Bruichladdich 10 Year Old The Laddie Ten

The decision to mothball Connosr has spurred me to try to get in a few more long-planned reviews while I still can. On April 14 I recorded tasting notes for 5 Bruichladdichs that I’ve had on hand for a very long time (one is a sample). This one is number three.

Not long after the revival of the Bruichladdich distillery and the early releases like the Laddie Classic, the first 10 YO age-stated expression was released. It was a hit. Of course, I purchased a bottle (in 2012), but never got around to opening it. In 2014, we heard that the distillery did not have enough stocks to continue the 10 YO, and in a fit of FORO I bought another bottle. That is the bottle I (finally) opened (in 2018). It is currently about half full and gassed after each pour.

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.

Nose: 21.5/25

Dry (less sweet) on first impression. Some brightness with time. Green apple. There is a dustiness to it. Faint baking spices. Water makes the nose sweeter and fruitier, with a hint of caramel. (22/25)

Taste: 21.5/25

Sweet arrival. Rich. Spicy. Slightly effervescent. Some pepper in the development. Slight hint of menthol. Water adds to the spice level of the palate. (22/25)

Finish: 22/25

Peppery spicy finish.

Balance: 22/25

Fairly balanced. Overall not too complex, but carries the Bruichladdich signature clearly.

Score: Neat - 87 /100 With Water: 88 /100

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.

Typical of many of the early Bruichladdich releases, this is a solid whisky. I would be happy to accept this if offered at a party, and I’m glad I have a spare put away for another day or for my grandchildren. I hope they will one day sip this spirit while reading these notes in the eternal archive that is the internet.

I'm trying to work through some samples these days, as they've really accumulated. It's tough work, but I'm nothing if not driven. This is a sample of the (sadly) discontinued Laddie Ten from Bruichladdich. The sample was graciously provided by @Nozinan and the bottle was opened in July 2018, was gassed, and was 2/3 full when the sample was poured on Dec 2, 2018.

Information about the casks used varies online. Bruichladdich's site only mentions "American and European Oak Casks", and the consensus seems to indicate an 85/15 split between ex-bourbon and first fill sherry casks. But that could be wrong. I really don't know.

Tasting notes

• Nose (undiluted): floral at first, lemon, brine, ginger, pear, vanilla, light brown sugar. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be unpeated, but I definitely get some very light smoke
• Palate (undiluted): wonderful rich texture, sweet malt notes, briny, toffee, citrus
• Finish: medium length, toasted oak, pears, light baking spices (nutmeg and cinnamon), milk chocolate, a bit more brine, and a hint of smoke or maybe barrel char. Delightful.

The nose just keeps developing with time. There are some sherry notes in here (dates, red grapes), but they don’t dominate. I can still taste the malt and the unmistakable Bruichladdich nutty/barley character.

With water, there are more fruity sherry notes popping out on the nose, and the texture becomes very creamy, with some sweet grape flavours as well. The oak becomes a bit more prominent on the finish. Delectable either way. This whisky is a beautiful example of balance. There is a little sweet, dark sherry character, but it doesn’t dominate the malt. There’s nuttiness, but not at the expense of the lighter fruits and oak. If I could find a bottle, I would buy it no questions asked. As silly as it may seem, this is a whisky I want to drink outside in the summer time. I feel the same way about The Classic Laddie, but this one is better and more complex to my taste buds.

The label proclaims that "The first 10 years are the toughest." Indeed. For the new owners of the distillery, their first ten years must have seemed interminable: awaiting the release of their own maturing stock; attempting to balance the books by selling new make spirit and the backlog of acquired whisky through various marketing schemes (hit and miss), and building new brand allegiance. The Laddie Ten is a celebration of that long wait. But I have to wonder if two more "tough" years would have smoothed out some of the rough edges in this malt.

Nose: Decidedly coastal with salt, barley and fennel up front. Some cigar box notes and a bit of peat in the background (peat from the water, not from the malt which is unpeated).

Palate: Oily but light. A tingling delivery of barley, spices and a herbal bitterness. The barley sweetness is held in check. Oak kicks in mid-palate and becomes a bit too dominant. Chewy. A bit hot.

Finish: Quite long with spice and oak tannins leading the way out.

Kicking off my first Connosr Review with this fine Islay specimen.

Nose: Fresh but delicate. Syrupy, pine, light briny note, honey, vanilla and pancakes! Icing sugar (on a freshly baked cake) Floral (wild, meadow flowers). I am amazed by the complexity and ever changing layers of the nose. Lots of fruits: peaches, melon and overripe bananas. Always present a complex fruit hybrid, that combines all the mentioned ones, with lots of unidentifiable ones. Let's just call it the Bruichladdich fruit. Most dominant are the citrus notes. McEwan often mentions these as a result of the maturation by the sea, and strangely it does very often go along with the saltiness.

Palate: Creamy/oily and full. Citrus, vegetal, vanilla, honey. Spicy oak, huge malt, bread, butter biscuit. There is almost always a sea salt flavour, but never on it's own, it kind of binds in with all the other notes.

Finish: Long, malty, bitter-sweet. Cereal, earthy mineral peat.

Yes, I also found some peat. It was always intriguing to read about the different theories on the peatyness of this dram. My favourite is the one where supposedly 2 barrels of Port Charlotte were mistakenly added to the vatting. I just love this stuff, and if its just not a whisky tasting day, even just smelling it out of the bottle can really satisfy. Just to bad that it is almost extinct and the new core-range just can't live up to it. Hopefully one day!

So the Laddie Ten is no longer in heavy production, and that’s sad. With dwindling stock and some technical problems at the distillery earlier this year, availability for this one is set to get thinner and thinner. Now that my current bottle is all gone, it’s time to go scour the city for more. If you’re a fan of this one and you can still find it in stores, I recommend buying it. Even if you don’t drink it now, this is a good one to have on the backburner. Where I live there are only a few stores left that still carry it.

Nose: Quite a fresh, clean barley note comes through first. Light honey, hay, ginger, corn flakes, lemon lozenges, sponge cake, butter, vanilla, ocean air, smoke, and something vegetal.

Palate: Light mouthfeel, with a salty, tangy arrival. Rich, lush barley, lemon tart, lemon meringue pie. The honey has a fun interplay with the citrus, and there’s a great balance between the sweet and the bitter.

Finish: The barley keeps on giving. Corn Flakes, honey, butter and cream, white pepper, ginger, mustard, anise, salt, oak, cookie batter, lemon tart, fresh peaches, a rather indistinguishable vegetal note, and light smoke. The Oloroso influence also begins to shine through here, with subtle berry and red fruit notes.

While I do love it, I’ll happily admit that the Laddie Ten is not the most accessible ten year old. It’s bolder, more complex, and more challenging than most whiskies within its age bracket. But, after you spend some time with it, you’ll find there’s much to like. There’s the bitter/sweet interplay, the orchard-fresh quality of the citrus and peach notes, the unique vegetal flavour, and finally the savory barley that Bruichladdich is known for. In spite of the universal praise the brand gets for its younger expressions, I feel a solid ten years has done this some favours. It’s still young, but it doesn’t taste too young or sharp like some of their releases do. It’s distinctive and delicious. Very recommended.

Soft and savory at first sniff, with notes of vanilla and apricot. This gives way to something sharper -- brine and spice -- calling to mind a nice teriyaki glaze. This whisky has a wonderfully creamy mouthfeel -- perhaps its best quality -- and the smooth brown sugar flavor gradually heats up to spicy nutmeg. The finish is long and warming.

All that said, I was a little disappointed. There's something odd and a little off in the nose for me, maybe it's the saltiness, which I'm more familiar with as an accompaniment to peat. Without the peat to brace it, I find that the brine clashes a bit with the fruit. Glad I tried it; but I probably won't be buying another bottle.

Bruichladdich The Laddie 10, the first ten year old to be wholly distilled and matured following the distillery's re-opening in 2001.

I have really enjoyed some of the releases in recent years by Bruichladdich, created from the remaining warehouse stocks and stocks that the new owners were fortunate to purchase back from many of the independent bottlers. However there is something so right about the new spirit that just seems cleaner, richer and and in a sense more distinctly Bruichladdich.

This is my go to level entry dram

Nose: Initial scent for me is a light sweetness that melds into a lemony citrus (every time i smell this i get images of lemon marshmallow slice that mum used to make for me as a kid). The nose then builds into a wave of strong salty brine with the lightest touch of peat.

Leaving it in the glass for about 5 minutes i find that the brine retreats from being so strong on the backend and is replaced with some richer sweeter notes, baked apples, honey and malt. (22)

Palate: The first flavour that hits me is citrus, lemon/lime mixed with a very subtle peat. This then transforms, flowing into a bit of a sweetness (think lemon sherbert) and then spice, oak wood, cloves. In amongst this you get a hint of the malt/barley that was noticed in the nose. (22)

Finish: For a ten year old this finish is fantastic, its long and flows on from the palate. The spices found in the palate stay on for a good length and mixed in with this the salty brine returns to coat the bottom of my cheeks. With this whisky what i really love is the mouth feel. It is so oily at first and then when you kind of chew on it you get this lovely buttery/creamy feel to it. (23)

Balance: This is a really well balanced whisky. The brine, barley and citrus all work really well together and nothing overpowers the other. (23)

Final Score 90

The tin and bottle are loud and proud. They scream "look at me" with stylised teal coloured packaging and design.

I was a little unsure of this bottle but my misgivings were misplaced. This is delightful and its self confidence is not misplaced.

On the nose you get salty sea air, sweet honey and peaty vegetation.

By adding a tiny drop of water it opens up and releases cut hay and some light floral notes.

On the palate you can tell it is a youngish Whisky. There is a rawness which shows its 10 years young but not is a bad way. It has a brash confidence. It is creamy, buttery and oily with sea salt, honey, citrus and malt. The finish is sweet and malty.

Good value for money.

It took a lot of dedication and hard work but they finally got there. After having to work miracles with the existing, partly sub-par, stock left by the owners Jim Beam, these brave new owners have now come full circle for the first time with their "own" inaugural Ten year old: The Laddie Ten.

Nose: Vegetal nose, with citrus, lime, celery and brocolli. A recognisable salty brine familiar to bruichladdich, this is, as far as coastal salty bryniness goes, the opposite of the old pulteney type. The Old pulteney is clean, fresh and light. This is much more dense, thick, zesty and creamy saltiness/bryne. Develops with soft peppers&anis-seeds and rounds of with cereal richness.

Palate: The cereal sweetness that left us greets us here, alongside a salty coastal bryne with citrus, leaving the scene after a hefty intro to more bitter vegetal qualities, as were previously hinted to on the nose. All very creamy and very much Bruichladdich. Celery and brocolli now take the stage but now with rich spinach, still in a creamy, dense bowl of flavour. This then starts getting replaced by a biscuity, cereal richness. This body and taste develops into sweeter areas marrying with the vegetal qualities and you get a slight hint of rhubarb and rhubarb pie. The finnish lingers, with the crums of this delicious bruichladdich flavour-revival. The whisky then goes on a journey with you, revsiiting these flavours as the finnish just continues with that beautiful bittersweet interact.

This Bruichladdich unchained, if you are a fan of bruichladdich this is the "hallelujah" of your whisky journey, a superbly nostalgic yet contemporary iteration of a brilliant&creative distillery. For me,impossible not to love.Really is like tasting "Essence de Bruichladdich". The Future is bright!

Disclaimer: I am not an whisky expert nor do I play one on TV. I have recently tried Bruichladdich Peat and loved it. I was hoping that this expression would fill a niche in the "unpeated" category for me as the Laddie 10 is one of the more affordable drams in my neck of the woods. I am also a big fan of Jim McEwan, he makes me want to drink whisky. Nose: citrus (lemon) brine, vanilla and yes the fumes of "Baby puke" Taste: A bit hot, peppery and lemon. The dram mellowed with the addition of 2 tsp of water in a 2 oz. pour. A bit of time helped the mellowing process. Finish: Medium long but a very offputting aftertaste developed. I would say this is linked to the "baby puke" nose but not entirely the same. In short I was quite disappointed in this whisky as I had read so many positive reviews. I was hoping that a dram that was unchill filtered, no e150 added and 46% ABV might be my "go to" unpeated whisky, especially at this price point. I will revisit this bottle in a few weeks to see if time and a "bit of air" in the bottle helps. Was going to serve this to guests tomorrow evening but will find something else instead.

First off let me say that I've been very lazy with my whisky reviews and postings and I apologize for that that. Preparing for Scotland is consuming heaps of time and for that I'm sorry!

Recently I attended a tasting where the debut of a new Australian Single Malt occurred. Heaps of fun and an excellent whisky that was enjoyed by all wound up leading into a Bruichladdich tasting and then into a Buffalo Trace tasting.

I personally love Buffalo Trace, but my experience with Bruichladdich is more limited then I cared for, so I figured that this would be a good way for me to expand my horizons on that front.

We'd started the Bruichladdich's with the Classic and then the Islay Barley and now we were on the 10 year old Bruichladdich.

Now I've tried just about every single age statement, entry level Islay whisky out there, the exceptions being the Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain so I was excited to get a chance to try the Bruichladdich.

Again like the Islay Barley this is an unpeated whisky, however peat flavors and aromas are easily detected as the water that goes into making the whisky is itself peated.

So let's dig into the whisky shall we?!

Peat, but nothing overpowering, remember it's not a peated whisky, vanilla, toffee, citrus and LOTS of fruits, yummy fruits, peaches and lemons mainly. However there is a slight off burnt match/sulfur aroma on the nose that detracts just a little bit from all the delicious fruit and other aromas as it just doesn't feel like it belongs.

Time for a taste though!

Soft peat, vanilla, and fruit, lemons, apples, little peach and apricot. Delicious and thankfully the sulfur notes from the nose never appear.

A soft peat medium length lingering finish with just a hint of citrus ends the whisky.

Not a bad whisky, and again being an unpeated (remember no peated malt goes into this one) not what you'd expect out of an Islay whisky, but enjoyable and something that would be good to introduce to someone who was new to peated whiskies.

Nice thing is that it's price is pretty standard entry level for an Islay, around $85 a bottle which makes it very reasonable if you're interested in trying it. And it's definitely worth a try.

Unpeated, Non-chill filtered, and no e150 added.

I had the opportunity to give this a taste during a tasting I had with friends last weekend. Of all the whiskies I tried this one left me wanting more. I know there are members out there that compare this whisky with Baby puke but I personally have not found this to be the case. To each there own.

Fortunately the owner of this bottle felt it was wise to leave it with me for a few days. I thought it would be in my best interest to post a review before I had to return it minus a few samples.

Nose: Barley, Hint of chocolate, lemon, whiff of salt?

Taste: Barley, sweet and sour fruit, Green grapes.

Finish: Medium length, Sweet Greek yogurt, touch of dark Chocolate, bitterness at the end that lingers....Orange peel.

I personally wish that it was a bit better balanced. I would be nice if it could be a touch sweeter on the finish. That being said I really like this one and the price tag is very affordable here in this province. this is one that will be added shortly to my cabinet.

"Only a lad," You really can't blame him, "Only a lad," Society made him "Only a lad," He's our responsibility, "Only a lad," He really couldn't help it, "Only a lad," He didn't want to do it, "Only a lad," He's underprivileged and abused, Perhaps a little bit confused. --Oingo Boingo

This scotch is over-rated. Yes, it's buttery, salty, and a little savory (in a good way), but it's "only a lad," meaning, a ten year old scotch still tastes like a ten year old scotch, and I'm not terribly impressed, considering the price, which is the same as a bottle of Glengoyn 17 Year in Oregon. The Laddie Ten is overhyped, over priced and over rated.

Here are my tasting notes: Nose: malt, blood orange, coconut, with a hint of banana, which was a nice surprise.

Palate: more "edgy" without water, with half a table spoon in two ounces, the flavors open up a bit more: some ginger, honey, vanilla, ocean breeze (salt/brine).

Finish: Not terribly long but pleasant with more of the palette exhibited.

For $50, this one is worth buying. Anything much over that, nah. I don't think so. Get something better, like Glengoyne 17. Or save yourself twenty bucks and pick up a bottle of Glenfarclas 12. That one is underrated, rather than overrated. Old Pulteney 12 is always a good snag, and it only costs $42 in Oregon. It's pretty much in the same category, even though the Goyne is a sweeter scotch due to the sherry casking.

So . . . I must report that the Laddie Ten is "Only A Lad," as Danny Elfman once sung. By the way, I saw Oingo Boingo sing that song in 1992 (twenty one years ago) in New York City on the "Dead Man's Party" tour. It was one of the best nights of my life. My girlfriend led me into a storage closet and made my whole year. The excitement was the fact that she'd thought of it. That made all the difference.

Oh, and she'd paid for the concert tickets, my birthday present. She was an awesome girlfriend. Too bad she wasn't nearly as cool of a fiance. Ya win some, and ya lose some.

The Laddie Ten is not a "loser," per se, just overprice and overrated. I will enjoy the bottle, and I don't regret trying new things. I might even buy another bottle if it cost $45 and not $65.

Whisky is getting really overpriced these days, and overhyped. I'm noticing the problem, believe me.

Bruichladdich would do well to make fewer gimmicky types of whisky and just focus on price and quality control with fewer offerings. Along with the bottle of Laddie Ten came a fancy insert that had all sorts of other bottles advertised with all sorts of info about them. I would have enjoyed reading about the bottle that I purchased instead. The insert didn't say squat about the Laddie Ten. I felt cheated somehow.

So much for advertising. How about sticking with classy "craft presentations" instead, guys? I don't care about the bright baby blue bottle or the hype about it. I care about the whisky inside. And it's nothing to write home about, but it's certainly a nice easy drinking bottle of scotch. No, it's not terribly challenging, but that's okay.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a nice buttery, easy dram that won't bite back. I'm looking forward to getting to know this bottle better. So far, I've drunk four drams out of the bottle. They seem to be getting better rather than worse. That's certainly a very good sign.

Bruichladdich 10 year old a.k.a "The Laddie Ten" is one of the highlights of my "whisky career" so far. Master of Malt said this is mark of an new era and I couldn't agree more. Laddie Ten is a new and refreshing addition to the whisky world. It is a combination of fresh thoughts and tradition. Bruichladdich says that the key to this young dram's exceptionally long finish is in the natural oils from the malted barley still in the spirit. Something that's usually removed from the spirits.

So, it gives you something new and something old. It tastes brilliant and it offers you different kinds of enjoyment. It was a positive surprise of a product that I thought was going to be mediocre. It is definitely the Inglourious Basterds of whisky. A stunning movie that has some ingredients in it, that I usually don't look for but which I bought immediately. In Laddie Ten it was the sherry, in Inglourious Basterds it was the "false history" in the storyline.

They both are a benchmark of brilliant storytelling/manufacturing of our era. Borrowing some old stuff and putting it into your own innovation make both industries go forward. And I'm glad about the whisky name. Bruichladdich 10 year old couldn't have had a better name – The Laddie Ten!

Nose: Delightful aromas of honey and tropical fruits. Lemon is the most intense of the fruits but there's also peaches and apricot. Drop of water brings more delicate aromas like oak, vanilla and nuts but for tastes sake I won't be adding water anymore. I like to keep the taste how it is.

Taste: Rich and complex. Starts with sweet oak and honey with a sherry feel and develops into a nice combination of spices and fruits with sugar.

Finish: Long and soft, malted barley with a bit oily and "earthly" touch and some bitter notes.

Balance: Great whisky that delivers best in the taste without forgetting the nice and subtle aromas. Smooth and complex and very versatile. This has to be one of the best 10 year olds there is.

Very, very impressed. This rivals many of the bottlings from the West Highland region in my opinion (Clynelish in particular). The maritime flavor profile is not lost at all and without the peat, you get to enjoy a little more of the fruity and floral notes in this beautiful whisky. Highly recommended!

PS - Popping the cork for the first time unveils a somewhat strange nose. Give it the time it deserves : )

I've not encountered many whiskies like this Bruichladdich, if any. On those nose it is quite sweet and very salty. Right away the salty/maritime notes grab your attention. Creamy vanilla, hints of lemon, all drenched in ocean brine. Underneath there is somethig slightly sweaty and sour, not enough to spoil it but enough to make you go, "Hmmm."

In the mouth it hits you with a massive surge of malty sweetness, very big and bold with an oily, full texture. Then the salt kicks in, and with it is a flavour I would swear is peat, though the bottle says it is unpeated. However there is no mistaking that this is an Islay whisky. It may not have the smoke and iodine but something about it's character gives it away.

The finish is long with a salty, peaty tang. Overall this is a sensational whisky that stands apart from pretty well everything else I've tried. Old Pulteny is the only other malt I can think of that combines sweet and salty like this, but this is much bigger on the tongue. So much better than the lacklustre Resurrection bottling I had a while back.

The Laddie Ten is called "unpeated" because no peat smoke is used to dry the barley. There is substantial peat present in the water used to make the whisky. The reviewed bottle has been open for 2 months and is 50% full. The body is medium and somewhat oily

This review will be in non-sequential format (SQVH). For further information on this format see my review of Royal Canadian Small Batch

Strength: strong flavours of barley-malt; moderate intensity of gentle peat is an underlying presence in the water used. Flavours from wood are not pronounced, but are subtle, and mostly in the background. Score 23/25

Quality: the flavours from the malted barley in The Laddie Ten are some of the most delicious which you will ever taste. They are grassy, like newly mown hay, citrusy, and have a nice hint of a floral touch. These malt flavours are bracing, refreshing, and thoroughly engaging. The peat in the water used is gentle and delicious. Wood flavours are not prominent, but those present are of very good quality. Score 24/25

Variety: there is not a lot of variety in the flavours here. There is flavour from the barley-malt, and a strong undercurrent of peat in the water. The wood plays a quiet supporting role. Score 20/25

Harmony: this is a simple harmony, but a delightful one. The barley sings a strong and clear song, while the peat accompanies as would a pianist accompany a singer. The accompaniment here provides more a counterpoint of different notes from the barley song, but together they make a very nice harmony. The wood is more like gentle strumming from a stringed bass Score 23/25

Closing comment: The Laddie Ten is one of those whiskies which I like even better than the 90 review score would indicate. Why? Because this is a rather simple whisky with respect to the variety of flavours presented, and it is only sometimes that I will seek out complexity and variety in my whisky experience. For the pure quality of the flavours presented, this is one of my very favourite whiskies

On February 2nd 2012 I tried the Laddie Ten for the first time at a tasting with distillery manager Duncan McGillivray. I even own a bottle signed by Jim McEwan (yey!). This release marks the beginning of a new era under the new (actually, since July 2012, old) management, in which the core range will now be a lot more limited. No more multiple ranges that you can hardly get your head around, done are the gazillion finishes that made many a collectors hair turn grey.

The creamy nose immediately goes down a path of lime, mandarin, pineapple and mostly banana. Add some light brown sugar to that. Quite a bit of honey as well. This is nicely balanced with a salty and lightly medicinal touch. We are on Islay, so that makes sense.

It is round in the mouth with immediately the salty character on top, followed by all the fruit of the nose and then some. Halfway through it gets a boost of caramel. Nicely seasonsed on ginger and cinnamon and something resembling cloves.

The finish again leans toward salt, with a bittersweet death.

If this is the new standard, then I very much look forward to the new releases, for this entry level Laddie is one helluva whisky.

All I can say is..giggitty giggitty goo! What a dram! Unpeated my arse...just enough to say..'yea that's right..I'm here, what are you going to do about it'. But quickly fades away to a world of bliss...baking spices, vanilla, creamy buterscotch..oh my..salavating just thinking about it.

I’m rather surprised to be one of the first to review this whisky, given the attention it’s received in the forums and blogs during the last year. It took a while to find its way here to northwest Indiana, and I’ve been drooling in anticipation like my dog waiting for the remnants of a bacon cheeseburger. I visited my local libationist this afternoon, having planned and budgeted for a twin-pack of Old Pulteney half-bottles (12 & 17 yo – great deal if you can find it!), but I was more than willing, delighted in fact, to change my plans once I saw this big blue beast on the shelf. It was even on sale, so I saved the extra ten bucks I would have spent on the Old Pulteneys.

I’m by nature a skeptic, and I’ve been misled in the past by reviews and popularity (see my review of Aberlour A’bunadh), so I will approach this with a healthy dose of “Hmm, we’ll see.” This will also be a first-time-tasting review, written as I go along here…

First, however, a quick side note about the packaging. What looked so wrong in the pix I’ve seen online, what with the teal overkill and self-aware austerity, looks downright bold and ballsy up close and in person. The container’s even all-metal, the kind you want to save for display or a poor man’s flower pot (assuming poor men buy sixty-dollar bottles of whisky). Very imposing. Even if you don’t like it, it’ll force you into liking it, damn it!

Soooo…here we go. Tearing the seal (a challenge ‘cause I just trimmed my nails yesterday), popping the cork, pouring a dram as carefully as if I were serving the Queen. Taking a moment to appreciate the un-colored, un-chill-filtered, 46% beauty of it all. Hard to be a skeptic about this sort of stuff, you understand.

First nose: Wow. A big outdoorsy blast that settles down quickly, then seems to change with each sniff. Citrus, pine, and sea air dominate at first, then I get a big touch of…peat?? I thought the Laddie was unpeated? Were the barrels previously used for peated whiskies, or is this just a by-product of the Islay air? Whatever, it works. It’s just unexpected.

After sitting for a few minutes, it’s soooo much more delicate. Peat tones (or what I imagined to be peat tones) diminish, replaced by a touch of sweet wood smoke trying to break through a whole lot of fresh sea air. Some vanilla. Is that, um, bacon? Light and subtle, but full of secrets. Worthy of further study. A fascinating first nose.

First taste: This may be the slowest, chewiest taste I’ve ever taken of any whisky. I suppose it’s a good sign that I hadn’t planned on doing that.

Arrival is a blend of fruits and candies. Very tasty, unique, even attention-getting, but surprisingly soft. More going on than I can grasp in one taste.

Development: Soft traces of vanilla cake lightly sprinkled with sea salt. Again, surprisingly soft. Very pleasant with ongoing subtle changes.

If I had to stop at this point, I’d say the Laddie is a very satisfying, if not overwhelming, whisky. If the layers aren’t obvious at first, the quality is. During its long time in my mouth, I thought this would a B+plus whisky: good stuff, but let’s see what the Laddie’s got when he’s a teenager.

But then, at long last, came the development. Nice…sharp, spicy, citrus-y. Say, it’s hanging on, isn’t it? Wow, getting hotter, spicier, smokier, more burnt sugar-y. Oh migawd, this is terrific. It just keeps intensifying as the flavors from the arrival and development make a return appearance. I don’t want this to end – and it’s not! There’s still a big sweet-and-bitter woodsy burn that lands soft as a pillow for an encore. And it all lingers around for minutes, slowly floating away on a cotton-candy cloud.

Did I say B+plus whisky? Ha! I now laugh at my youthful naiveté! This Laddie is wise beyond his years. One of the most satisfying first-taste experiences I’ve ever had. I took two sips neat, then three sips after adding water, and kept discovering more to enjoy each time. (Biggest change noticed since first impression: the change from sweet beginning to bitter finish becomes more pronounced as it develops.)

The only semi-negative comment I have is that the Laddie Ten’s youth is both a strength and a weakness. A strength because its mishmash of vague, youthful flavors makes for a surprisingly pleasant experience (as well as another testament to quality). But a weakness because you know those flavors are only going to grow stronger and more defined over time.

Here’s hoping that’s what happens. I didn’t touch upon the recent corporate goings-on at Bruichladdich, mainly because I’m not qualified to comment, and the news is still too new. I just hope there’s plenty of this batch to go around when the Laddie is old enough to vote.

Was very excited about this, a whisky made wholly from spirit distilled after Bruichladdich stated operations again in 2001.

Nose: Vinilla, ginger, white tea, pine tree, slight lemon zest, salty sea breeze.

Palate: Light, caramel candies, sweet grains, ginger, vinilla sugars, orange and mellon oils, gentle saltiness.

Finish: Sweet and malty, ginger, slight citrus.

For it's price (it can be found very cheap) this is an excellent everyday malt.

The Laddie Ten can be seen as a landmark for the distillery and the Bruichladdich team. The first ten year old under the new owners.

Being new to the wonderfull world of whisky tasting, I was really drawn by the story behind this bottle. The way it is created (old fashioned) and the people behind it are the reasons I picked this bottle up. The price is also very friendly.

American Oak matured, unpeated and non-chill filtered. The Laddie Ten is rich and complex, I find the taste to be very refined. It has some spice, but it’s balanced with some fruits so that it’s never overwhelming. Adding some water really helps with opening up the flavours (some chocolate, baked bread, peppers, fruits). This whisky gets better when you spend more time with it. Although it’s from Islay, it doesn’t have the usual smokiness that is associated with Islay whiskies.

I am really liking this whisky. It comes in a striking turquoise tin can that really stands out between other whiskies. Really a recommendable whisky that people should try out. Overall a great flagship that represents the Bruichladdich distillery in a very good way. I'm really looking forward to more great stuff that's coming from Bruichladdich!