I Once Went to Bruichladdich, on the Isle of Islay

I Once Went to Bruichladdich, on the Isle of Islay

There are some people and some places that have a certain magic to them. If you are lucky enough to encounter the magic people in the magic places, then things get turned around, upside down and put back to centre inside you – in a way that means you cannot leave unchanged. Bruichladdich is like that for me, a distillery on the edge of Islay looking across Loch Indaal.

“As I step, I see feather after feather along my way. There is an old legend that says when you see those small white feathers appearing around you, it’s a sign that someone is watching over you, thinking of you. I have found those feathers in the back country of Kentucky, the suburbs of Tennessee, the steps of St Pauls in London and here, in Islay – in the hallway of the Port Charlotte Hotel, on the foreshore of the Singing Seas and on the steps of Bruichladdich Distillery. Perhaps my Scottish ancestors are smiling that I’ve returned to the land of my forefathers and to this island of most famous malts. It’s remarkable that one small island of eight remaining distilleries can have such an impact on the world whisky stage. Islay malt is a thing of legend.”
This excerpt from my story The Sun Came Out on Islay gives you a glimpse of the magic. 

This gorgeous print is from Kate McLelland and you can view more of her work here.

Look to the centre of the map and you’ll see Bowmore, settled in the apex of Loch Indaal. Directly opposite to the left or thereabouts, sits Bruichladdich and the distillery village that has been built around her. One or two stores and two roads, one leading around the coast and the inland to farmland.

It pays to know the ‘ch’ in Bruichladdich is silent. If you’re clever, you’ll ask which ‘ch’.. it’s the one at the end, the first is said in that Scottish brogue that sounds like the earth rolling over itself.

If you’ve spent anytime on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky or even in some of the larger Scottish distilleries, you might be under the impression that a distillery is all nameless and faceless until they roll the big guns out for annual festivities, but it’s not like that at all on Islay, let alone at Bruichladdich. There’s no such email address as store – at – bruichladdich dot com. It’s Mary you’ll meet most days and so it’s Mary you can email to arrange your distillery tour.

And it’s worth visiting, just like I did, in the slightly off-season before the hub-bub and madness of Fèis Ìle. In the gentle Spring sun, Mary took me on a more personal tour – albeit, I was the only one hanging around. Her immediate ancestors built and worked in the distillery, so it’s in her blood. It was a little of the magic of people and place I talked about. Here’s a glimpse of Bruichladdich as I saw her.

 

There are plenty of distilleries who talk about and deliver on experimental finishes and trying new things – certainly there are many who have bigger marketing budgets and personalities like Dr. Bill Lumsden. But there is something wonderfully understated in how Bruichladdich have been going about proving their brand as Progressive Hebridean Distillers; more than the vibrant teal and distinctly modern typography on their bottles alone.

The oldest history, old history and the new history
You can read more about the beginnings of Bruichladdich (practice it with me… brew-achk – lahdeehere. Bruichladdich started as a family business thanks to the Harvey brothers in 1881 and by the time Mark Reynier and his investors completed purchase of the distillery in 2000, the distillery found itself in the hands of an owner who prized the Victorian equipment and the family-owned and run mentality of distilling. Careful restoration meant almost all of the original equipment in still in use for production today, although the distillery is closed in June 2017 for annual repairs and maintenance. Even the grainhopper is nearly 150 years old!

Let’s skip ahead to when I first tasted Bruichladdich in 2006. The iconic squat bottle and bright teal caught my eye, almost as much as the discovery of Bruichladdich as Islay’s unpeated malt. This was in fact older malt that was being released from stock but by the time they released their first ‘new make’ spirit in 2011, there were already moves afoot to purchase Bruichladdich from Reynier by French giant Rémy Cointreau. Part of Bruichladdich’s success was the migration of Jim McEwan from Bowmore to Bruichladdich, where he took up the role of distillery manager and influenced the evolution of Bruichladdich’s ‘progressive approach’. The sale went ahead in the summer of 2012 but since then, Mary and others will tell you they’ve been able to maintain a family-run approach. When Jim retired in 2015, it was Adam Hannett who stepped into the role of Head Distiller, having learned from Jim. And outside of a few changes to production rates and the backing and resources of a global giant to hand, not too much has changed.

Geography and tasting
Bruichladdich takes water directly from the spring so it doesn’t run through the peat beds as it does at Ardbeg, Lagavulin or many of the other southern distilleries. This limited peat contact and the use of un-peated barley the resulting whisky is much milder and lighter than what people traditionally think of as an Islay malt. In general terms, the flavour profile is appropriately opposite to Speyside whiskies (opposite coasts!). Think dry finishes and spice notes that sit behind the smoke. These gentler Islay spirits are greener moss and grass influenced (rather than peat) with a touch of seaweed, tending towards a roundness of nuts and a dry finish. In the case of Bruichladdich, the unpeated malt is floral and complex. It’s a lighter spirit but it’s not simple. The flagship bottling (The Classic Laddie Ten) was first released in 2011, exactly ten years from when the restored stills first ran through to the spirit safe on September 9, 2001.

Progressive means what?
In their own words, Bruichladdich ‘respects the past but doesn’t live in its shadow’. When you visit the distillery, you’ll see cask explorations that are only available there as the head distiller picks and chooses casks from Rémy Cointreau’s stocks around the globe. That day at the distillery, Cask Exploration No.7 is classic Bruichladdich spirit finished in a Rivesaltes wine cask. Rivesaltes is a little-known wine appellation in French Catalonia – a sweet wine. In this expression, the balance of the classic malt profile is sweetened and rounded by the wine finish. Bruichladdich release Black Art (now in it’s 5.1 edition which is solely Adam’s profile and on his own admittance, he’s changed McEwan’s recipe quite drastically) semi-regularly, a more general release of these wine cask explorations.

But there’s more to it than wine finishes. Bruichladdich leapt into making malt using barley grown from the Octomore farm behind the site of Port Charlotte. From these threads of history, Bruichladdich created both the Port Charlotte, a peated version of their spirit, a 100% Scottish version and the Octomore, the most heavily peated of all the Islay whiskies.

DISTILLERY MALT PHENOLS (ppm) NEW MAKE PHENOLS (ppm) MIDDLE CUT ABV
Ardbeg 54 (42-70) 24-26 73-62.5
Bowmore 20-25 8-10 74-61.5
Bruichladdich 3-4 76-64
Port Charlotte 40 20-25
Octomore 129 (in 2003) 46 (in 2003)
Brora 7-40
Bunnahabhain 1-2 (peated malt 38)
72-64
Caol Ila 30-35 12-13 75-65
Highland Park 35-40 (and unpeated malt used together) 2 70 and then 2h40min
Lagavulin 35-40 16-18 72-59
Laphroaig 40-45 25 72-60.5

Phenol-levels of malts and new-makes in different distilleries and the ABV of the middle cut.
(modified from Misako Udo: The Scottish Whisky Distilleries)

It’s this ability to play at all ends of the spectrum that I most love about Bruichladdich and then there is the spirit of the place when you arrive. More likely to be greeted like family because, in many respects they are just that. A slightly-extended, whisky-making, award-winning family.

While you may not make it to the shores of Bruichladdich anytime soon, can I highly recommend you take a tastebud journey?
Start with the Laddie Ten and then try it alongside the Port Charlotte to really get a sense of this wonderful place.

Design begins with Story.

Design begins with Story.

Storytelling was the original design practice. Through oral histories, fables and proverbs we told stories that met human needs for learning, remembering and envisioning the future – the ‘what might be’ and ‘how might we’ that has been the essence of innovation and design from the beginning.

Here’s the TLDR:

  • Storytelling inspires ideas and creates a vision for the future that requires design
  • Design is the process of making outcomes and as that outcome changes the human experience (or the story) more designs are required generating momentum
  • Momentum is what powers growth and change but we require ways of harnessing that momentum into meaningful direction, this is called navigation
  • Navigation gives you the ability to harness your momentum towards meaningful direction but that direction is decided by the biggest picture outcome – focusing energy and momentum towards an idea of the future. I call this strategy
  • Strategy is best conveyed through storytelling, conveying outcomes from measurable data into meaningful insights allowing for our original stories to change and adapt as we solve the ‘beyond the beyond’

From storytelling we begin designing. If stories generate ideas, it’s design that brings them to life – functional and meaningful existence. Our design outcomes generate momentum. New stories and design outcomes emerging as one innovation leads to another .. I call this the ‘beyond the beyond’.

As sailors we learn the practical skills of navigation and harnessing momentum before we head out of the harbour. It’s the uniquely hireable and desirable ability to ‘get it done’. It’s when we leave the harbour we need the ability to read the stars and the currents to find our way to new shores or familiar places.

Momentum creates a new need; for navigation. The ability to harness and steer your momentum in the best possible direction. But to be truly powerful, the skills of navigation require a compass point. As sailors we learn the practical skills of navigation and harnessing momentum before we head out of the harbour. It’s the uniquely hireable and desirable ability to ‘get it done’. It’s when we leave the harbour we need the ability to read the stars and the currents to find our way to new shores or familiar places.

The navigator, the helmsman or sailor who can get you around the course is not always the tactician. From navigation we come back around to strategy, how we plan or agree our destination on the map. This brings us back to storytelling as a design exercise.

…the story is both the outcome and the strategy to get to the outcome.

When I work with people in strategic planning, marketing strategies, product roadmaps and content design – I use principles of storytelling and design to get us to a functioning, future-focused roadmap to the future. What stories from the past can we grasp hold of and use to inform our future innovations? What new quadrants are there to be explored but what resource do we have to get there? What might we discover and what might we learn as we go?

So we arrive back at the beginning of the process – designing outcomes through storytelling, where the story is both the outcome and the strategy to get to the outcome. Coming up with a plan is never enough, you need a compelling story that engages and helps steer the momentum whether you are telling the story of your organisation, product or your own life.

Storytelling > design > momentum > navigation > strategy > storytelling.

Kelpie, Ardbeg Day 2017

Kelpie, Ardbeg Day 2017

Earlier this year, I was having lunch with Dr. Bill Lumsden, master distiller and my favourite whisky chemist. We were celebrating the release of the long-awaited Glenmorangie Bacalta, a baked madeira finished whisky and their 8th Private Edition release but I couldn’t help but think ahead to today, the annual release of one of Dr. Bill’s exquisite experiments. Bill is more than a distiller, his eye goes to selecting the oaks and woods for Ardbeg barrels, managing stocks and the creation of whiskies under his watch for the Glenmorangie Company.

With a little twinkle and ferocity, he told me about the Black Sea oaks sourced from Russia that were being used to impart a deeper, darker flavour than previously known. These oaks are typically ignored for whisky production as their wood flavours are too pronounced and strong. But paired with original Ardbeg, there’s a companionable agreement between this hefty Russian influence and the salty, fierce robustness of Ardbeg malt. Perhaps that’s why the mythic Scottish water kelpie won out for pride of place marketing instead of the dark Russian heart of this Ardbeg release. Ultimately, regardless of the Black Sea influence, the whisky is still Scotch, still Ardbeg, unarguably so.

So to the tasting of this year’s rare spirit – by now, I’m sure you’ve heard the legends. New Zealand is first in the world to open for public sale and it’s to be expected that by the end of the weekend, if not today, it will be sold out of stock for the general consumer. Thankfully, there’s an Ardbeg Embassy bar in Auckland that will have a plentiful supply.

To the tasting notes and without further ado:

Colour: The supplied tasting notes say burnished gold, with which I agree although I’d add a tinge of green-gold tarish on the edges. It may well be my imagination but it suits me!

Nose: There’s an intensity to this nose that comes leaping forth – pine trees, medicinal oils that are almost herbaceous and green, peat (of course), seaweed, dark chocolate and then as you add water to it in tasting, the nose becomes almost creamier and with a nutty tone. The tasting notes talk about toasted coconut but I was left with a blanched almond and toffee sweetness sitting against spicy black peppers.

Palate: There’s a big peppery kickoff before the complexity of this whisky kicks into gear. The Russian oak is resounding and complex. It’s in the mid-palate, not in the nose that I get big hits of coffee, dark roasted grounds, toffee and treacle and dark chocolate is present from the nose to the palate. Those medicinal oils come back towards the end – clove and star anise captured in oil with sweet woods like cherry and Maplewood on the tongue, followed by smoky-sweet hickory. It’s woody and metallic at once with a long big finish.

Finish: At first, it’s salty and briny like young olives just as the tasting notes say. But it’s in the finish that I get chargrilled thick-cut Canadian bacon, chewy toffee and residual spice.

Summary: The previous two Ardbeg Day release have been enjoyable but not magical for me. Maybe it’s the Kelpie talking but the magic is quite intense with this release. It has some of the characteristics of Ardbog and Alligator, where the earth elements of wood and fire were so intense. I’m looking forward to seeing how this evolves over an evening. So far, this is my favourite Russian collusion of the year.

Ardbeg Day 2017 is taking place at the four New Zealand Ardbeg Embassies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

  • House of Whiskey, 38 Courthouse Lane, Auckland Central – 11am-5pm
  • Regional Wines, Beers & Spirits, 15 Ellice Street, Mt Victoria, Wellington – 11am– 4pm
  • Whisky Galore, 834 Colombo Street, Christchurch Central – 9:30am-5pm
  • The Jefferson, 7 Fort Lane, Auckland – 7:30pm-10pm

About Ardbeg
Ardbeg prides itself on being The Ultimate Islay Malt Whisky. Established in 1815, Ardbeg is revered by connoisseurs around the world as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all the Islay malts. Despite its smokiness, Ardbeg is renowned for its delicious sweetness, a phenomenon that has affectionately become known as ‘the peaty paradox’. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ardbeg suffered from an uncertain future and it was not until the brand was purchased by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 that the Distillery was saved from extinction. Since then, the Distillery has risen like a phoenix and today Ardbeg is well established as a niche, cult malt, with a passionate following.

About the Glenmorangie Company
The Company is one of the most renowned and innovative distillers and marketers of Scotch whisky brands worldwide and is part of Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Company produces Glenmorangie Single Highland Malt whisky and Ardbeg Single Islay Malt.