To taste and appreciate the power of the Bruichladdich OBA, nothing beats going directly to the place of its distillation in the port of Bruthach a' chladaich (in Gaelic in the text).

 

To prepare our palate for its power, the best way is to first go to the laddie's Warehouse and enjoy a small octomore, already in itself one of the most peaty in Scotland with its 167 ppm (in its version 6). By the way, what a joy to taste a Port Charlotte 2004 aged by Mouton Rotschild and an Octomore 2005 "unfortunately" aged in a Pauillac barrel (what a success!!!).

 

Among the casks that surround us are certainly the 10 vintages 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008 that made it possible to develop the OBA we are going to test.

 

We then go to the distillery's lair. We sit in comfortable club sofas waiting for the right time, excited at the idea of tasting the given whisky as the most peaty in the world (258 PPM! we will smell the smoke as we leave here).

 

The door opens and the fire hair of the charming Chris appears (for anonymity). She holds in her hands 6 glasses of a deep gold liquid that we will taste (from a distance it looks like honey).

 

Before giving us the glasses, she checks that we are well seated (as a Logan airline flight attendant would do!) The shock will be severe!

 

Everyone has a drink! But what a depth of color!!!!!

 

She greets us and is already certain of its effect!

 

We slip our nose prepared by previous tastings into the glass and we are not disappointed, the phenol is there! But it is fruity and less violent than one might have thought! It is served with dried fruit. Let's quickly let our noses breathe some fresh air before we go back. When it falls back into the glass, our nose is now surprised by the scents of an equatorial spice garden. But also leads us to the south of France with aromas of cooked wines! Without even tasting it, we have already travelled the world without even getting out of our club chair! It is only with the third nose that we find what we came here for: peat. Here she is close to a smoked deli meats!

 

So we go for it? and then surprise ourselves because the slap we expected is not there and it is the sweetness of dried fruit that coats our palates. But let's be reassured, it doesn't last long! It's the explosion, our faces are distorted and our bodies are shaky: I understand why Chris checked that we were sitting properly! Smoke smells come out of spices, chew and mint. Wow, what a slap. The smoke dissipates slowly and gives way to caramel when the liquid descends into our throat.

 

When the smells come up, it's like chewing on a menthol by a cold ash fireplace the day after an overdrunk evening!

 

What an experience with this series from Bruichladdich who keeps his promise and could have been in my love at first sight (at 300€ per bottle)!

 

Violent but beautiful!