I haven’t written a ton about Bruichladdich, but I have drunk a lot of Bruichladdich, so I decided to cure that by kicking off a 6-part review series starting with their flagship classic: Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie. And despite what some $2,000+ per class whiskey sommeliers might say, even though this whisky hails from Islay it is unpeated… no kidding. It says so right on the bottle.
Bruichladdich does make peated whisky and we’ll dig into the most recent Port Charlotte and Octomore releases next week, but what achieved them some of their early fame is the distinct lack of peat in the core releases brazenly displaying their name. Caol Ila releases some un-peated limited editions, but outside of that the only other distillery on Islay that routinely makes an unpeated Scotch is Bunnahabhain. Who is also stunning in their own right.
And speaking of Bruichladdich, you should check out the Water of Life documentary. You might see a familiar face in it…
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Region: Islay, Scotland
Distiller: Bruichladdich
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon (1st & 2nd fill), ex-Wine (Sauternes, Pauillac, Sherry, Madeira, Rivesaltes)
Age: 6 Years
ABV: 50%
Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Batch: 13/278
Price: $50
Tasting Notes
EYE
Light caramel
NOSE
Caramel, honey, orchard fruit, baking spice, tropical fruit, malty graham and vanilla.
PALATE
Malty graham, orchard fruit, baking spice, vanilla, honey, touch farmy and oaky.
FINISH
Medium -> Fruit, graham, vanilla, oak and char.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Great sense of balance, medium-full body and a soft warm feel.
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie – Overall
Aroma has a warm, fruity, malty profile with a strong layer of decadent dessert/pastry notes that lend some buttercream frosting characteristics making it a a loverly fun aroma; Palate comes through similarly to the aroma but with more apples and more depth to the malty notes; Finish is warm and fruity fading to oaky char.
This is just a fun whisky. While it may not be a consistent whisky, because it’s always changing its cask source, it is consistently good.
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie – Final Thoughts and Score
Very tasty, easy and full of pleasant notes that slowly open and unfold. It gets more honied as it opens and with some water the malty notes grow but that sweetness always stays heavy and pleasant. My favorite thing about this particular bottling though are the waxy lemon notes that slowly arise and help build the warm fruity profile that under pins everything from aroma to finish.
If you’re looking for a solid, unpeated, scotch that brings subtlety and complexity to the table, without being a whisky you need to stop and think about, then I can’t recommend the Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie enough. It’s just a solid anytime drinker and makes a hell of cocktail to boot.
SCORE: 3.5/5
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Review $50
Summary
Fruity, malty, sweet and a tad earthy, this is a whisky that always delivers. It’s the kind of whisky that can, and has, easily converted folks into Scotch drinkers.
Overall
3.5- Nose (3.5)
- Palate (3.5)
- Finish (3.5)
- BBF (3.5)
User Review
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