Bruichladdich 2001 Quarts de Chaume Chenin Blanc K&L
Added on Friday, Dec 16, 2011 at 08:24 PM
  Bottler: OB
  Age: 9 yrs Type: Scotch
  Vintage: 2001 Subtype: Single Malt
  ABV: 59.80 % Region: Islay
  Price: $73 Availability: Specialty Stores

IMPORTANT: K&L states regarding this whisky, "There has been some tremendous bottle variation and some bottles taste nothing at all like the whisky we originally tasted.  While the bottles were perfectly tasty on arrival, they no longer resemble the malt we selected.  Some have deteriorated completely, however, into a sour and somewhat tart malt that seems completely volatile and spoiled. Something happened to this malt that I [spirits buyer] can’t explain, but I don’t want any of you to think that we purposely chose a whisky that tasted like that!"

 

To that end, K&L took the unusual step of allowing customers to exchange bottles (even opened ones) for something else. As of late 2011, K&L is in discussion with Bruichladdich for clarification.

Member Ratings and Notes
Sku
 
Nose:  Sort of shitty really, and unfortunately, I mean that in the literal sense, though more like baby shit than a real adult dump.  Behind that are some sherry like notes and a little bit of rubber and some Champagne vinegar.
Palate:  Vinegar, some garbage like notes, some of the notes I get in a really heavily sherried cask gone wrong.  Toward the end some malt peeks out.
Finish: A bit lighter but still a sort of over sherried (over Chenined?) taste.

Well, I didn't care for this, but it was the nose that really killed it for me.  I guess even the greatest players strike out once in a while.
Andy
 

Ok, we know this is an issue bottling.  Some are bad and some are not.  Based on how emphatically Sku hated his, I don't think I got a bad one.  Who knows.

 

n: different.  white grapes and cheap rubber car seats on a warm day.  Notably no feces.

 

p:  A bit of chemistry going on here.  Rubber keeps coming to mind.  Perhaps a band-aid.  That flavor last for a brief second, then goes into a musty funk finish.  The whole thing disappears pretty fast.  It kinda heads toward bathwater towards the end.

 

I know I've said some unpalatable things, but for me this wasn't a D-.   It's not bad, just odd.         C/C+

 

(and I really don't know what bottle I got)

Fuji
 

Blind.  My first thought was sherried peat/iodine.  My second thought was this is a BAD sherry cask.  It had a wierdness to it that I can only describe as sweaty along with a sour chemical smell.  There was also a good amount of iodine and oats in the nose.  Citric sour notes dominate the palate which is followed by light peat.  Finish is winey with licorice. 

 

I thought this was very odd and I didnt know what to make of it.  It wasnt offensive enough to pour out but I would not buy a bottle.  I thought of Adams remark about smelling your own farts on this.  Kinda nasty/odd but I finished my pour.  I thought this was odd enough that people should try but not buy.  C/C+

Tim
 

Bizarro bottle. Mine (shared with Sku) is a definite bad one. 

 

This started out as almost impenetrably dense (in the best of ways) - flavors on top of flavors. Huge Chenin Blanc mouthfeel and character to it.

 

My initial opening notes were...

 

N: Lightly leathery - like a new Coach wallet but not overbearing. Abundantly but not overbearingly fruity - hint of bananas, a little peach and pineapple. Faintest pepper. Water opens it up greatly, revealing hay, Bruichladdich brine, faint rubber, and more peach and passionfruit.

 

P: Full. Quite warm and gets warmer. Leather in abundance. Fruity again - the peach notes tempered by darker fruits. Light malt in the background. Some cherries providing depth, some raisins there as well. Faintest hint of bubblegum. Water again brings the brine into clear focus; some faint peat notes lie in the background as well as some wet grass.

 

F: Warm finish. Fruits pull to the forefront, with some wood, leather and apple. Some peach, some white pepper. Extremely long, very chewy. Slight mint, the finish continues to develop over a long time. There's some farminess and brine as well. 

 

At this point it was somewhere in the B/B- range.  

 

I let it sit for a couple of weeks. Sku was the next to try it and his reaction is chronicled above.

 

Over the next two weeks I watched this whisky disintegrate almost by the hour.  

 

By the end:

 

N: Overripe fruit. Pleather. Acetone. Decay and garbage.

 

P: Objectionably bitter. Weird tartness. Like licking a cheap purse. Plenty of heat and a nasty overripe fruit flavor.

 

F: Hot; fake & cheap leather, a bit chewy.

 

At this point it was a D.  

 

Notoriously weird. Exchange your bottle with K&L, you don't want it to be the latter.

 

Given the Andy/Fuji notes which are clearly not as foul, where my bottle started and where it ended, this is a ?.

Ries
 

n: Watery diarrhea. Black burnt toast, olives.

t: Worse, green olives, horrible.


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