Bruichladdich 19YO End OF Message Wine Cask

THE REVIEW

Part two, and the final release in this weird and wonderful collection of single barrels from Bruichladdich. Bottled as a duo in a private cask purchase, just like the previous bottling, this was fully matured in an ex-Chateau d’Yquem barrel for nearly two decades! Bottled at cask strength with all of the fun things that accompany that, this is one of the reasons Bruichladdich have built such an incredible reputation for themselves. However, not every single barrel can be perfect on everyone’s palate.

This bottle sings of honeycomb, gingerbread, Bakewell tarts, glacier cherries and sweet almonds for as long as you could want. However, in a twist I wasn’t expecting we do get quite a dominant note of sulphur on this bottle. I’m unsure if this is from so long in a sweet wine cask, or if it’s Laddie’s spirit still being dominant in the mix after all of that time. Bruichladdich is known for having a very divisive new-make spirit. Some folks I’ve met in the whisky industry can barely spend more than a few minutes within the distillery as the aromas of their new make can be very butyric. It has a very acidic and almost blue cheese funkiness to it, that’s without being peated, too.

You get both cask and spirit within this and as much as it is a privilege to be able to try something as old and fun as this, it’s memorable but won’t be for everyone.