Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie

I have had two bottles of this on my shelf over the last several years and drank many more drams out and about, so this entry is long overdue. N: Light, sweet, and eminently floral. This is unquestionably malt driven. Barley and granulated brown sugar with wisps of honey, buttery and oily macadamia, and floral orange. Looking for more perhaps isn’t worth it, whilst some menthol emerges so does a little grittiness verging on mustiness, but then again maybe it is as there is a growing presence of apricot and apple and a whisper of the sea. P: Gripping creaminess with a salivating hint of saltiness on the edges. Barely sugar and buttery crumbly biscuits warm from the oven are the unsurprising stars of the show with a supporting cast of crisp apple, grapes, and a tannic spice element. The more I roll this over the more I am convincing myself that there is a fresh summery red fruit thread running through this perhaps some influence from a red wine or sherry cask? F: Medium-long. This is a whisky that wants to stay with you, for a perhaps limited malt driven profile there is a transition from slightly tannic cereals to a mineralic and oh so very feint strawberry. (1) This was definitely overdue. (2) This is not what I remember drinking so many times before. (3) This whisky should be a classic. Classic Laddie is a very pure expression of excellent craftsmanship with nothing to hide behind. No gaudy caskings, no walls of smoke, no bombing from heavy handed port or sherry. This is, to me at least, a true expression of what good whisky is and the starting point where good whisky can be appreciated and understood. Here is a whisky you could share with a new convert or a seasoned veteran, mixed into a cocktail, added to a flight, or sunk into on its own. This is simply put: just excellent. Distiller whisky taste #269 [Pictured here with a chunk of Carnmenellis Granite from the Cornubian Batholith of peninsula southwest England. Around 300-275 million years ago at the end of a mountain building episode called the Variscan Orogeny there was local stretching of the crust around what is now SW England. Extension of this crust allowed huge volumes of granitic magma to ascend into the upper crust emplacing as five seperate plutons many kilometres in size.] Bruichladdich running scores Classic Laddie: 4/5 Black Art 10.1 29 y/o: 5/5 Port Charlotte 10: 4.5/5 Port Charlotte CC:01: 5/5

Continuing to review unreviewed bottles in my collection. Could be done by the end of this week, in theory. Clear pale gold color like Pantone 122. Fruity nose shows two apple elements (apple juice and baked apple pie with a touch of cinnamon), biscuits, vanilla, perhaps a whiff of nutmeg. Sweet on the palate, with an oily mouthfeel, honey, oaky vanilla, and light white pepper, which is amplified on the long finish, which concludes with a touch of tannic woodiness and dryness. Entering the bottle’s code on the Bruichladdich website reveals detailed information. This bottle is from a vatting of 79 casks, 4 vintages, 2 barley types, and 7 cask types (number of casks, year, barley type, Cask type): • 30, 2010, Scottish mainland organic, USA bourbon barrel 1st fill • 21, N/A, Scottish mainland, USA bourbon barrel 1st fill • 12, N/A, Scottish mainland, USA bourbon barrel 1st fill • 4, N/A, Scottish mainland, USA bourbon barrel hogshead (6 yrs), Spain sherry butt (3 yrs) • 4, 2010, Scottish mainland organic, France Rivesaltes sweet red & white hogshead 1st fill • 3, 2010, Scottish mainland organic, France Rhone red hogshead 1st fill • 2, N/A, Scottish mainland, Spain sherry butt (10 yrs), USA bourbon barrel (1 yr) • 2, 2010, Scottish mainland organic, Spain Ribera del Duero Hogshead 1st fill • 1, 2010, Scottish mainland organic, Spain Ribera del Duero Hogshead 2nd fill The Classic Laddie retails for about $55. Would I buy this again? Yes. This whisky is the epitome of artisanality and transparency in terms of its contents. It’s 50% ABV, far above normal whisky bottlings (aside from uncommon cask strengths). A pleasure to drink, and very good value. 4.0 on the Distiller scale. 50% ABV. Batch 18/018 (bottled 2018). Non-chill filtered. No added coloring. N.B.: All spirts tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

This whisky has finally clicked for me — and now I really get it. It took me a little while but after i was gifted a second bottle of this i finally started to understand thus whisky - maybe that says more about me than the whisky though..? Nose: Immediate cleanliness. Bright, sharp, almost sherbet-like. There’s a definite grape note — not sweet or ripe, more white or light green grape, fresh and crisp. The longer you sit with it, the more mineral it becomes. Salty, but not briny — more chalky and coastal than maritime. There’s oak, but it stays in the background, sitting around the edges rather than taking over. Palate: Straight in with salt. Clean, precise, and confident. That then moves into a gentle but noticeable ginger spice, followed by crisp green apple. The texture is excellent — rounded without being soft, lively without being sharp. Finish: The salt returns, then the spice comes back again, but this time it’s more oak-driven. It lingers calmly and fades out leaving a fresh, wet green apple note behind. Clean right to the end. Overall: This is a whisky built on spirit quality, not smoke or heavy cask influence. Unpeated Islay done with precision. Mineral, coastal, chalky, and incredibly clean. At 50% it makes total sense — everything is clear, focused, and alive. This bottle has taken time, but now that it’s clicked, it’s outstanding. A proper thinking whisky — and one I’m appreciating more than ever.

Super Whisky: Nachbestellen: ***** Nase: Aromenbouquet von süssem Malzzucker mit einem Hauch von Minze un deinem Duft frisch gepflückter Wildblumen wie Butterblume, Gänseblümchen, Myrte, Schlüsselblume und Kirschblüte. Nach fünf Minuten und ein paar Tropfen Quellwasser kommen fruchtige und zitrusartige Noten zum Vorschein. Geschmack: Fein, erfrischend und wunderbar ausgewogen zwischen süssen Eichen- und Malztönen. Eine Kombination aus reifen Früchten, braunem Zucker und süssem Malz. Er rauscht über die Zunge wie eine Meereswoge und hinterlässt ein angenehmes Prickeln. Nachklang: Im Abgang sind zunächst Noten von Kokosnuss zu erkennen, dann kommt der mineralische Charakter erneut durch, kombiniert mit der Süsse reifer Früchte. Zitronenmelisse und Malzzucker mit Anklängen von Minze und das lebhafte Aroma grüner Früchte.

I’d tried this in a Milwaukee restaurant many years ago but realized only recently I never wrote a note for it. Since I first tried it though, it has become a bottle I frequently have on hand. That this is Bruichladdich’s flagship offering speaks to its specialness as a distillery. The scent is coastal and floral in character, with enticing notes of peach colada, echinacea, lemon, and impressions of barley fields at dusk. The palate is lightly fruity, along the lines of citron and white peach, but interesting flavors of almond paste and toasty espresso are in the mix as well. The finish is toasty, fruity, and spiritous, with a citrus appeal at the end. A peach pit aftertaste lingers. Bruichladdich makes a fantastic choice crafting their scotch to 100 proof.

Je dois avouer que jetais pas sur au debut. Si la bouteille vient d'Islay, elle n'a rien des caractéristiques de l'ile. Tenez vous le pour dit; ce n'est pas fumé, pas tourbé. Une fois ce deuil fait, on realise rapidement que ce que la bouteille perd en caractéristiques du terroir, elle le regagne avec l'intensité du fruit. Du fruit caramélisé plein la gueule (sans la texture qui s'y approche malheureusement); des poires et des pommes confites, miel, fleurs blanches. Cest très gourmand avec des notes de gateau des anges. Jai appris aujourd'hui que la batch change chaque année en fonction du grain et du tonneau; ca a beau n'etre ni fumé ni tourbé, je vais revisiter ce beau scotch!