Bruichladdich 2005 // Tamdhu 2007 // Croftengea 2007 (Archives)

There are three new fishes in the Archives sea. Three accessible non-sherried drams from Bruichladdich, Loch Lomond and Tamdhu.

 

 

Tamdhu 10 yo 2007
(57,8%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2018, Koval cask #36101, 156 btl.)

Nose: not getting much out of this at first, except for a spicy note (nutmeg). After five minutes, there are yellow berries and pears, almonds and corn flakes. Orange peel too. Faultless, just not very exciting.

Mouth: fruitier now, bright, with more berries and pears in quite a juicy form, lemonade and wine gums. Some green, peppery oak behind it, as well as a hint of grapefruit juice.

Finish: medium, bright, with the citrusy freshness taking centre stage.

Most of the independent Tamdhu is sherried, so it’s interesting to try a rather naked example. Good whisky, good value but nothing ground-breaking. Around € 65, available from the Whiskybase shop.

Score: 83/100

 

Croftengea 10 yo 2007 (56,9%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2018, refill hogshead #195, 312 btl.)

Nose: a wet grass / wet cardboard side first. Some porridge and mashed potatoes (even salty chips). A sour lemony note too. Wet wool and light peat. Settles down after a while.

Mouth: again quite salty and mashy, with some yeasty touches and more peat than on the nose. Burnt grasses / sulphury traces as well. A nice lime-like, lightly tropical fruity hint towards the end, but overall not very convincing for me.

Finish: quite long, earthy, smoky and salty.

Let’s just say this isn’t my style, very mashy, a tad dirty and missing some refinement. Just my opinion as always. Around € 60.

Score: 76/100

 

Bruichladdich 12 yo 2005
(52,5%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2018, barrel #1470, 139 btl.)

Nose: classic honeydew melons up front with creamy vanilla roundness. Honey, raw barley and just a light grassy touch. A wee coastal side, as well as whiffs of rapeseed oil. Back to biscuity notes and sweet lemon. Fits the current-day Laddie profile perfectly.

Mouth: perfect. Sweet barley sugar, vanilla, yellow plums, oranges and obligatory melons. Then the grassy notes return, with just a pinch of salt and even a faint phenolic touch.

Finish: long, a bit more zesty (grapefruit) and herbal.

Rather quintessential, clean middle-aged Bruichladdich. This is the one to get from this batch of Archives bottlings, you can’t be against this. Around € 120, available from the Whiskybase shop.

Score: 88/100