Review #3 - Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie
Bruichladdich's entry level (or is it?) malt - generally available, and at a reasonable value, especially given the current day whisky climate of absurdly inflated prices and "varying" quality. This bottle gets many good reviews, and is the gateway for many people into unpeated Islay whisky.
One of our favorite distilleries currently, Bruichladdich has a wide array of releases each year, many of them special editions and very rare, and many going for quite a lot of money (more on that later). And yet, these Hebridean Distillers are still probably best known for their core releases, The Classic Laddie and the Port Charlotte 10 Year, which they present at 50% ABV, with no chill filtration or added coloring, which is always refreshing.
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie
Scotland/Islay - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 57 (2023)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 50%
Details: Un-chill filtered and no color added; bottle code: L164189 20/182
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 5 months; bottles at 80%, 70%, and 50% fill level at times of review. Tasted neat in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Quite rich and hopping out of the glass, this shows some signs of bourbon aging, with sweeter sugars and caramels, a decent amount of vanilla or vanilla extract, and some rounded wood notes. Tiny bit of a meaty or savory note and even a hint of leather, and a touch of wood smoke or char later on, maybe even sawdust. When the fruits arrive, they're in the form of orange, sometimes a bit of dark dried fruits like fig and prune, or even a blackberry. Rounding it all off is some baking spice, light nutmeg, and a little bit of a young barley spirit note.
Palate: With a medium thickness mouthfeel, along with a noticeable warmth and coziness, this starts with a lighter complexion, sweet lemon and orange citrus, and some white grape and quite a lot of vanilla. Quite a solid spirit, if a bit shiny, but good character of barrel char and a hint of savory notes again, such as dried meat or dry rub barbecue. Butterscotch comes in, aided by those baking spices once more, nutmeg and just a sprinkling of pepper. The bottle in the third tasting must have come from a batch with a good proportion of first fill bourbon casks; decent oak influence, even a touch of anise.
Finish: The finish here is medium length, and those oak notes on the palate, along with some orange fruit and vanilla, come through and linger. That oak is rich, not a lot of a tannin but just rich, and it comes along with bread rolls, some barley sugar, wood sugars, and even a hint of a tart strawberry or raspberry with the dying breath.
Final Note: Always a solid malt, this is a great way to get started with unpeated Islay whiskies. Sure, it can be tempting to chase Bruichladdich's interesting releases like Octomore and Black Art, which on their day can be incredible, but do also vary by batch (and cost an arm and a leg); sometimes, though, with a hard-earned paycheck on the line, we want to go with strong, well-presented core releases like The Classic Laddie, always a good bet for a good price.
Our Average Rating: 7.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.28
