Bruichladdich Unpeated Islay Barley with Dan & Ryan

Second out of the box, we have Bruichladdich’s Unpeated Islay Barley. It’s.. uh.. … it’s what the name says it is, I guess.

I’ve tried to find this expression on the website, but i don’t have a conclusive link. The small bottles listed point to extremely specific (expensive sounding) terroir-y unpeated expressions. This is upeated, but it’s not as specific as the labels on the bottles. And I can’t confirm if it’s the same set, it doesn’t have the same third bottle as this one. So who knows!

Some distilleries are easier to keep track of than others. Here’s what we thought:

nose
Dan – grapes, cardamom
Simon – mash, rye-ish, cereal, cheese
Ryan – moss, lavender

neat
Dan – very woody, leather & spice, tobacco, caramel
Simon – grapes, rice, bittersweet chocolate
Ryan – bark, wood, sweet

finish
Dan – hard & organic
Simon – excellent warmth in the chest
Ryan – apple, floral

splash
Dan – prunes, wood & cinnamon
Simon – comes apart
Ryan – n/a

overall
Dan – 8.1/10
Simon – 6.7/10
Ryan – 5/10

Bruichladdich Unpeated Islay Barley – 50% 200ml – $84.05 (best guess) – Islay

Try it? yes. Buy it? no.