Bruichladdich X4 +1 Deliverance – Fèis Ìle 2008

Bruichladdich X4 +1 Deliverance – The Perilous Spirit Reborn

Bruichladdich X4 +1 Deliverance is one of the rarest and most daring experiments ever released by the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay — a quadruple-distilled spirit limited to just 800 bottles, and a true collector’s prize.

The concept behind the X4 line came from legendary former Master Distiller Jim McEwan, who drew inspiration from a 1695 account by the Hebridean travel writer Martin Martin. Martin described an ancient island spirit called usquebaugh-baul — “perilous whisky” — distilled four times and so ferociously potent that local lore warned “two drops could cause blindness, and three could stop a heart.” Three centuries later, McEwan and the Bruichladdich team resurrected the idea, pushing their Victorian stills to the limit to create the most heavily distilled spirit in Scotland.

Distilled on 25 March 2007 and released in May 2008 for the Fèis Ìle Islay festival, Deliverance spent one year maturing in ex-bourbon wood, drawn from a single cask — Cask #069. Because it was bottled under three years of age, it cannot legally be called Scotch whisky — which only adds to its outlaw charm. What’s in the bottle is pure, unapologetic spirit: quadruple distillation plus one year of oak (“X4+1”), bottled at a formidable 65.4% ABV in an 800-bottle run of 50cl flasks.

The quadruple distillation produces a spirit of extraordinary purity and intensity — clean, powerful and vibrant, with sweet barley, orchard fruit and citrus brightness lifted by gentle vanilla from its brief slumber in bourbon oak, all delivered at a strength that demands respect.

Profile:

Distillation Date: 25 March 2007

Release Date: May 2008 (Fèis Ìle / Islay Festival)

Age: “1 year, ex-bourbon casks”

Cask:Single cask #069

ABV:65.4%

Outturn:800 bottles (50cl)

Type: Quadruple-distilled young spirit (not legally Scotch whisky)