Bruichladdich Black Art 1994 8.1 Edition 26 Year

Beautiful. Smooth. Best I’ve had in 10 years.

This was one of our two whiskeys we had over an extended family Thanksgiving dinner. The consensus word used by all that had this was “wow”. At $600 / bottle (and a generous item to bring over by a family member), this wasn’t cheap. But it’s amazing. Fruits galore. Peaches, cream first. Followed by roasted nuts, almonds. Finish is lingering with sweet cream and spices. Wow is the right word to describe this. The entire bottle was polished off in one night between us all…was one of the highlights of Thanksgiving dinner

Strong, complex, surprising finish. Sweet nose. Caramel, apple. Palate is kind of dull, but has some hint of fruit on it - finish is an explosion of something - sour. Good whisky.

Having always had a visceral love for Bruichladdich, considering Adam Hannett a genius and Black Art 07.1 a point of reference, I have high expectations for this product. Nose: very complex, in whiskies I like to find some aromas that I clearly identify, without exaggerating in the quantity of essences. But here as already in 07.1 we go to another world: I feel so many aromas that I find it hard to enumerate them ... I try: various citrus fruits from lemon to orange to bergamot, ginger, peach jam, apricots, port, very little sherry, very floral it's fresh. I clearly perceive the influence of ex-bourbon barrels with vanilla, but also "artificial" smells such as leather and enamel. Palate: here too a slaughterhouse…. Certainly honey, a lot of honey, but also flowers of various types: it seems to put your head in a bouquet. Definitely sherry, raisins, ginger and orange and lemon peel, plums. Here too there is a clear influence of the ex bourbon barrels, with vanilla and more honey. Is it possible that there are former Jack Daniel's barrels among those selected for this mysterious whiskey? I think I feel like a pint of JD Gold no 27. Very good, always as dense as 07.1, even if a little less. Final: at the first shot I wrote “I expected it to be longer, instead relatively short and light”. The second glass is perfect, with a predominance of citrus fruits, and for this reason slightly bitter, with the particularity of tobacco: the sensation is a bit like smoking an excellent Cuban cigar! Excellent whisky, perhaps too experimental (read how the Black Art line is made on the website). The comparison with 07.1, a true masterpiece, is in my opinion a loser, even if not by much. The problem is not in this whiskey, which is superb, but rather in 07.1 which is one of the best whiskeys I have ever drunk! I rate 4.99, only because at 07.1 I had given 5.00…. _______________________________________________ Avendo da sempre un amore viscerale per la Bruichladdich, considerando Adam Hannett un genio ed il Black Art 07.1 un punto di riferimento, ho grandi aspettative per questo prodotto. Naso: molto complesso, nei whisky mi piace trovare alcuni aromi che identifico chiaramente, senza esagerare nella quantità di essenze. Ma qui come già nel 07.1 si va in un altro mondo: sento così tanti aromi che faccio fatica ad enumerarli… provo: agrumi vari dal limone all’arancio al bergamotto, zenzero, marmellata di pesche, albicocche, porto, pochissimo sherry, molto floreale e fresco. Percepisco netta l’influenza di barili ex bourbon con vaniglia, ma anche odori “artificiali” tipo cuoio e smalto. Palato: anche qui un macello…. Sicuramente miele, molto miele, ma anche fiori di vario tipo: sembra di infilare la testa in un bouquet. Sherry sicuramente, uvetta, zenzero e scorze di arancio e di limone, prugne. Anche qui netta influenza delle botti ex bourbon, con vaniglia e ancora miele. Possibile che ci siano botti ex Jack Daniel’s tra quelle selezionate per questo misterioso whisky? Mi pare di sentirci una pinta di JD Gold no 27. Molto buono, sempre denso come il 07.1, anche se un po’ meno. Finale: al primo bicchierino ho scritto “me lo aspettavo più lungo, invece relativamente breve e leggero”. Al secondo bicchierino è perfetto, con predominanza di agrumi, e proprio per questo leggermente amarognolo, con la particolarità del tabacco: la sensazione è un po’ quella di fumare un ottimo sigaro cubano! Ottimo whisky, forse fin troppo sperimentale (leggete come è fatta la linea Black Art sul sito). Il paragone con il 07.1, vero masterpiece, è secondo me perdente, anche se non di molto. Il problema non è in questo whisky, che è superlativo, quanto piuttosto nel 07.1 che è uno dei whisky più buoni che abbia mai bevuto! Voto 4,99, solo perché al 07.1 avevo dato 5,00….

One of the few whiskies I describe as beautiful. I’ve enjoyed coming back to this bottle over the weeks and am always left wanting more. The sweet, the subdued malt, the delicate richness (how is that even possible?), the bursting fruity transforming nose. Just an excellent example of some extremely well managed aging. Beautiful pour.