Review #945 - SMWS 23.78 'Smoky Seadog' - Bruichladdich 10 Year
We don't see bottlings of Bruichladdich from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society very often these days; here's one that was released about 5 years ago. 'Smoky Seadog' is a 10 year old single cask in the Society's 'Peated' flavor profile, and it spent its entire maturation period in a first fill bourbon barrel.
The SMWS numbering scheme can be a little bit tricky at times. There's a code associated with each distillery, but that doesn't take into account that some distilleries create multiple unique distillates with different qualities. Some of these are easier to pick through - for instance, unpeated Tobermory and its heavily peated counterpart Ledaig are bottle bottled under the same code, distillery number 42. Some other distilleries actually have several distinct SMWS codes for their different distillate styles - as an example, Loch Lomond has 5 codes when you count both single malt and single grain styles.
Distilleries like Bruichladdich are more challenging, though. This distillery has actually produced 5 types of distillate in the past: unpeated Bruichladdich, lightly peated (20 to 30 ppm) Rhinns, heavily peated (40 ppm) Port Charlotte, very heavily peated (50 ppm) Lochindaal, and the super heavily peated (80+ ppm) Octomore. Bruichladdich doesn't have multiple codes, though, and there's nothing to denote the different spirit styles on the bottle label, so we're left to make our own best guess as to the specific provenance.
Some research online points toward the rare Lochindaal spirit for this specific single cask bottling of Bruichladdich, but there's no official confirmation. The 50 ppm peated Lochindaal was produced in limited spirit runs back in 2007 through 2010 and sits between Port Charlotte and Octomore in the range of Bruichladdich smokiness; it isn't very common to see and generally only appears now via independent bottlings or private casks.
The price that SMWS charged for this bottle is one sort of confirmation of the Lochindaal designation: they tend to raise their price for rare or in-demand spirits, and this 10 year single malt came with an eye-watering price of $370 back around 2021.
SMWS 23.78 'Smoky Seadog' - Bruichladdich 10 Year
Scotland/Islay - Single Malt
Price: USD 370 (2021)
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 52.2% ABV
Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon barrel
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled December 2, 2010; 236 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times (once blind) over 9 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Very salty and briny - it even smells oily. Malt, baked goods, and vanilla give way to fizzy toasted orange rind, a hint of funk, and a soft smoky peat influence. Hay, refined sugar, and lemon curd, a salty scallops are accents.
Palate: The mouthfeel is thick, and the oily character from the nose indeed appears in the texture. It's rich and rounded but also somewhat mellow in terms of flavor diversity. Oranges and malt are accented by a medium level of peat smoke; we also get hay, floral lavender, and a bit of plain bran muffin. It's also slightly spirity.
Finish: Orange peel, dry vanilla, soft dry oak... hay and a mild sour malty note. The peat wasn't as strong as expected on the palate, but it continues to grow stronger in the finish. Overall, it's a long finish.
Final Note: We first tried this blind, and we were surprised to find out it's a heavily peated Bruichladdich; the peat is very mild on the nose and starts out as soft on the palate too, though it grows a lot in the finish. The cask strength is relatively low for a 10 year old spirit, but this still has some spirity heat; the alcohol is well-integrated, though, and the texture is superb. This does show some of that classic ex-bourbon Bruichladdich style, but also strikes us as a bit of a chameleon, and maybe nondescript at times.
Our value rating for this bottle isn't very good due to that high price - this was an interesting bottle to try, but we think there are much better ways to spend the money if you aren't only worried about rarity.
Our Rating: 6.8 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 3.76
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our Lochindaal reviews:
Review #331 - Elements of Islay Ln2 - Bruichladdich 13 Year
Check out our Port Charlotte reviews:
Review #750 - Bruichladdich Port Charlotte SYC:01 2013
Review #592 - Bruichladdich Port Charlotte SC:01 2012
Review #516 - Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 Year Re-Review
Review #137 - Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 Year
Review #99 - Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 8 Year Islay Barley 2013
