I hate to say the word “favorite” when talking of whisky. It’s hard to compare certain qualities and I feel like crowning one single distillery (or whisky) as king could never represent how I really feel about it. Still, it’s easy for me to occasionally let the phrase “The Resurrection Dram was my favorite single malt” slip out from time to time, even if I’ve had many other majestic drams since.
This bottling was released in a numbered run of 24,000 worldwide which makes me sad. Having bought three bottles I’ve consumed about 1/8,000th of the world’s supply by myself. Some people hear that and tell me that I have a problem. Goddamn right I have a problem. I can’t find any more of it at the local packy; That’s a huge problem!!!
As is an all too familiar story in the world of single malt distilleries, Bruichladdich shut down in 1994. It was bought by a new owner in 2000 and reopened with it’s maturation houses still full of maturing spirit. The new owners distilled their first batch of their own new make in 2001, thus the title, an homage to the new life that was breathed into their stills.
This one is aged for 8 years in ex-Bourbon casks, of “an experimentally peated” spirit. Past incarnations of Bruichladdich were peated to around 3-5 ppm where the Resurrection Dram is peated to 10 ppm. Future renditions are planned to be unpeated completely, leaving the peat to their two other labels, Octomore and Port Charlotte.
Nose: The most delicious parts of the beach waft by first, followed by coconut, sweet lychee and grass. Deliciously fruity and nutty with a splash of oak and dried herbs. Bruichladdich, even their peated stuff, is not usually all that smokey, so the peat is purely the sweet and funky, vegetal kind. This one makes me want to drive to the beach late at night. Air and time make it sweeter and bring unbuttered toast.
Palate: Raspberry thumbprint cookies, coconut macaroons, freshly mowed lawn and light peat hide under the woody oakiness. Minty coolness comes on after the first sip. Smoke also makes an appreciated appearance.
If you gathered up all the people who bought a bottle of this and moved them out to an island, that place would most likely be less populous than the town you live in. With the delicious whisky, the interesting back story, and the unique ppm, you’d be a fool not to buy any of these you see in the wild.
