Bruichladdich Black Art 10.1

Bruichladdich Black Art 10.1 is a 29 year old unpeated Islay single malt Scotch whisky from the Bruichladdich distillery on the shore of Loch Indaal. The youngest whisky in it was distilled in 1993, it was bottled in 2022, and it comes in at 45.1% ABV.

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Black Art is Bruichladdich’s most secretive series, and 10.1 is its tenth edition. Head Distiller Adam Hannett builds each release from old casks held in the distillery’s own Islay warehouses, and the cask recipe is never published. What is known is the age: every drop has spent at least 29 years in oak, all of it laid down before the distillery’s 2001 reopening. Bruichladdich was built in 1881, and while Islay is mostly associated with peat smoke, the distillery’s own house style is unpeated, fruity and floral. Like the rest of the range, it is bottled without added colouring or chill filtration.

This is a whisky for a slow evening or a special occasion. It suits collectors of the Black Art series, fans of old, fruit-driven Islay malt, and anyone marking a milestone birthday or anniversary from the early 1990s.

Bruichladdich’s own tasting notes:

Nose: Bright fruit up front, then toasted oak with chocolate praline, cedar and leather, a touch of clove and nutmeg, apricot jam, melon, dark cherry and blackcurrant, with lemon zest, honeyed gooseberry and a faint trace of iodine.

Palate: Velvety, with orange, ginger biscuit and lemon meringue, moving to apricot and marzipan, then oak-led chocolate and vanilla, raisin, plum and melon, with coconut, ginger and cinnamon over time.

Finish: Soft fudge, ripe soft fruit, a little tobacco and lingering ginger.

Pour a small measure into a nosing glass and give it ten minutes before the first sip. Taste it neat, then try a drop or two of water. Keep food simple: a few almonds, a piece of good dark chocolate or nothing at all. Once open, store it upright, away from light and heat.