BRUICHLADDICH BERE BARLEY 2011 Single Vintage Ancient Landrace Bere Single Malt
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BRUICHLADDICH BERE BARLEY 2011 Single vintage Ancient landrace Bere Single Malt Bere is a six row barley that’s ancestry can be tracked back to the very dawn of our agriculture, some 5,000 years ago. The unctuous texture and barley-sugar sweetness of Bere single malt is unrivalled within our back catalogue of barley-forward spirits. Bere is Britain’s oldest strain Bere is a hardy grain, The 2010 crop of Bere, of cultivated cereal and would adapted to poor soil distilled in 2011, was have been the grain used by conditions and to a short grown and supplied by the Scotland’s early distillers growing season with long Agronomy Institute of Orkney through distant centuries. hours of daylight – that’s College (UHI) in partnership In the 20th century, however, to say the summer sun of with Magnus Spence (The an emphasis on efficiency the more extreme northern Northfield, Burray) and and commercial return latitudes. In early trials Bere Syndey Gauld (Quoyberstane, encouraged the pursuit of proved so tough and resilient St Ola). that it broke our milling yield over flavour – varieties In total, the team in Orkney SPECIFICATIONS TASTING NOTES that would produce the machine and it took time battled the difficult growing and patience to understand CROPS: 100% Bere barley grown and NOSE: Floral aromas, geraniums and biggest, easiest crop and conditions on 5 different supplied by the Agronomy Institute orange blossom. Malted barley, citrus greatest extract. how to get the best from this farms over the growing of Orkney College (UHI) in 2010. tang and chocolate limes. Always champions of enigmatic traditional grain. season, Quoyberstane, MALTING: Unpeated PALATE: Apricot jam, citrus fruits and vanilla lead into marine salinity In this vintage the Muddisdale and Wyland & YEAST STRAIN: Mauri and Kerry flavour, we’ve been working and barley sugar on the finish. with the University of the characteristic texture is like Watersfield in St Ola, and DISTILLATION: Distilled in 2011. honey, rich and incredibly Northfield and Westermill on Single vintage expression. Highlands and Islands’ CONTEXT Agronomy Institute since viscous, and as always the Burray. MATURATION: Aged in first fill American oak fruit is to the fore – apple, Ex-Bourbon Casks for 10 years – a mixture of Bere Barley – 1 of only 3 distillers in 2006 to reintroduce Bere Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Clermont Springs. Scotland to distill this varietal. pear and peach over cinder barley to the distilling of AGED: 10 years Arran Distillers released a bottling at toffee and apricot jam. 46% in 2012 and another bottling at 56.2% single malt whisky. BOTTLING: Islay spring water, non- in 2014, both of which are now sold out. chill filtered and colouring free. Springbank Local Barley 11yo used locally STRENGTH: 50% ABV grown Bere barley. This was released in 2017 RELEASE VOLUME: Limited and is now sold out. Springbank continue to work with Kintyre-grown Bere periodically. ACCREDITATION: Grown in partnership with ©2021 BRUICHLADDICH DISTILLERY CO. LIMITED., the Agronomy Institute of the University PORT CHARLOTTE® ISLAY BARLEY SCOTCH WHISKY, 50% ALC./VOL. of the Highlands and Islands. GROWING HIGH PROVENANCE BARLEY ON ORKNEY BERE BARLEY BRUICHLADDICH 2011 FAQ'S SINCE 2007 QUOYBERSTANE, ST OLA What type of barley has You now grow your Bere What are the taste MUDDISDALE, ST OLA been grown? barley in Orkney, benefits? WEYLAND, AND WATERSFIELD, ST OLA Bere barley is an ancient varietal quite not Islay – why? Bere barley grains are much smaller different to todays modern strains, six Dunlossit Farm on Islay grew Bere and denser producing a rich grist and row as opposed to two, it produces on Islay for 5 harvests, with each a uniquely robust flavour. Light, zesty incredibly low yields but a uniquely progressively more difficult than the and bursting with fruit. robust, rich flavour. In conjunction last. It became uneconomical for BERE with the Agronomy Institute we them. They now grow conventional Will more distillers start BARLEY 59°N, 3°W are reintroducing this historically 2 row barley for us, and we work to grow Bere? important grain grown for centuries with the Agronomy Institute in Orkney 2011 FARMS by illegal distillers as they developed to grow Bere (6 row). The Institute It is unlikely as most distillers focus uisge beatha, the forerunner of supports Bere as it is believed that on alcohol yield (litres of alcohol modern Single Malt Scotch. this varietal has huge potential for produced per ton of barley). We lose the future of food production. an average of 50 - 60 l/ton using Bere How is the 2011 edition Bere is a hardy grain, fast growing compared to some other conventional different from the and could be a food source in the barley grains such as Concerto. 2010 edition? face of accelerating climate change. The Agronomy Institute is the Scottish industry leader in Bere grain. The most apparent difference is the How much Bere barley do While they have worked with Arran length of maturation and the subtle you grow? distillers in the past, we now have ORKNEY changes that the additional years in an exclusive agreement to be the NORTHFIELD, BURRAY the cask have made to the balance As of 2021, only 1-2% of our total only distiller of their Bere barley in WESTERMILL, BURRAY of barley and wood and their effect barley needs are Bere. Scotland. Springbank continues to on the liquid. The barley for our 2011 Approximately 80 tonnes annually. work with Campbeltown-grown Bere edition was grown on Orkney in 2010 This is an incredibly small batch Barley in small quantities. TASTING NOTE and distilled in 2011 before being size which most Maltsters would matured by the shores of Loch Indaal reject. However, we are very lucky Will Bere Barley always for ten years. Our barley provenance to be working with Bairds Maltings be available? NOSE TASTE FINISH CHARACTER in Inverness who share our releases (Bere Barley, Organic and The nose opens with a On the palate, the delicate On the finish, the marine In our 2010 vintage, there experimental approach and relish Islay Barley) are generally bottled We’re now in a position to offer a bouquet of sunny floral nature of this whisky is freshness comes through. was a succulent peach at six to eight years old. In the 2010 the challenge of working with permanent Bere Barley release. aromas. Geraniums and evident with light hints of Salinity on the lips and a stiff note that set the tone of vintage, there was a succulent peach heritage varietals. However, each vintage is limited and orange blossom followed by chocolate, apricot jam and sea breeze note speak of the the dram. In this 2011, an note that set the tone of the dram. there have been years where the mint and chocolate limes. citrusy, herbal zephyrs. northern islands where the equally delightful apricot In the 2011, an equally delightful What yield do you get harvest has failed. This means that Next comes malted barley, Yet, the texture shows Bere is grown, and the ozone jam style holds the whisky apricot jam style holds the while there will always be a Bere a citrus tang and apricot jam. robustness in its viscosity and fruity character on the together. Both these from Bere barley? There is a creamy richness as it settles across the palate hint at the westerly notes come through in all dram together Barley release, the vintages of each on the nose; the combination tongue. As it does so, the location of the spirit’s birth Bruichladdich's eventually Yield is the measurement of how release will depend on the stocks that of malty, fruity, citrus and barley sugar opens up with and maturation. Barley sugar as the young green fruit much alcohol per tonne of barley is are available to us. floral notes wrapped in fresh chocolate lime and fudge. and green fruit come in on of the spirit ages into ripe extracted. Bruichladdich is a Victorian oak is beautifully balanced Dried banana chips, vanilla the palate and hold right to stoned fruit, but rarely with distillery and our yields are lower than and has tremendous depth and marshmallow. the end as the superb texture such poise and singularity. modern automated distilleries. of flavour. Apricot jam, gooseberry pulls everything together. There is something unique On average for our Scottish grown pudding and malted bread. A about the Bere spirit and barley we get approximately 400 litres host of flavours mingle and its tremendous depth of per tonne. For Bere it is between 320 combine to give depth and flavour that magnifies our delicacy to this dram. unpeated whisky's DNA and and 340 litres of alcohol per tonne. showcases its complexity. We are not interested in yield; we are Another remarkable only interested in flavour. ADAM HANNETT vintage and exploration of HEAD DISTILLER provenance and terroir that shows not all barley is equal..