Bruichladdich 2012 Bere Barley – 50%

The Islay Bruichladdich Distillery, whose name means ‘beach corner’, was built in 1881 by the Harley brothers. After the distillery had been closed for some time, it was announced on 12/20/2000 that it would soon be back in operation. Already in May 2001 the first new make flowed from the stills. The success of Bruichladdich is closely linked to the work of one of the most important men in the Scottish whiskey scene – Jim McEwan. In 2012 the distillery changed hands again for £58m. Current owner is Remy Cointreau.

Bere Barley – grown by the Agronomy Institute of Orkney College (UHI) in partnership with Sydney Gauld (Quoyberstane), harvested in 2011, distilled the following year. The six-row ‘Bere Barley’ is Britain’s oldest barley variety and was probably developed hundreds of years ago by the pioneers of Scotland
used to make whiskey. It gives our single malt an unsurpassed smooth texture and malty sweetness. In the 20th century, however, the old varieties were almost lost because the general trend in the
Selection of suitable grain breeds focused on maximum ease of care, yield and profit. As Bruichladdich has always been about taste, we have been working with
since 2005
The Agricultural Institute of the University of the Highlands and Islands are working together to help the Bere Barley variety shine again in the whiskey world. Bere Barley is a very resilient grain, so that one arm even broke off in the mash tun at the beginning. It took a lot of time, effort and patience to understand this ancient barley variety and how to best unlock its aromatic potential.