Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2013
Official Limited Release | 50% ABV
A sucker for a good story
In his book A Sense of Place, Dave Broom explores how – you guessed it, place – contributes to the enjoyment and culture of Scotch whisky.
Among other features, Broom discusses how one of Scotland’s original native species of barley – bere – was once the predominant variety but has long since fallen out of favour. Broom quotes Dr. Peter Martin of the University of Highlands and Islands Orkney Agronomy Institute on the still-unclear origins of bere in Scotland. “We don’t know how old bere is … there’s a theory that it might have been brought here in Viking times, or been already in situ when they arrived – the Scottish strains of bere are different to those of Scandinavia.”
Either way, this particular strain of barley has been in bonnie Scotland for a long time, and as Broom continues, is known as a landrace strain, that is, a genetically diverse variant that over time adapts to its environment to develop particular characteristics. Broom writes; “Along with small oat and Shetland cabbage, bere is one of the oldest agricultural plants growing in Scotland.”
Whisky in Scotland, of course, was once made by farmers and as Broom continues; “bere helped them pay rent, raise spirits, inspire poetry and song, gave them their morning skailk. Bere kept them on the land.” Yet by the 20th century bere had fallen out of fashion, as it wasn’t fit for modern farming practices or yield expectations. “It grows tall, gets knocked down by high winds and is hard to combine,” Broom explains. The only bere now grown in Scotland is found on Orkney, which is actually where the bere for today’s bottle of Bruichladdich came from.
Perhaps the main technical difference between bere and other strains of barley more commonly used in whisky production (such as Concerto or Belgravia) is that bere is a six-row grain while more common strains are two-row. Why does this matter? Well it turns out that distillers like barley strains with a large grain size that easily germinates, and want a grain that is easily malted, hence why two-row barley (with its more consistent grain size) is preferred to six-row barley. Modern two-row varieties provide much higher yields while also giving much higher alcohol yields due to the fact that they have lower protein content than six-row, which means they contain more starch: more starch = more starch converted into sugar for fermentation = more delicious spirit going into casks for us.
Although I’m just an average punter I do enjoy sometimes taking a deep dive into the more technical aspects of this thing we all love, be it differences in barley strains, still shape, lyne arm angles, or relative salt content of different peat locations. But, as is obvious, I’m just an intruder in the lab, pretending to play scientist by stealing a lab coat and wearing it with my trainers. Tyree is our real in-house expert, and his actual deep dive into the related topics of provenance and phenols is well worth your time, and his exploration of these themes via some Octomore bottlings address much about Bruichladdich’s USP. Fascinating all around.
As much as I find the science compelling, Broom’s account of the history of bere in Scotland tends towards the romantic – and I’ll confess that I’m a sucker for a good story to go with my whisky. Neolithic native grain that was once the staple of people who long ago lived in the glens, fields and countryside of the places where I now walk, hike, and explore in the natural landscape of my lovely adopted country. Accounts like this do resonate with me in ways that I feel allow me to connect just that much more with the deep roots of this liquid in this place. As I was describing recently to a Scottish friend who isn’t into whisky, it’s so quintessentially Scottish: it’s rugged, gorgeous, stunning… and kinda kicks your ass.
I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Review
Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2013, Bottled 2023, 80% first fill bourbon, 20% second fill Pauillac wine casks, 50% ABV
£95 (£85 paid) sold out
Like Hamish in his review of the 2012 Bere Barley, I’ve come relatively late to Bruichladdich. When I went to Islay it was always somewhere peated – Caol Ila, Kilchoman, or Ardbeg, usually – and when I didn’t want peat I could always go to my beloved Bunnahabhain. I felt I had covered what Islay had to offer.
Bruichladdich was on my radar, of course, and especially so when the film The Water of Life came out, several years ago now. The story of Scotch whisky as told through Bruichladdich’s resurrection – and Jim McEwan as the best ambassador for Islay whisky – was compelling. Yet I still held off on purchasing a bottle until last year. What made me take the plunge?
Something as simple as an offer of the Classic Laddie for £35 at my local shop. All integrity boxes ticked and 50% ABV? I’ll take a punt on that, I said. And I wasn’t sorry – that bottle got rinsed quicker than any other bottle I had last year. It was so different from everything else in my cabinet that I kept coming back to it: some days it was simple yet solid, other days it seemed super complex and interesting for its young age.
I started looking at which one in their range I should try next. Dougie’s review of the 2014 Islay Barley convinced me to go for it, which I did. But after talking with a friend who's a big Bruichladdich fan, he suggested going for the Bere Barley. It wasn’t cheap - £96 is the current price near me. However, I had a £10 voucher for a well-known shop here in the Central Belt, which brought it down to £85, and as I already had the Islay Barley, I thought that the Bere would make for a good comparison, and I started a bit of reading about what exactly was different about bere.
For comparison, I’m sipping this 2013 Bere Barley alongside the 2014 Islay Barley, as I’m hoping this will allow me to see what difference the bere brings. The distillery website helpfully tells us that this batch is made up of 80% first fill bourbon casks and 20% second fill Pauillac wine (a type of Cabernet Sauvignon) casks On we go…
Nose
The Islay Barley comes across with grassy perfume, floral, light green apples, lightly malty, and specifically grainy – barley dust and/or wet barley. And “agricultural”: I realise some folks label the Bruichladdich butyric quality as “baby sick,” but it’s never quite come across that way to me. It’s more open farmyard to me, with everything that entails. Which is perhaps not a million miles away from baby sick. Bright. Nice.
The Bere Barley immediately smells heftier than the Islay Barley: richer, weightier, and more characterful. Fruits are here but they’re more stewed than sharp and light – boiled peaches rather than sharp apples. The fruits are more warming here as well. There’s a hint of oak here that I didn’t really get in the Islay Barley, and the malty/grainy quality is more along the lines of the official tasting notes: less wet barley grain and a more rounded porridge quality.
Palate
The Islay Barley opens with sharp citric fruits (green apples, lemons), and the maltiness carries through to the palate: wet barley in a malt barn alongside some more green notes and the agricultural notes again. Much saltier on the palate than the nose would suggest. Again, a brightness to this but also good texture and substantial. Nice lingering finish.
The Bere Barley opens with a more rounded arrival than the sharper Islay Barley: stewed fruits again, maltiness as booze-soaked porridge, and gentle saltiness. Qualities of sweet and savoury at the same time that differentiates it from the Islay Barley. Some honey in the background. Great texture and mouthfeel: thick cereal viscosity, notably more palate-coating than the already pleasant mouthfeel of the Islay Barley. Great finish: coating, lingering, and on the savoury side. Delicious.
The Dregs
Both of these are great whiskies. Dougie’s and Hamish’s reviews demonstrate the quality on display here from Bruichladdich, and this 2013 Bere Barley continues this theme in a delicious and satisfying way. I’m glad I have both of these, as they’re both great whiskies. But, if forced to choose, I would say that the Bere Barley is definitely a notch more interesting and characterful than the Islay Barley.
The flavour combinations, texture, and yes I’ll confess, the story behind it, makes the Bere Barley stand out for me. It’s not cheap, and it pushes up against the line for value. If I hadn’t got this for a bit less than retail, I’m not sure I’d have taken the plunge for it. But, now that I have, I’m quite glad I did; this is such a unique and interesting bottle to have in my collection and it’s so different from everything else I have that I’ve been returning to it regularly (yet carefully rationing it, too).
It’s certainly gotten me much more interested in Bruichladdich after neglecting it for so long. If you like Bruichladdich, you’ll like this. If you like the Classic Laddie, you’ll like this. I certainly do. And I don’t mind the story that goes along with it, either.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DD