruichladdich? The Bruichladdich Distillery is located in the town of the same name directly on the coast on the island of Islay. It overlooks Loch Indaal, where on a clear day you can see the neighboring Bowmore Distillery.
3 reasons to love Bruichladdich
1) Because Bruichladdich still exists.
2) Because the 'Laddie' is the declared favorite of Islay residents.
3) Because a little fun has to be - and this whisky is not a weapon.
How does Bruichladdich whisky taste?
The single malt bottled under the distillery name Bruichladdich is a rather atypical Islay Whisky. Because it is not very peated and therefore does not show the strong smoky notes usual for Islay. Nonetheless, Bruichladdich is unmistakably a coastal whisky. Because with its full and deep body, it also shows a clear breeze of sea air in addition to notes of citrus scent and strong grain notes. Those who like strongly smoky whisky don't have to do without Bruichladdich. On the contrary. Because the progressive distillery offers two heavily peated single malts. Port Charlotte is a heavily smoky Islay whisky with aromas of burnt tar and clear notes of iodine. Even if Port Charlotte is an excellent single malt whisky in its own right, it is somehow mostly overshadowed by the experimental whisky Octomore. What began as the distillery's daring experiment is now the Peatheads' premium standard. One tried to see how far one could go with the ppm (phenol parts per million), i.e. the smoke content of a whisky. While the other heavily peated Islay whiskys such as Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Lagavulin come up with 40-50 ppm, some Octomore bottlings have already made it over the 300 ppm mark. Lovers of smoky Scotch whiskys should have tasted such a smoke bomb at least once in their lives.
A bit of history on Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich was founded in 1881 by brothers Robert, William and John Gourlay Harvey on the western shore of Loch Indaal. Much of the equipment from that time is still in use today. From 1929 to 1937 there was no production, then the owners changed frequently - the fate of so many distilleries. In 1974 Bruichladdich received a second pair of stills, in 1994 the distillery was shut down and remained so for 6 years. But then, in December 2000, a new era began for the "Laddie". Mark Reynier and his colleagues Simon Coughlin and Gordon Wright of independent bottler Murray McDavid bought the distillery for £7,500,000 and immediately set about making big plans. The distillery was completely renovated and whisky legend Jim McEwan (formerly Bowmore) was won as master distiller. Most of the old equipment was retained, but later an in-house bottling plant was built, the only one on Islay. Bruichladdich revived, new bottlings came out, many Ileachs (residents of Islay) found work here. In 2007 Mark Reynier announced that he would reopen the Loch Indaal Distillery, which had been closed since 1929. So far this has not happened. On July 23, 2012, Rémy Cointreau bought Bruichladdich for £58,000,000. Mark Reynier obviously didn't want to retire just yet, because just two years later he founded the Waterford Distillery in Ireland.
Our Bruichladdich recommendations:
Since Bruichladdich produces a wide range of whiskys, many of them limited, it is not at all easy to recommend individual bottlings. With the unpeated Bruichladdich whiskys you are doing everything right with the Bruichladdich 8 Jahre “The Laddie Eight”. Perfect for getting to know the malty, maritime character of Bruichladdich. If you are a fan of barley and terroir, you should check out the Scottish Barley and Bere Barley bottlings. In the smoky Port Charlotte bottlings, the Port Charlotte is 10 years old with a tight 50% vol. the perfect whisky. Heavy ash smoke, campfires on the beach and sweet toffee spread a lot of joy in the glass.
Facts & figures about Bruichladdich
Address: Isle of Islay, Argyll, PA49 7UN
Founded: 1881 by Robert, William and John Gourlay Harvey
Region: Islay Whisky
Owner: Remy Cointreau
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Smoke:
Bruichladdich: Unpeated/ non-peated/ non-smoky
Port Charlotte: Heavily peated/heavily peated/heavily smoky
Octomore: Extremely peated/ extremely smoky
Status: active
Capacity: approx. 2,000,000 liters
Stills: 2 wash stills (total 23,000 l), 2 spirit stills (total 23,000 l)
Washbacks: 6, Dougka's spruce
Mashtun: Open, 7 tons
Water: Source of Octomore Farm
Visitor Centre: Yes
Telephone: +44 (0)1496 / 850 221
Website: www.bruichladdich.com
Directions to the Bruichladdich Distillery
picture credits/ source of photos: Leon Schuster, Malt Mariners
