Bruichladdich Bere Barley (pronounced "Bear") is a single malt made of what is currently understood to be the oldest strain of barley in Scotland. Some suggest that this strain of barely is, in fact, the strain that was used by the vikings to make their spirit of choice way back when. The only other Bere Barley whisky I know of is made by Arran.
I always find it neat to try drinks like this and like the Bruichladdich Islay Barley releases or Kilchoman 100% Islay releases (still wanting to try that one) as you start to get a real feel for the provenance of these fantastic whiskies we are so passionate about. What if you used barely all from one place? What did whisky taste like hundreds of years ago? Does barely have vintages? What if the barley comes from another farm? Anyway, I obviously spend a lot of time thinking about whisky!
On to the notes, I suppose...
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Colour: Straw.
Nose: Sweet nose that is surprisingly grapey. Weird! Almost like Vidal Ice Wine made here in Canada (note: Ice Wine is a sweet white wine, a desert wine, made from grapes harvested very late in the season - I believe at the first instance of freezing due to the onset of cold weather in the fall). Soft on the nose. I wonder why this reminds me of Ice Wine? Is it the barley that does that?
Add 3 drops water and I am still surprised by how grapey this is. Interesting how much barley has changed since the old days unless this somehow made it into some sort of wine or madeira wine cask that we don't know about?
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Palate: like the nose suggested, almost like a stronger Vidal Ice Wine. High-alcohol Inniskillin? Sweet and grapey, but white wine grapes. Nice and thick spirit. With some time in glass, a creaminess seems to develop that is quite pleasing!
Add 3 drops water and it opens and sweetens further. Scotch whisky ice wine? Maybe. This isn't insanely complex but is a nice, clean whisky. Being Bruichladdich, it still has some of the signature menthol/herbaciousness that we are used to from them.
Finish: finish is of pretty good length... like mid-chest. I feel like this must have spent some time in some sort of wine or sherry cask. Bourbon-aged whiskies only finish to the Adam's apple (usually).
This is very different from the Islay Barley 2004 and 2006 releases which, to me, were like beautiful, creamy sunshine in a glass. This too is bright, but the creaminess seems replaced with sweet white-wine type flavours until some time has elapsed and some creaminess appears. An altogether very enjoyable dram that can be enjoyed slowly.
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