BRUICHLADDICH 1993 RECIOTO FINISH (ODDBINS EXCL)

[Deactivated Member]

Can anyone enlighten me as to what "recioto" is and what effect finishing in such a cask is likely to have on a whisky ?

[Wave]

Recioto is a type of a sweet dessert wine from Italy, so I imagine a cask that held Recioto would give a whisky a sweetened edge.


Cheers!

[vitara7]

is this the new 3d3 norrie tribute botlting or another new bruichladdich?

[Deactivated Member]

I confess that I didn't look. However, I'd be surprised if a "3D" was an Oddbins exclusive.

[TheLaddie]

I confess that I didn't look. However, I'd be surprised if a "3D" was an Oddbins exclusive.

Last I heard it was going to be. My local retailer can't get hold of it for me for that reason. Shame as don't have an Oddbins nearby...

[vitara7]

if you go onto the bruichladdich web site, it does say the the new 3d3 bruichladdich will only be for sale in the uk via oddbins stores.

[Di Blasi]

But I don't think that is the same bottling, as the new 3D3 has some Octomore, super heavily peated whisky in it! This Recioto must be something different. I think the recioto is just dried grapes. Squeezing raisins has lots more sugar than non-dried grapes, and therefore can be made into a dessert wine, or an Amarone, a dry wine.

[Di Blasi]

I just saw on ebay uk this Bruichladdich Recioto, 1993 vintage. That could be the confusion with the 3D3? So many Bruichladdichs, so much confusion, we're bound to buy one!

[Deactivated Member]

I think that Bruichladdich is becoming a bit like a Commonwealth Postal Authority. A deluge of colourful issues each year.

Not sure if its a good long-term strategy. Bewildering to drinkers and off-putting to collectors.

[Deactivated Member]

It reminds me of the Dublin Road in Belfast - tradition says that you can get any type of food you want there except good food.

Seriously, though, I do see parallels between Bruichladdich and Franklin Mint, where every product is a limited edition with a certificate of authenticity and heirloom guarantee - many of museum quality. Cynics would say that both are rather expensive for what you get and may not represent the best investment for collectors.

Every now and then on these pages, you find someone proudly listing every single bottle of Bruichladdich, Arran or Edradour that they own. I am pleased they do this as it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

[r900p]

Ellbrook,

See Di Blasi posting, he's hit it pretty much on the head, with the dried grapes. But before it was placed in the recieto caks, it was matured in bourbon casks. I think the oddbins bottlng was released before the Bruichladdich Rocks appeared in chains of Morrisons stores, which i think was 2003/4. Back then i don't think Bruichladdich bottled malts younger than 10, so if its a 1993 bottling it may have been bottled aroung 2003.

But while we're on the rock, if you like that im sure you'll like the 1993, oddbins exclusive, i for one couldn't stand either. However the bottling is not the new 3d3

Hope this helps, any corrections to the above are greatly appreciated, its ages since i had either!

[Deactivated Member]

Seems to me that Bruichladdich, being owned by MMcD, are essentially doing their own IB's. In my mind, they're all for drinking. I buy ones that look interesting and which I can afford--just like every other malt. Instead of buying Ardbeg 10, Ardbeg 10, Ardbeg 10, etc; or a'bunadh #13, a'bunadh #14, a'bunadh #15, etc; one may buy Links St Andrews, Full Strength, Yellow Submarine. What's the difference, except that they don't pretend they're all the same?

Nick, you complain that they play to the collectors' market, yet their strategy makes their product worthless as collectibles. Which is it? (And for the record, a lot of people think the food is pretty good on this road.)

[bernstein]

As they say with Oscar Wilde: „Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative”.
For more information about Bruichladdich’s view of their business you may check out one of their latest News releases.
You're of course after all still free to find their whiskies not very exciting. But their attitude makes sense to me.

[Deactivated Member]

Nick, you complain that they play to the collectors' market, yet their strategy makes their product worthless as collectibles. Which is it? (And for the record, a lot of people think the food is pretty good on this road.)

My fear is that the whisky industry will go the same way as brewing in the UK. Special, one off brews started to become fashionable in the early 1990s with a result that they eclipsed the regular brews. There was also a fashion for "independent" brewers which was initially supposed to target the nationals but ended up taking out the bulk of the regionals too. This was backed up to an extent by legislation, but the initial impetus was consumer led.

Now I'm not trying to say that the state of brewing was healthy in the 1980s - I'm not harking back to halcyon days. Choice was limited and there was pressure to move away from secondary fermentation. But now you go into a pub and you'll never have seen any of the beers before - never have heard of the breweries - and probably never see them again. Every pint is pot luck, unless you are lucky enough to find one of the dinosaurs (e.g. Timothy Taylor Landlord) still plugging away. Quality is variable to say the least - some of the stuff is just revolting. And regional styles are dead - anyone and everyone seems to feel the need to make every conceivable style of beer.

My fear is that whisky will go the same way. Bruichladdich, for example, offer 21 expressions on their website. Speyside distilleries are now offering peat monsters. Distilleries across the land are flavouring whiskies with weird and wonderful wine casks. To me, it looks like the start of a slippery slope and I do think Bruichladdich has a lot to answer for.

And I do accept that some people like some Bruichladdich products - but others seem to damn them with faint praise whilst religiously buying them. Don't encourage them! Please. Support the honest distilleries that don't add flavouring; that talk about their whisky and not the wine that used to be in their casks; the ones who bottle good quality product and not the dregs of previous owners whilst promising record breakers in the future. If you can find any of them left.

[Di Blasi]

As they say with Oscar Wilde: „Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative”.
For more information about Bruichladdich’s view of their business you may check out one of their latest News releases.
You're of course after all still free to find their whiskies not very exciting. But their attitude makes sense to me.

Yes, bernstein, great link, great statement! I didn't read it all through, but got the idea and I understand and agree with what they're saying! Good info, good on their part to tell us what we've been wondering about and discussing.

[Lawrence]

Nick, Id like to hear from you on two points, what's wrong with a peated whisky from Speyside? It's obviously not a new idea with 21 year old whiskies been offered. Peated Speysiders were made by companies that didn't have an Islay distillery and needed the product for blending. It seems reasonable that we should be able to try it, does it not?

And what do you think was used for storing and maturing whisky in the time between stone ware jars and when sherry and bourbon came on the market? All sorts of wine casks from Europe because wine was shipped in casks not bottles and the casks ended up in the hands of distillers. Sherry and bourbon are fairly new to the whisky industry, they were not used 400 years ago I would think. Borubon has only been used since the 1930's. It seems the use of wine casks is more traditional than bourbon. In an industry that's over 500 years old it's a bit rich to say that bourbon cask use is 'traditional' after only 75 years or so.

It's an interesting discussion......

[DramMeister]

The forum seems split down the middle. I'm on the side of the bewildered. As someone who takes an unhealthily above average interest in malt whisky I find I can't keep track of all these new releases from Bruichladdich. The Oddbins I went into today had eight expressions which may all be subtlely different, but where is the ordinary punter meant to start?
I fear Nick may be right, Ardbeg seem to going down the same route.

This BRUICHLADDICH 1993 RECIOTO FINISH is an Oddbins exclusive. I think it said on the label and I don't think it's included in your 21 expressions Nick, I couldn't see it on the website. How many Laddies are there out there at the moment?

[vitara7]

i think they will keep going until theres one for each day of the month...

i personally had / have a few bottles of bruichladdich in my collection, but only the valinches and the very limited one ie the country life and the enligtenment and the pre takeover bottles, but i wouldnt dream of buying any of these new mood malts or ace'd malts there bringing out.
the other thing that peevs me of with them is this ace'd rubbish... they create new words to suit themselfs... i can maybe orsee another pure amlt vatted malt debate on this one.

[Deactivated Member]

I'm not convinced by Bruichladdich's "oh poor little us struggling along" sop. Their bottlings seem to be everywhere!

I'm bewildered by the choice. All the 'wacky' tins etc only serve to confuse. And I find myself goinf elsewhere.

By the way, the "PC5" (Port Charlotte) is 'dust gathering' at my local store. It must be hard for the retailer to justify £55 for a 5yo to any customer. I've not bought one in the end.

[Deactivated Member]

Bruichladdich are doing very well, well enough to be proceeding with plans to open another distillery at Port Charlotte. Their strategies would seem to have paid off handsomely.

If you are bewildered by all the Bruichladdich releases, I can't imagine how you feel about all the G&M releases, and Cadenheads, and Duncan Taylor, and Flora & Fauna, and Murray McDavid, and Adelphi, and....

[DramMeister]

A fair point Mr T. But 21+ releases at one time from one distillery is on a different scale I think. For many people, it is not easy to tell what the differences between these bottlings are without some research. I do think Bruichladdich are confusing people (me).
But I take your point, we shouldn't really complain about too much choice.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

why confusing? All Laddie expressions have different names and/or age statements and on their homepage you can find tasting notes for almost all their whiskies.

What do you say to Arran where there is no such service at least not to such an extend?

Greetings
kallaskander

[irishwhiskeychaser]

What do you say to Arran where there is no such service at least not to such an extend?

Ahh but Arran are providing a service for the very regular drinker with a different bottle for every day of the year

[vitara7]

i was in oddbins today and seen this bottle, it seems to be "thrown together" the tin is a standard 10yo tin with a two stickers shoved over the part that says 10yo and the other saying somthign about it being 1993 whisky, puts me in mind of the second release of the full strength they done, that was for oddbinns too and they just shoved extra stickers on it. i would have though as your paying a premium for this ltd whisky, they could have at least put it in a decent tin, not a thrown together abortion.

[Deactivated Member]

Not unusual for Bruichladdich--the Yellow Submarine tin has stickers on it, too, and I'm sure many others. Given the large number of relatively small releases, using a standard tin with stickers is certainly more economical than ordering up new tins for everything. Isn't it what's in the bottle that counts?