the story of Rosebank is one of abandonment and loss, then Bruichladdich's is one of whisky redemption. Through the '80s and '90s, it was the unwanted stepchild of absentee owners. Only fitfully in production, it was finally shuttered in 1994. Six years later, however, a group of investors, many from the island itself, bought the distillery, the name and, most important, the impressive stock of old casks. Fronted by ebullient whisky maestro Jim McEwan, formally of Bowmore, they set about bringing the operation back to life. Now, it will be several years before we know what sort of new whisky McEwan is making, but in the meantime he has been mining the collection of old whisky in the cellar and bottling the most impressive examples. Old Bourbon casks give the XVII a light, delicate, sweet and spicy flavor. It's less peaty than many Islay malts, at least at first. But if you are patient and sip on it slowly, the hallmark Islay flavors of peat and smoke and brine gradually, and most appealingly, emerge. A wonderfully subtle, sophisticated Islay malt.