Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Review

The glass can be half empty or half full…As long as there’s whisky in it.

This is a mantra I live by, as I feel there really isn’t a time when a small dram of the good stuff isn’t a good idea; except maybe with your breakfast but even then there can be exceptions.

I’d also argue that there can be a special case made for the above, when the whisky in question is a single malt scotch whisky.

Introducing Bruichladdich’s The Classic Laddie…

The Classic Laddie is distilled on the beautiful Scottish Island of Islay, and encompasses Bruichladdich’s three essential philosophies;

• The Land
• The People
• Raw Ingredients

But don’t for a second let yourself believe that labelling a whisky’s roots, in this case Islay, has anything to do with its taste because the chappers at Bruichladdich wouldn’t let you! The Laddies is the only distillery on Islay that doesn’t dry its malt using peat. It is in fact, the exception. 

This brilliant whisky is unpeated, and is made using the distillery’s original Victorian Machinery, which has allowed an unparalleled legacy of craft distilling to trickle down through the generations of men who make this sophisticated Islay dram. These age-old methods coax the spirit into being and due to them working so well, they continue, completely unchanged.

The spirit is trickle distilled and matured on the shores of Loch Indaal – a bloody lovely setting in which to age.

Nose

We open with barley notes before moving into the scent of freshly cut wild flowers. The fragrance is extremely fresh and as the seconds go by, you pick up aromas of the sea, which swiftly remind you of where this Whisky was distilled. With the addition of a little water, tangy and zesty fruits can also be picked up.

Palate

At first you get that wonderful blend of barley and oak, before the fruits of distillation drift in on an Atlantic breeze. A combination of ripe green fruit, brown sugar and sweet malt bring closure, which is a wonderful reminder that not all single malts are the same.

Finish

The finish you get is something marvellous; floral and elegant, this goes down the hatch smoothly but leaves the taste of wanting more.

So yes chaps, if you are looking for a new tipples at any time of the day (you do you old boy), may we recommend one of the newest additions to the Dapper Chapper bar, Bruichladdich’s The Classic Laddie. Oh, it’s ever so bonnie.