Bruichladdich Sneak Peaks

Luckily I have some very nice customers who shop at K&L and sometimes they feel moved to share some of their most amazing bottles with me.  I am always humbled that some of you out there think of bringing your own favorite spirits into the store so that I can taste them.  One such customer just returned from a trip to Scotland and, since he has been shopping here since the Susan Purnell days, he wanted to visit Bruichladdich and take Mr. Jim McEwan out to dinner.  While there, he was able to convince Jim to let him leave the island with a super-secret bottle that hopefully will be hitting the U.S. market at some point in the near future.  Your eyes do not deceive you, it is a bottle of Bruichladdich gin and it is very tasty.  Made with 21 botanicals local to Islay, it is big and herbal andbrimming with character.  It's definitely in the London Dry style so get ready for some martini and gin & tonic action sometime down the road, courtesy of Bruichladdich. 

As if it were not fantastic enough to get a sneak peak of the gin, this wonderful customer also brought me a taste of the Bruichladdich DNA, which is one of the most amazing whiskies out there on the market.  The DNA is 36 years old and it is bottled at cask strength, which in this case ended up being a meager 41.1% - no water needed here.  This whisky is so soft and supple on the entry before the dried fruits and toffee kicks in, but unlike most older whiskies, this one was finished in wine casks, Chateau le Pin for that matter.  The result is really wonderful as the red fruits from the wine really add a certain depth to a whisky that may have been one-dimensional without it.  Much like the Black Art benefits from the enchancement, the DNA really seems transformed by it.  A fantastic whisky that will definitely leave a hole in my heart as I know that I will likely never taste it again.

-David Driscoll