Bruichladdich 10 Year Old The Laddie Ten

As I run out of time before I can no longer post to Connosr, I have been getting to a number of reviews I’ve meant to do for a very long time. On April 14 I prepared tasting notes for 5 Bruichladdich expressions, and this one is number 4.

In the middle of the last decade the Whisky industry was “running out of numbers”. There was a big push to extol the virtues of NAS whisky (along with a backlash from whisky nerds) and many age stated whiskies became rare or extinct. So it was the The Laddie 10 YO. But then a few years later, the distillery, to much fanfare, released a 2.0 version of the 10, and bumped up the ABV to 50%. Sadly, it has long-since cleared the shelves once more.

I was lucky to get a sample of this from @Cricklewood a few years back. He opened his bottle in March 2019, and it was not gassed before the sample was poured. I received it in August of that year. How will it compare to the original post-revival 10 YO?

This expression is reviewed in my usual manner in a standard Glencairn, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting.

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Nose: 21/25

Sweet and syrupy on first impression. Very ripe fruit. Some dark dried fruit (prunes?).

Taste: 21.5/25

Sweet arrival. Slightly spirity. Fruity but not overwhelmingly so. Carries the Bruichladdich signature very well. Water washes out the flavours a bit. (20.5/25)

Finish: 21/25

Slightly astringent finish, but unremarkable.

Balance: 22/25

Fairly balanced, but overall a bit on the sweet, almost cloying side.

Score: Neat - 85.5 /100 With Water: 84.5/100

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Compared to the original 10, the nose of the second edition is sweeter and more syrupy. Similarly the palate is much sweeter in the second edition. The original 10 takes water well but the second edition does not do well with it. Both have the classic Bruichladdich signature.

Having tasted four solid Bruichladdich expressions at the same sitting, it was almost mandatory that I pour all the contents into a single glass and see what I get.

On the nose, fruits, some spices, a hint of syrup. On the palate, very full flavoured., fruity and peppery. This is very much a good marriage of the sum of its parts. I guess this is because they all have at their core a very solid, high quality, distinctive Bruichladdich distillate.

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Thank you @cricklewood for helping me to taste what is now a piece of history, and record my review here for posterity.

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