Bruichladdich Waves

46% abv

85/100

Another of the younger ‘Laddie releases that came out in the late 2000s as a contemporary of the Links, Peat, Rocks and Resurrection.

From what I understand, this was all new distillate from the revived distillery, containing no older malts, and bottled at (or around) 7 years of age.  To be expected, it is a little sharp and feisty, but that’s ok by me.  It has a youthful personality and vibrancy that is at once charming and refreshing.

We, in these local Calgary circles, demolished more than one bottle of this juice over the last couple of years.  Hmmm…more than several bottles, actually.  Hey, what can I say….we were simply doing our part to support the distillery as it worked to come back online.  Purely an altruistic endeavour.  😉

‘Waves’ went the way of the dodo mid 2012, so if you’re at all curious about this one I would suggest you hit the shops ASAP, as it is likely bordering on distant memory.

Interestingly, the Bruichladdich website had this to say last year: “Waves, a young version of Bruichladdich, was an accident. It started life destined exclusively for the Italian market, it was never intended as a stand alone bottling, and was ultimately incorporated in to the trilogy of bottlings along side Rocks (unpeated) and Peat (clearly peated) as a half-way house between the two.”

Oh well…like many of the ‘Laddie releases, it was fun while it lasted.

Nose:  Wine and whisky…whisky and wine.  Tiny hint of sulfur.  Whiffs of peat and smoke on the water.  Touch of bittersweet chocolate.  Dried cherries.

Palate:  Wine and crab apple.  Sea water saltiness and a little citrus.  A wine-ish familiarity…almost as if the Redder Still met the Resurrection.  One thing I do often find with young wine finishes…the palate almost never lives up to the nose.  Same case here, but not a bad disconnect.  The ooomph of 46% is the perfect vehicle here.  Fairly lingering on some nice tart clingy notes.

Throw back a mouthful and let it crash against your tastebuds.  I think that’s what Jim and Mark intended with this one.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt