Help me with Bruichladdich

[Nock]

Ok so I have yet to try a singe sip from Bruichladdich
BUT I want to.

My problem is I don't know where to start.

The 10yo, the 10yo cs, the 12yo, the 15yo, the IVII, the Infinity, 3D, 3D - Moine Mhor, Full strength????

I don't really want to start with the "flag ship"
(whichever one that might be)

Rather, I want to start with one closer to my current taste preference, which means:

which one has the most peate and smoke in it?

Any 'laddie fans out there to give me the quick verbal tour?

Nock

[Jeroen Kloppenburg]

Peat and smoke & Bruichladdich? Then get one of the 3D's (with moine mhor being the secodn release). Not much more words necessary =) (or possible)

[Spirit of Islay]

Just to give you a little more help .....
3D 2nd Edition (Moine Mhor) - containd 3 versions of a peated Laddie , 2 experimental and some Port Charlotte , the slightly more balanced version of the two .
3D 1st Edition (The Peat Proposal) - same make up but a bit more rugged in it's make up .
The Infinity - From Sherry casks ,also contains some of the more heavily peated Port Charlotte (haven't tried this one ).
Usual Laddie peating level one's......
Fullstrength - Harry swears by this one , it does what it says on the tin !
XVII - This is the way Laddie used to taste pre-McEwan days , not my favourite as i didn't really enjoy the old bottlings .
15yo - A mixture of sherry and bourbon casks , the 1st edition was very good , the 2nd was finished in Saunterne casks , though to be honest it's hard to tell .
12yo - again haven't tried this one .
10yo - The lightest of the Laddies , i really enjoyed this one , it got me back onto liking the Laddie taste , well balanced .
10yo CS - which one is this ?
Others i can recommend are the "Rocks" ( real zing off the young, post McEwan, Laddie in it ) , 20yo 1st edition (very good) , 1970 (a stunning vintage , probably the best so far ) and any of the Legacys .
hope this helps
Slainté
Gordon
LOL! just thought maybe we should refer to Laddie as Laddie BM and Laddie AM ( Before McEwan and After McEwan )

[Jeroen Kloppenburg]

My tasting note of the Infinity:

Distillery: Bruichladdich Score: 8.9 ABV: 55.5
Expression: Infinity - bottling for just a few retailers Date: 3 jul 2005 Color: 48
Nose: Rich and dry fruits. Fragrant at the same time.
Palate: Spicey, dried fruits, peppery.
Finish: Long - Dried fruits.
Comments: Drinkable aven at CS! Some water will as expected bring up more of the dried fruits, as well as the citrus notes. Simply deliscious.

I loved this one!

[Admiral]

Fullstrength - Harry swears by this one , it does what it says on the tin !

I also reckon the Full Strength is one of the best bottlings.

By the way, what's wrong with trying the "flagship"? If you want to get the best example of what the distillery is typically trying to achieve, then surely the flagship is the best way to do this? What's the point of trying to find out about Bruichladdich by sampling one of their rare and atypical bottlings?

Cheers,
Admiral

[BruceCrichton]

Others i can recommend are the "Rocks" ( real zing off the young, post McEwan, Laddie in it ) ,

Bruichladdich Rocks is available exclusively from Morrison's supermarkets and is my mum's favourite whisky ever. It is far more complex and flavourful than the 10, 15 and 17 year old versions.

[Spirit of Islay]

Fullstrength - Harry swears by this one , it does what it says on the tin !

I also reckon the Full Strength is one of the best bottlings.

By the way, what's wrong with trying the "flagship"? If you want to get the best example of what the distillery is typically trying to achieve, then surely the flagship is the best way to do this? What's the point of trying to find out about Bruichladdich by sampling one of their rare and atypical bottlings?

Cheers,
Admiral

It's not just the "Flagship" one's he should try also a few IB's as well , there have been some stunning old ones out by the likes of DTC , Also the G&M Cask Laddies have been very enjoyable .

BTW Jeroen , what colour is 48 ? are we using the Dulux or Crown wall chart ?

Slainté
Gordon

[Jeroen Kloppenburg]

No, thats the color from my tasting notes program...

I used the "copy to clipboard" function to paste my note here on the forum. And the program has a colorbar from 1 to 100 (transparent through yellow to dark brown).

And yes, there are options to describe your color in text as well for those who like too

[hpulley]

Fullstrength - Harry swears by this one , it does what it says on the tin !
...
10yo CS - which one is this ?

I really enjoyed the 1st edition of Fullstrength, the 13yo '89 which is gone, sadly. The new Fullstrength 2nd Ed. is an 11yo '94 but I haven't tried it yet (hasn't reached 'the colonies' yet unless I missed it). Perhaps the original poster mistyped 10yo and meant the 11yo? Or has there been a 10yo version?

Harry

[Deactivated Member]

I love the Full Strength, too, and have two bottles of the '89 stashed away.

If it's peat you're after, Nock, you're barking up the wrong tree, for the most part. Might be different in a few years, when the Port Charlotte reaches age. The 3D's mentioned above use a proportion of very young peated malt. They are nowhere near on the order of the Kildalton malts--maybe they approach Bowmore in overall peating level. Does anyone think that a fair comparison?

[Nock]

10yo CS - which one is this ?

I really enjoyed the 1st edition of Fullstrength, the 13yo '89 which is gone, sadly. The new Fullstrength 2nd Ed. is an 11yo '94 but I haven't tried it yet (hasn't reached 'the colonies' yet unless I missed it). Perhaps the original poster mistyped 10yo and meant the 11yo? Or has there been a 10yo version?

Harry

Harry – to answer your question (or my mistake)

I was in a shop just yesterday here in Nashville and I saw the largest offering of Bruichladdich I have ever seen in one place (turns out this is the owners favorite malt but he wasn’t there to talk with me). Here are the ones I (think I) remember: 10yo, 12yo, 15yo (not sure which edition) the XVII, the Twenty “Islands”, the 3D and the 3D – Moine Mhor, the Infinity, WMDII Yellow Submarine, Links 2 (Augusta), Full Strength, (and I think Flirtation was one also but I can’t remember ).

But there was one between the 10yo and the 12yo I thought said 10yo with “cask strength” stamped over it (like the full strength bottle) but maybe I just misread it or remember it incorrectly. It maybe that it was just the “full strength” and I remember thinking I saw both “FS” and a “CS” (that is probably it ). . . . wait a tick . . . I just checked the Bruichladdich web page and saw two different “Full Strength” editions (the new one is from 1994). Now that I think about it . . . I think it might have been both, just not displayed side by side (I remember thinking it odd for them to have both editions of the 3D, why not both editions of the “Full Strength”??)

So if I remember correctly (which is dubious ) this shop could have between 10 – 14 different ‘laddies available (I might have missed a non OB version).
From reading the other posts (thanks to Gordon for your overview) (and assuming my memory is correct) my choice is between

3D 1st edition – the Peat Proposal
3D 2nd edition - Moine Mhor
Full Strenght 1st edition
Full Strength 2nd edition – 1994 11yo
Infinity

Now, with that information which one of these would I be most likely to enjoy given my taste preference for smoke and peat (ex. Ardbeg 10yo, Laphroaig 10yo cs, Highland Park 18yo) (I understand that Bruichladdich is not going to be as heavily peated as Ardbeg, Laphroaig or maybe even Bowmore.)

However, if I can’t have smoke and peat, I also like spicy and peppery . . . so

or

you might prefer to answer, "Forget your taste preference this is the one you are going to enjoy the most hands down. So go buy ____ now while you can you big dummy."

Nock

[Jeroen Kloppenburg]

I say the Moine Mhor. The second edition 3D is more rounded, little better balanced as the first one, which was excellent as well anyway ...

But I would defenitally not tell you that you would know what Bruichladdich is about if you had just this one Maybe they carry one of the 3 expression packs as well I've seen around several times. If my mmemory serves me right, they have the 10, 15 and a 20 year-old 200ml of each in a pack. It might be cool to try that along with your final choice.

[bamber]

I'm Surprised Mr. T has not chimed in yet as he loves a bit of 'Laddie

I would go for the taster pack Jeroen mentioned. Personally the 10 did not grab me at all, but I enjoyed the 15 a lot and would recommend it. These and the 17 are the only ones I've tried. I'm tempted by the 3d, but the price and my experience with the 10 have put me off up to now.

[Deactivated Member]

What am I, invisible? Chime chime chime! (Sudden awful flashback to my days driving transit buses.)

I say the Full Strength 1st edition (1989), if you can get it. To me, this is a concentrated expression of what Bruichladdich is about these days. Sorry, no peat, or even spice--more apples and pears--but if this floats your boat, you can branch out from there, and if it doesn't, you can say you gave 'Laddie a fair shot.

"The influential decision to bottle uncoloured and without chill filtering has...played its part, adding breadth, fatness and creaminess to the expressions." --Jefford, Peat Smoke and Spirit

The Full Strength is as fat as it gets. The Haystack Calhoun of Bruichladdichs!

[bamber]

Sorry, need to pay more attention to the forum and less to my work

[jimidrammer]

I was in a shop just yesterday here in Nashville and I saw the largest offering of Bruichladdich I have ever seen in one place

Nock, is that Nashville, Tennessee? If so, do you mind telling which shop as Bruichladdich other than the 10yo is hard to find here also and I might find myself in the area sometime.

[Nock]

Nock, is that Nashville, Tennessee? If so, do you mind telling which shop as Bruichladdich other than the 10yo is hard to find here also and I might find myself in the area sometime.

Yes, I am in Nashville, Tennessee right now but will soon leave for blessed rain soaked Seattle in three more days.

The shop is actually just south of Nashville in Franklin

Red Dog Wine & Spirits
1031 Center Point Pl, Franklin, TN
(615) 794-9866

They have a very nice selection, not just OB's but also lots of independent bottlings.

Nock

[Nock]

By the way, what's wrong with trying the "flagship"? If you want to get the best example of what the distillery is typically trying to achieve, then surely the flagship is the best way to do this? What's the point of trying to find out about Bruichladdich by sampling one of their rare and atypical bottlings?

Cheers,
Admiral

You ask a good question Admiral. I will try and give you my best answer.

I think Bamber’s comment best illustrates my fear.

Personally the 10 did not grab me at all, but I enjoyed the 15 a lot and would recommend it. These and the 17 are the only ones I've tried. I'm tempted by the 3d, but the price and my experience with the 10 have put me off up to now.

I don’t want to be out some $57 (the price of the 10yo in Seattle) just to know I don’t like the “main taste” Bruichladdich is going for (or $78 – 15yo, and $115 – XVII). It would be nice to know academically, but not for my wallet. Ya, I find it fun and enjoyable to try a new malt but I am tired of the cost. If I could find samplers of all the malts I wanted to try I would go that route (so far I have not been very successful ). So my other option is run with my current taste palate and get as close as I can on my next “try.” Why would I do that? Here is a little story.

Almost a year ago I did a tasting between the heavier peated flagship Islay malts (Ardbeg 10yo, Lagavulin 16yo, Laphroaig 10yo, and Caol Ila 12yo,). Ardbeg came out the clear winner with Laphroaig coming in dead last. At that point I was ready to never buy another bottle of Laphroaig (why waste the time and money?). And I wouldn’t have except that on a whim (for my birthday) I picked up a bottle of the Laphroaig 10yo CS just to have another cask strength bottle to compare with 4 others (I was also picking up at the time). Well, I totally fell in love with this bottle, and to date it is my favorite malt. Now, since I fell in love with the CS I have gone back to that ¾ full bottle of Laphroaig 10yo sitting on my shelf since last February. Because of the CS version I was really able to appreciate this bottle again. Laphroaig has risen in my appreciate from a “never buy again” to one of favorite distilleries (I have since picked up the 15yo and have deep longings to spring for the 30yo by the time I turn 30 in October).

What I learned - when I like one bottle from a distillery lineup it helps me to appreciate the nuances in the rest of the expressions from that distillery.

Back to the issue at hand - If I am going to try just one expression from Bruichladdich I want it to be the one I have the greatest chance of liking. Lets face it, the Laddie is no Oban, Scapa, Old Pulteney, or even Bunnahabhain where you have one major expression and then a few expensive, exclusive bottles that only a true devotee would spring for. Laddie seems to offer between 10 & 14 different bottles that fall between the price jump from Highland Park 12yo to the 18. Now, while I realize that the 10yo is the current mainstay from Laddie, after reading numerous descriptions about it I am feeling confident that I will NOT like it. And $78 is not a gamble I am willing to make on the 15yo being that much better. If I could find the Bruichladdich taster mentioned I would buy it in a heart beat (I love that kind of thing). So far I am lucky to find a store that carries a bottle of the Laddie.

My desire – So far everything I have seen and read about Bruichladdich seems to be the kind of distillery I want to like and get behind. I don’t have to tell you guys the recent history (or their commitment to non-chillfiltering, and coloring free). I get giggly thinking about the upcoming Port Charlotte and I can’t describe my hopes for Octomore . (Just the other day I noticed that the whisky exchange already has Port Charlotte listed under its distilleries . . . giggles ). It seems like Laddie is making some great strides and putting out some great whisky. I have found a store that seems to offer the widest variety of Bruichladdich I have seen yet (and will soon be out of my reach). If I can I would like to pick up the bottle I have the greatest chance of liking (which hopefully will lead to more). Again, I am just scared of ending up with a ¾ full bottle of Laddie 10yo or 15yo, that much out of pocket, and gun shy of the next bottle.

Does that explain enough of my thinking Admiral?
You are welcome to disagree, but for my money it seems like a better gamble.

Nock

[BruceCrichton]

You ask a good question Admiral. I will try and give you my best answer.

I think Bamber’s comment best illustrates my fear.

Personally the 10 did not grab me at all, but I enjoyed the 15 a lot and would recommend it. These and the 17 are the only ones I've tried. I'm tempted by the 3d, but the price and my experience with the 10 have put me off up to now.

<snip>Does that explain enough of my thinking Admiral?
You are welcome to disagree, but for my money it seems like a better gamble.

Nock

if you cannot get 'rocks' 3d is full-flavoured with good sherry and peat character and Infinity is an excellent cask-stength dram which I tasted at the whisky fringe.

Most age statement Laddies I've had were rather bland.

[Lawrence]

I think the current 15 year old from Bruichladdich is the best value of the lot and is an excellent whisky. I can't see the downside unless you're expecting a Islay in the style of Ardbeg. The 15 is a more subtle whisky that you have to take a long look at to appreciate, IMHO.

[hpulley]

Do you mean the 2nd Ed. 15yo, Lawrence?

Harry

[Frodo]

I think the current 15 year old from Bruichladdich is the best value of the lot and is an excellent whisky. I can't see the downside unless you're expecting a Islay in the style of Ardbeg. The 15 is a more subtle whisky that you have to take a long look at to appreciate, IMHO.

Funny you should mention this one Lawrence. I've tried the 10, 15, 17 & 20 from the 2nd edition releases, and my conclusion was that the dram lost complexity after 15yrs. Picked up oakier notes and was softer/smoother, but less complex than the 15. For my money, the 15 is the best of the lot.

And yeah, I did find it subtle, and responded to hand-warming the glass.

[WestVanDave]

The 15 has been my favourite Laddie... but I have been impressed with the recent Links and the 3D Peat Proposal as well... all close in price and with some interesting variety in barrel types and peat levels...

The 15 is pricey in BC ($95 Cdn ~ $80 US) - but a relative bargain in Alberta at $65 Cdn ~ $55 US.

I have seen samples of Bruichladdich in Alberta - either 50 ml bottles or 200 ml bottles - or gift packs combining 3 various 200 ml bottles... here are some examples - in Cdn $'s:

10 yr old - 200 ml $23.29
10 yr old - 50 ml $ 7.64
15 yr old - 200 ml $27.95
15 yr old - 50 ml $ 9.33
XVII yr old - 200 ml $33.77
XVII yr old - 50 ml $ 9.97

I think the gift packs consisted of one of each of the above for $84.89... and hey, you could save $0.12...