Bruichladdich – Black Art 08.1 – Dutch Whisky Brothers

Nobody really knows what kind of mystery is going on with the Black Art releases by Bruichladdich… except the head distiller. In this case Adam Hannet used his Black Art in selecting the casks for the 08.1 release, in which the youngest cask is from 1994.

So some of its mystery is revealed by telling it’s 26 year old and bottled at 45.1% ABV. Because it’s a vatting of casks with an outcome of 12.000 bottles and a release at Cask Strength, we think some casks are way older than 1994. But only one man knows…

That’s about all the facts we could tell you about this Black Art 08.1 and even Nick Baeyens, the Benelux PHD Brand Ambassador, couldn’t tell us more. Luckily we were invited by Nick to join a special online tasting so we could share our Black Art 08.1 experience with you.

First we’d like to thank Nick Baeyens for a very special tasting experience, because this wasn’t your “normal tasting”. Nick managed to arrange a Black Art setting with special gifts and even a tarot card reading session! Our fortune looks promising due to the Ace of Cups!

Now it’s time to join us on our Black Art experience…

Nose: Really complex, yet light on the nose. Very fruity with a dominant citrus note.
Palate: Layered and balanced. You can tell this is some old good stuff with oakiness, caramel and shortbread biscuits.
Finish: medium/long finish with lemon cake notes.

It’s really an elegant dram with a flavor explosion.

Score: 90/100

Nose: My o my… where to begin! First some fresh zesty citrus notes. Than it’s more stone fruit notes and a bit floral, with vanilla and caramel. After that the deeper and darker notes come trough: oaky, some spices and a hint of leather.
Palate: Straight up that citrus notes, followed by a mineral taste. That’s new to me, but I like it! Creamy vanilla and some nutty notes. More of the stone fruits, just like the nose. And also some shortbread biscuits with caramel.
Finish: Medium with more subtle citrus notes, caramel and some milk chocolate.

A very complex dram, which changes in time. I’ll probable find some new things next time. I could nose this dram all day! I wish, and expexted because of the age, the finish was a bit longer.

Score: 88/100

We were well surprised with the Black Art skills of Bruichladdich’s head distiller Adam Hannet.
For many and also ourselves, this is a “bucket list” dram, so we’re happy that we’ve explored it and we were able to share this with you.
Keep an eye out for those Black Art releases by Bruichladdich, or our website, because we’d love to explore some more. And we’re pleased to hear that Black Art 09.1 was announced… 1992, 29 years and bottled at 44.1% ABV!