Intelligent Design
Our Bruichladdich Chenin Blanc cask is here. The design is typical Bruichladdich sleek - modern, eye-catching, and cutting edge. The whisky itself is no different. I've never had a saltier malt before and I absolutely love it. The acidity of the wine really comes through in the whisky. The weight is present on the palate due to the sweetness of the wine residue, but that Loire Valley minerality is playing a role as well with the Laddie's characteristic saline quality. It's not overly sweet by any means, but rather savory with smooth textures. Delicious and totally fascinating.
We almost hit the 10 year mark, but fell just a bit short. This single malt is still going to turn some heads however. At $72.99, it's by far the most value-packed whisky we imported this year. I've tasted it five times so far and it just keeps getting better.
This is our baby. Our first ever Faultline release with our own actual label. Not only is it a retro, Mad-Men-esque style package, the whisky is top-notch as well. In all honesty, David OG was a bit higher on this malt than I was when we tasted it originally. Revisiting it now, however, I can see how right he was in his quality assessment. Think of it as baby-Ladyburn - the same caramel and Cognac flavors are present from the Bourbon barrel, but the malt itself still has plenty to say at 21. There's a slight peated note with sweet grains that tickle on the finish.
I'm hard pressed to pick my favorite barrel at this point. I would have originally said the Bladnoch, but tasting this bottle again I'm certainly torn. Nevertheless, 2011 will come to be known as the year of the Lowland malt at K&L. Our Ladyburn and Bladnoch casks have been huge successes, despite the fact that everyone seems to think Lowland malts begin and end with boring Auchentoshan. This Littlemill will put the final stamp on our claim that old Lowland malts deserve to be ranked with the best whiskies in the world.
Both of these bottles are headed over to our warehouse this weekend for pre-arrival processing and should be ready by the end of next week. I can't wait to hear back from those of you who get one!
-David Driscoll