Review #128 - Bruichladdich Black Art 09.1 29 Year

'Old' Whisky Series: Part 3 of 4

We were lucky to be introduced to Bruichladdich early on in our whisky journey - it quickly became one of our favorite distilleries, and it remains that way today. While we first fell in love with the flavor (which we still love), we now appreciate the distillery even more for its quality presentation [50%+ ABV, no added color or chill filtration], intrinsic quality, and transparency.

It was a tasting event at a local whisky-centric bar where we got to know these whiskies - a brand representative from Remy Cointreau, who represented Bruichladdich specifically, gave a presentation on the distillery's whiskies, alongside a viewing of 'The Water of Life: A Whisky Film.' This is a documentary about the Scotch whisky industry, with a focus on Bruichladdich - it's worth a watch.

We tasted the core Bruichladdich range, one from each of their brands: Bruichladdich's unpeated Classic Laddie, the heavily peated Port Charlotte 10 Year, and one of the Octomore bottlings available at that time (we didn't record which one). As a treat at the end of the tasting, we were each given a conservative pour of Jim McEwan's swan song at Bruichladdich, the Black Art 04.1. These Black Art bottlings are annual special releases, with varying cask recipes and ages - the 04.1 was aged 23 years, for instance, or at least the youngest whisky in the bottle was that old.

After just a couple of sips, we knew that we had to get our hands on a Black Art bottle someday, if the chance arose - they were prohibitively expensive, but this was special.

Fast forward a couple of years, and we found a bottle from the European market that could be shipped to us in the USA - after some debate between us, we decided to pull the trigger for something special, this one time. It wasn't the 23 year old 04.1 that we had previously tasted, but instead, the 09.1 edition of Black Art, a 29 year old whisky.

With a distillation vintage of 1992, this is an unpeated Bruichladdich aged in an unknown assortment of casks. Based on the taste, it has almost certainly spent time in some wine or sherry barrels, but we're not nearly capable of picking out any specifics. As far as we know, the information about this bottle will remain a mystery.

Bottled at a cask strength of 44.1% ABV, this is not chill filtered and has no added coloring. We'll do our best to keep the tasting notes manageable, but this is a very complex whisky - it gave us new flavors each time we tasted it.

Bruichladdich Black Art 09.1 29 Year

Scotland/Islay - Single Malt

Price Paid: USD 430 (2021)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 655 (2023)

Age Statement: 29 Years

Strength: 44.1% ABV

Details: No color added, not chill filtered, 1992 vintage

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 5 times over 17 months; bottles at 100%, 80%, 60%, 50% (blind tasting), and 40% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes (or more)

Nose: A plethora of fruits - we could write a whole paragraph just about those. Tropical fruits like melon, pineapple, mango, and cantaloupe; darker fruits like raisin and prune, some seedy figs, even dark berries; later on, some cherry and licorice come through, too. This whisky does show its age, with old oak wood and polished leather shoes, some tobacco... quite mature, almost bordering on over-oaked in one tasting. We get some sweeter baking notes like cream and brown sugar, but also cream soda and vanilla - it's bright, despite its age, and once in a while a hint of spirit character sneaks through. A few feinty notes here and there: mulch and seaweed, a slight salinity.

Palate: Medium-thick mouthfeel despite the ABV, it's oily but soft all the time, very rich. Plenty of ex-wine cask influence in the form of more fruits: raisin, melon, pear, fig, sour prune, pineapple fizz, and guava - maybe some sweeter white wine cask aging? It's somewhat light and tropical overall, but those dark, mature notes come back: lots of leather and old oak, polish, unsmoked tobacco leaf, maple sugar. This is probably the oakiest Scotch we've tried without it being over-oaked. Hints of blackberry and plum waft through, along with black pepper and cinnamon, which add a mild spice kick. With more air time, sweetness from malty butterscotch and floral perfume arrive.

Finish: Medium-long, but still soft and velvety. Subtle fruits now of raisin and plum, more into the dark side of fruit - those tropical notes from the palate have faded. Lots of oak now, a hint of bitterness as some astringent tannins poke through, which warms the cheeks; some malty grain and brown sugar are here, butterscotch too, and the strong oak continues to linger. Lots of polish notes, almost bordering on chemical, and we end with an aftertaste of buttered pancakes and sparkly cream soda.

Final Note: If there's one thing we've learned from this, it's that an old whisky with exotic cask maturation can offer a different experience every time you taste it - there are new flavors all the time. In addition to subtle differences in each tasting, the overall complexion also changed over time: when freshly opened, the bottle was full of fresh fruits of all colors; now, after a year and a half of oxidation, there is a much heavier emphasis on old, polished oak notes and perfume.

For overall perspective - this is very good. Lovely stuff, really, and especially with the nose, we could sit for a long time to admire the different flavors. Is it the best whisky we've tasted? No, and it definitely isn't perfect, but it's up there. This is a lot of money to spend on a bottle of whisky, but given the option to go back with our current knowledge and make the decision again... we would buy it again. It's fun to splurge once in a while for a special occasion, and this whisky does hold a special place in our hearts.

Our Average Rating: 8.6 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 4.13