Bruichladdich Releases Greener Still 15 Year Old
Bruichladdich Distillery has unveiled Greener Still, a 15-year-old single malt Scotch whisky created to mark 25 years since the Hebridean distillery’s resurrection – and to shine a spotlight on environmental and social sustainability in Scotch whisky.
Completing the trio of special-edition whiskies released to celebrate the 25th anniversary, Bruichladdich Greener Still pays homage to an infamous single malt series in the distillery’s recent history.
The limited-edition joins Bruichladdich’s iconic Still Series: Blacker Still, Redder Still and Golder Still – renowned for their striking, opaque, colour-coded bottles – which between 2006 and 2008 showcased the distillery’s experimental approach to cask maturation. While its predecessors focused on sherry, Bordeaux and bourbon influence, Bruichladdich Greener Still shifts the emphasis from cask to field, celebrating greener growing and distilling.
Distilled from a combination of Organic, Biodynamic and Bere barley, Bruichladdich Greener Still is designed to express both flavor and farming philosophy in the glass. Each cereal plays a distinct role:
- Organic barley: Grown on the Scottish mainland without artificial inputs.
- Biodynamic barley: Sourced from carbon-positive Yatesbury House Farm in Wiltshire, England. This marks Bruichladdich’s only exception to its 100% Scottish barley rule.
- Bere barley: An ancient, genetically diverse variety cultivated on Orkney in partnership with the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Agronomy Institute.
As a Victorian distillery that was not “born green”, Bruichladdich has spent the past two decades trialling ways to reduce its impact, from regenerative agriculture, experimenting with anaerobic digestion and low-carbon biofuels, to exploring renewable heating solutions such as Green Flame – with the ambition to decarbonise distilling operations entirely.
Bruichladdich Greener Still has been matured for its entire 15-year maturation life in first-fill bourbon barrels, resting solely at the distillery on Islay. Like all Bruichladdich single malt whiskies, it is unpeated. The whisky is bottled at 51.6% ABV, un-chill filtered and with no added colour.
The distillery’s Master Blender, Adam Hannett, said, “Bruichladdich Greener Still is a barley-forward whisky in every sense. The Organic, Biodynamic and Bere barley parcels each bring something different – texture, spice, fruit and this incredible malt character that runs right through the dram.
“The bourbon casks frame that complexity without ever overpowering it. You get soft florals on the nose, ripe orchard fruit and honeyed sweetness on the palate, and this effortless, velvety finish with a lick of vanilla and coastal freshness. It’s a whisky of precision and elegance, revealing profound depth the longer you sit with it.”
Bruichladdich Greener Still is the final special-edition bottling released to mark the distillery’s 25th anniversary, joining Bruichladdich Old Skool and Bruichladdich Yellow Submarine III which were released earlier this year.
Greener Still 15 Year Old is now available in the US for $160 a bottle.
