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Bruichladdich 5 years Islay Barley

woody
4.3
(1)€60Scotland, Islay, Single Malt

Flavours

Whisky character

Fresh
Warm
Mild
Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

Barley is usually the anonymous part of Scotch. Bruichladdich decided to name it. For the Islay Barley releases, the grain comes off farms on Islay. Some sit within eleven miles of the stills. Every batch is tracked back to the field it grew in. Five years in cask is not long enough to hide behind wood. You get cereal and green apple first, then a sweet, vanilla-led middle. The finish dries out with spice and tobacco. It is a young whisky that argues barley has a postcode.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Bruichladdich

Bruichladdich distillery is located on the Isle of Islay, Scotland, and was founded in 1881. It was closed in 1994, but then re-opened in 2001 under new ownership. The distillery produces a range of single malt whiskies, including heavily peated, unpeated, and triple-distilled varieties. Bruichladdich uses only Scottish barley and sources its water from nearby Loch Indaal. The distillery also produces a gin called The Botanist, which is made with 22 different botanicals, many of which are sourced locally on Islay.

4.1Average rating

96Whiskies on Distilld

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About the Bruichladdich 5 years Islay Barley

Bruichladdich 5 years Islay Barley is a single malt Scotch whisky from Islay. The distillery sits on the island's Atlantic shoreline, in the west of Scotland. This bottling comes from the Islay Barley series, built around barley grown on the island itself. It carries 50% ABV, with no chill filtration and no added colouring. Islay spring water brings the strength down to bottling proof. Five years is young for a Scotch single malt. Most Scotch whisky is made from barley bought on the open market. The Islay Barley bottlings do the opposite. Bruichladdich buys its grain from farms on Islay, some within eleven miles of the stills. Harvests from up to eight island farms have gone into these releases. The distillery tracks each batch from farm to glass. Nobody there claims island barley is better, only that it tastes different. That idea sits behind every bottle in the range. The nose leads with barley and a meaty cereal weight. Green apple and other fresh fruit sit behind it. There is an earthy, vegetative edge that reads as farmland more than sea air. The palate turns sweet, with vanilla, coconut and warm oak. Wood shapes the middle without taking over. The finish brings spice and a dry curl of tobacco, with vanilla returning at the very end. Five years in cask leaves the grain clearly in front. Plenty of Islay malts sell on smoke and age statements. Bruichladdich 5 years Islay Barley sells on provenance instead. You can point to the fields that grew the grain. Younger spirit also means less cask influence, so the barley itself does more of the talking. Compared with the older Islay Barley vintages, this one is brighter and more direct. It shows what the island's own harvest tastes like early.