Kane Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Folks, is anyone here intimate with the Black Art, ideally multiple releases for comparison purposes? The reviews & opinions out there are quite inconsistent, as they always are with expensive whisky. I am a big fan of Bruichladdich's work in general, and I enjoy the inherent quirkiness going on even in their basic offerings like the Laddie 10. I have the opportunity to buy some of the earlier Black Art releases at a reasonable price now, but only if they're worth the experience and loss of liver function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 On 8/9/2017 at 6:45 AM, Kane said: Folks, is anyone here intimate with the Black Art, ideally multiple releases for comparison purposes? The reviews & opinions out there are quite inconsistent, as they always are with expensive whisky. I am a big fan of Bruichladdich's work in general, and I enjoy the inherent quirkiness going on even in their basic offerings like the Laddie 10. I have the opportunity to buy some of the earlier Black Art releases at a reasonable price now, but only if they're worth the experience and loss of liver function. Talk about your ultimate mystery whisky! I don't think Jim Ewan has ever said what casks made them up. Heck, maybe even he doesn't know... I have had a couple of different ones over the years (3 for sure and maybe 2) but nothing recent enough to have a good recollection. The thing I remember most is that while they were interesting and enjoyable neither made me want to seek out more given their relatively high cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Just now, tanstaafl2 said: Talk about your ultimate mystery whisky! I don't think Jim Ewan has ever said what casks made them up. Heck, maybe even he doesn't know... I have had a couple of different ones over the years (3 for sure and maybe 2) but nothing recent enough to have a good recollection. The thing I remember most is that while they were interesting and enjoyable neither made me want to seek out more given their relatively high cost. I should say I have tried them. I have never bought one for myself as the samples I tasted did not inspire me to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted August 10, 2017 Author Share Posted August 10, 2017 That's already very useful input, $300+ is a lot for smth less than stellar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 These were with it when they came out many years ago. Not so much worth the buy in nowadays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 I have never tried BA because I like old Bruichladdich spirit just fine without all the wood treatments. 20ish year old Bruichladdich from refill casks is a fine thing, exhibiting wonderful subtle tropical fruit notes and briny butterscotch. I will take a $100 bottle of that from Signatory well before I drop $300+ on whisky I would have preferred before it got ACEd. I passed when BA was $185, and I will pass at the drastically increased prices of today. But that is my uninformed curmudgeonly opinion, not one formed of wisdom and experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 So I sampled 2, 4 and the brand new 5 the other day: - 5 was an extremely good but very traditional sherry-heavy whisky. There are so many other excellent sherry dominant whiskies at sane prices. Pass. - 4 was really interesting and my favorite of the bunch. It had the Bruichladdich surprise factor that I was looking for, with a weird but enjoyable wine-like quality to it. - 2 took it too far with the weirdness, and was hardly recognizable as Scotch A nice little curiosity, but I wouldn't pay the rare & old release premium for it. So 4 is actually excellent, and it is still the most widely available. I still find it difficult to pay the cash for it, but may make an impulse purchase when visiting a big box on a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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