Bruichladdich Islay Barlay 2009

With the opening of the current bottle, I have decided to publish my tasting notes for each newly opened bottle. As background for you the info that as a long time single malt friend I always have about 50 bottles at home. These come from different regions, so I can always choose nicely. On the one hand I have about 35 closed bottles in the cupboard, on the other hand up to 15 open bottles in a nice box. This has whisky as a print motif. And whenever I run out of a bottle, I open one from the cupboard and, if the opportunity arises, I treat myself to a new one for my collection. In the meantime, I have built up a nice collection of tasting notes. But now I would like to write down the latest ones here. Today I’m starting with the Bruichladdich Islay Barlay 2009.

I have had the bottle since 17.04.2018. It has been waiting to open for that long. It is the 2009 bottling, which is based on barley varieties Publican and Oxbridge. The malt, thus matured exclusively in bourbon casks, as 50%.

Nose

The Bruichladdich has surprisingly sweet notes, surprisingly. On the one hand this is the barley, but on the other hand there are also nice notes of orange, very fresh. There is also quite a bit of tobacco in the background.

Taste

Here the tongue is immediately hit by a pinch of salt, then real smoke and lovely dark chocolate. In the background there is some nuttiness and light florals, paired with some spiciness. It all lingers very nicely on the tongue for a long time.

Finish

The finish is wonderfully warm and long lasting. At the same time it is very nice and smooth, without any spiciness.

With the second glass, the Bruichladdich becomes rounder and warmer, a beautiful malt without imposing itself with its percentage. For its price, a nice drop. In my rating, it has 72/100 points.