Bruichladdich 10 yo early 80s Rinaldi Importatori

 

 

 

43°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay 

Bourbon and Sherry Casks 

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Almost Unpeated

 

 

 

Before the distillery closed in 1994, and even before it was reopened by Mark Reynier in 2001, it was owned by Whyte & Mackay, which still owns several distilleries today, including Isle of Jura, Fettercairn, or even Dalmore, Tamnavulin and Invergordon. And at the time, this 10 Year Old was the most common expression, available just about everywhere in Western Europe through various distributors. In Italy, whisky was very popular, except that it was called ‘acquavita di cereali’, and it was Rinaldi Importatori that distributed this nectar, apparently from the very early 1980s. On the back of the bottle, it says that Bruichladdich won a double gold medal at an unspecified international competition held in 1979. The expression must therefore date from after this competition, that means 1980 at the earliest.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is incredible, warm and soft brioche, fresh from the oven, bread dough, beeswax, steamed ravioli, brewer's yeast, toasted wheat, and exotic fruits, pineapple, banana, kumquat, lemon pulp, liquid honey, sun-yellowed grass, haribo candy. On the palate, there's a big drop in tension, it's more mineral and cereal-like, slightly astringent, lemon soda, notes of limestone, foam, spices tinkle on the tip of the tongue, lime, slate, and it becomes herbaceous, until a very decent, fairly long finish, where we find some exotic fruit, puffed rice, traces of dry earth, cut hay, blond tobacco.

 

In Short, 

This really is a whisky from the great era, with a slight OBE (Old Bottle Effect), the patina of the old days. The nose is wonderful, with a very fine balance between brioche, cereals and exotic fruits. The palate, on the other hand, is rather common, but that corresponds to what this whisky was at the time, a very simple, low-end expression. The finish is very good, long and robust. Enjoying this liquid, you realise just how much whisky has lost its quality over the years. Of course, you can't produce with the same efficiency what was produced at an almost artisanal level, when very few people were interested in whisky. Nevertheless, it's a bit sad to have a glimpse of what we've lost. Every self-respecting collector who can afford it should have a copy of this type in their cellar.

Score : 87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Legiana Collective - Lord Horse