Don’t worry, I don’t know how to pronounce it either. Oirthir Gàidheal means “Coast of the Gael” indicating the gaelic roots of Islay people (together with Basques and Catalans).
It’s a 16 years old Bruichladdich, distilled on the 22nd of April 1993 and filled into a refill sherry butt. It’s a valinch, which means it’s bottled directly from the cask by the customer. The actual outturn is therefore probably lower than the predicted 1000 bottles.
Bruichladdich 1993 ‘Oirthir gàidheal’ (53,6%, OB 2009, Feis Isle 2009, Cask #13, 1000 btl.)
Nose: quite a malty start, but it opens up on fruity notes (peach, honey, berries covered in white chocolate) with (false) hints of peat (see below). Some fresh mint and grapefruit. Mouth: a lot punchier, quite some barley and still a few peaty associations (or so it seems), some sour notes, a bit of yeast and baked bread. Walnuts. Finish: nutty again (macadamia), peaty and again quite sour. Getting really dry in the end.
Enjoyable enough but not the best Feis Ile 2009 bottling nor the best Bruichladdich.
Score: 83/100
Update/ The reply from Bruichladdich’s Mark Renier made me want to taste it again. It turns out the sharp barley together with some false information about the dram’s properties (here and here) tricked me into thinking it was peated while it’s not. Apologies. It proves that the learning process never ends and that the power of suggestion should not be underestimated.
ps/ The second release of the Octomore has been bottled. It’s peatier than the first release (now 140ppm) and it will be presented in a box (I think I liked the tin better). There will be 15.000 bottles. Check the Laddie Blog for pictures. Oh, and PC8 will be the last in the PC… Port Charlotte series (30.000 bottles).
This blog is my personal collection of impressions, written while searching for the ultimate single malt whisky.
