Bruichladdich Islay Barley is the distillery's most committed expression of terroir — the idea that where barley is grown affects the character of the whisky. Every grain of barley is grown on Islay itself, by named farms whose fields are identified on the bottle. The 2013 vintage uses barley from multiple Islay farms, and the whisky is unpeated, allowing the barley and the distillation to speak without the masking effect of peat smoke.
The concept is radical in Scotch whisky, where barley is typically sourced for consistency rather than provenance. Bruichladdich's commitment to traceability — from field to bottle — gives the Islay Barley releases a transparency that most distilleries cannot or will not offer. Whether the terroir is genuinely detectable in the glass is debatable, but the quality of the whisky is not.
Bruichladdich Islay Barley is one of the most intellectually engaging whiskies in Scotland. The terroir question aside, it is a well-made, characterful Islay single malt that showcases the distillery's clean, bright, maritime house style at an honest 50%. For drinkers interested in the relationship between grain, place and whisky, Islay Barley is essential tasting. For everyone else, it is simply a very good unpeated Islay malt.
