Which Laddie?

[sku]

With all the Bruichladdichs out there, I want to try one, but probably won't buy more than a bottle to start. Which one should it be? Which is your favorite? Which is the most emblematic of the distillery? Thanks.

[Reggaeblues]

Having tried the 10, 15, and 17, the one that stood out was the inexpensive "Rocks" available at Morrison's. Unusual. 46% non-chill-filtered, and an unusual reddish gold tinge. Red currant jelly it reminded me of. Bracing, and fun. I really liked it.

[Di Blasi]

The 10y is excellent! "Overripe pears," fruity is what you can say about it. Although it's been a few years since I had the 15y, 1st edition, that was also very good, very malty. The 17y is also excellent. The Infinity is also good, a sherry bomb if you're looking for that. Good luck!

[Ardbeg311]

The best Bruichladdich I have had has been the 3D Moine Mhor probably because it comes closest to the strong peaty/smokey Islays I like so much. All the other Bruichladdies I have had have not done much for me. They were fine, just not really noteworthy IMO. I have not had a Bruichladdich over 17 yo, but I hear that the 20's and Legacy Series have been pretty good.

[TreacleSponge]

The 10yo is a great drink. Very zesty, but going through sweetness to grapefruity and finishing with custard. As with all Bruichladdichs, it's non-chillfiltered and no caramel added.

The 17yo, as I remember it, is very similar but more butterscotchy, and the flavours (especially the citrus fruit) become softer, rounder.

I don’t particularly rate the 20yo Flirtation. It’s a good malt, but not an outstanding malt, and certainly not worth £70 a bottle to me (although The Whisky Shop in Edinburgh stocked 20cl bottles of the 1st edition, which was a great way to try it without splashing out too much). It’s drier than the 10yo, but I don’t think the fruity flavours marry so well with the dryness.

Infinity 1st edition is fabulous. Sherried, toffeeish, creamy, still that fruit flitting around, cocoa, and the finish goes on and on and on. The best Bruichladdich that I’ve tried, unless I want peat and then it’s onto the next:

3D second edition – Moine Mhor. Another truly fabulous whisky. Different from the three above as it’s peated (and more so than the original 3D). You can still taste that characteristic Bruichladdich fruitiness through the sweet peat. It’s very robust, with chocolatey sweetness and custard, and beautifully complex.

Haven't tried Rocks yet, but it's always on offer in supermarkets, so I'm sure I'll get round to it

When I was at the distillery, Mark Reynier compared the 10, 15 & 17 to wines, with 10yo being the aperitif and 17 the digestif. Maybe try the 10 15 or 17 (buy a miniature or maybe a bar near you stocks it) to see if you like the base first, then I’d go for the Infinity or the Moine Mhor as they’re definitely so much more interesting.

[Scotchio]

If I was trying Laddie anew I'd go for a 20cl or 5cl set of core ages which are available at LFW amongst others

[Samwise]

I'm a big Laddie fan and I'd agree with pretty much everything said above (except about the 20 2nd edition - I really love the multi-dimensional taste to it) but if I really had to rcommend one I'd go for the WMD2 Yellow Submarine - such a wonderful ranger of light fruity flavours and a super creamy texture. In fact, I may just have to have a dram now...

[Admiral]

I would definitely recommend either the Moine Mhor (even though this obviously isn't garden variety Laddie), or the Infinity.

Cheers,
AD

[Deactivated Member]

Yeah - I'd agree with Infinity. It's a bit of a sherry brute but quite well balanced IMHO.

[Deactivated Member]

I would say that "Rocks" and "Waves" are excellent drams, amongst my favourites at the moemnt and certainly good value.
The WMD II "Yellow Submarine" is another this is extremely drinkable.

If you liek sherry, then there are three excellent versions of the 1986 "Dark Sherry" out there at the moment, but these are a little pricey at around €120 per bottle.
But excellent drams!!!

Enjoy whatever you choose,
MT

[posterboy]

I'm a great fan of the Laddie and have had (and still own) quite a number of expressions, ranging from the 10 yr to the 40 yr.

To start, I usually recommend the 15 yr, which has a wonderful balance of flavors without being overpowering. My personal favorite is the 20 yr 1st edition, but it is difficult to find.

[les taylor]

1970 copper tin for me.

[Lawrence]

With all the Bruichladdichs out there, I want to try one, but probably won't buy more than a bottle to start. Which one should it be? Which is your favorite? Which is the most emblematic of the distillery? Thanks.

I think the most common ones available in your market are the 10 and the 15. Either one is a good start.

Lawrence

[Deactivated Member]

Hey all, get the 10 while you can--it's done. A 12 has been released to replace it (remember the distillery was closed for quite a while there.)

The '74 is a fabulous dram...but we're dreaming here.

The Full Strength is tops in my book. All of the Links are good, too, except...oh, which was the one I didn't like? I really should keep better notes. I also liked the Yellow Submarine.

I think Moine Mhor is overrated. I like a peaty dram as much as anyone, but the peaty whisky in this is very young, and it shows. It's a valiant effort to get some use out of new stocks, but it's a failure in my book (and is certainly not emblematic of the distillery). The Port Charlotte 5yo is due out this week--it will be very interesting to see how that flies.

Which reminds me.... I don't know if this has been reported around here, but the buzz at Bruichladdich is that there is to be a new distillery built in Port Charlotte, hopefully up and running in two years' time. The peated PC malt will be distilled there, leaving Bruichladdich to make the Bruichladdich malt (logically enough).

Finally, if you really want the essential Bruichladdich, hoof it on over to Islay and fill a bottle from the cask in the distillery shop. Come to think of it, that '74 doesn't look so expensive now!

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

it seems to be true that Bruichladdich is planning to begin works at Loch Indaal Distillery or Port Charlotte Distillery in 2007.
The young Port Charlotte is already maturing in the old warehouses there. There was talk about used pot stills and a used Lomond still coming into their right again.
There was a longer press release by Bruichladdich but I can not find it again at the moment.

Greetings
kallaskander

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

not a press release but an information from whiskyfun.

http://www.whiskyfun.com/archiveoctober06-2.html

It is in the Mosstowie Distillery Profile.

"In fact, when Jim McEwan showed me the Lomond Still he got from Dumbarton site in 2004, he also said this kind of still will produce an extremely light style of malt. But of course he hasn’t got the chance to try that yet. I heard from him that they’ll start to re-build Port Charlotte distillery next year (2007) and they’ll use the Lomond still from Dumbarton and an old pot still from Port Charlotte in the Port Charlotte distillery. Let’s wait and see what will happen."
That a pot still from the original Port Charlotte distillery should have survived is miraculous.

Greetings
kallaskander

[TheLaddie]

Infinity first edition before it is replaced by the second edition which is not going to be sherry finished. The new second edition 12 year old which will be replacing the 10 year old as the standard expression is a beautifully balanced dram for not a lot of money either.

If you like it peaty I've tasted PC5 as well and it is stunning.

I've been lucky enough to taste nearly all of the expressions listed above (not the forty unfortunately) and I wouldn't argue with anyone's opinion. Every single one is a (un)corker.