Bruichladdich - What's worth trying?

[Mustardhead]

Honestly, this is not a post which is intended to stir up trouble

I realised recently that I hadn't tried anything from Bruichladdich following the reopening of the distillery under the current owners and managers. Generally I like to get a feel for a distillery by trying something from its own mainstream product line instead of some independent weird and whacky finish. That's difficult with Bruichladdich, they bottle all their own weirdness.

So, what is really representative of this distillery's output?

I am currently sipping some Fifteen which is rather nice if unremarkable. Are the Ten, Twelve and Seventeen along the same lines?

When I say unremarkable I don't mean there is anything wrong. It is definitely worth the money, it is smooth and sweet and one of those deceptively easy-drinking fireside malts which could result in sleeping in the chair and missing the next day at work. I just wouldn't rush back and buy another bottle.

[vitara7]

go for the 17yo

the 10 - no longer produced
12yo - now a second edition and not truly reflective
15yo - again, second edition and now a finsih (might have been a finish before, cant remember)
20yo - again, finishes

17yo - not a finish, and i feel a true representation.

although, this whisky will be from the previous owner, the only stuff made by and bottled by the current owners will be the likes of PC5, waves or rocks.

[Deactivated Member]

Most of the "weird and wacky" stuff are not finished at all; bit of a myth there. They are just small production runs, and in my mind represent the best of the distillery, far more than the "standard" bottlings. Some will be heavily sherried, some all-bourbon, many a vatting of both. The Links were all good, save the Augusta, which was soapy (and I haven't tried the Troon), and the Yellow Submarine was nice enough as well. If possible, get something cask strength, like the Full Strength, and if you can possibly get your hands on a Valinch or other distillery-only bottling, by all means do so. I'm less impressed with the peated vattings like Moine Mhor, but I seem to be in a minority there, and I haven't tried the vaunted PC5. 'Laddie essentially do their own IB's, if you will, making vattings that will comprise an interesting bottling, rather than trying to make everything fit into the "standard" profile. The names are sometimes silly, but the whisky is not.

[peergynt323]

I have a bottle of Infinity that I'm getting more fond of each day. Is it just me, or does it resemble a sherried Brora a bit? Maybe that's why Serge is so crazy about it.

How would the Laddie fans rank these expressions: Infinity, WMDII, 3D, 3D2, 3D3, Infinity II, 15yo, 15yo 2nd Ed., 10yo, Links Turnberry, 1989 Vintage Cask (Full Strength), 20yo Flirtation, 1973 Vintage?

Damn, there's a lot!

[Mustardhead]

Thanks for the posts so far, very helpful and informative

I suppose I should have said that I'd like to explore some of the Bruichladdich character without blowing over £40 on something unknown.... so I think that's going to drop half the range, at least.

[TheLaddie]

For less than £40:

Waves
12 (A little gem and a fine introduction to the core range)
Yellow Submarine
15 (first or second editions)

For a little more:

PC5 (OMG...if it is this good now...)
17 (Proably the purest representation of the distillery style)
Infinity 1st edition (A stunner)

You could always try one of the "Wee Laddie" tasting packs as an introduction. They are readily available.

[Deactivated Member]

I am something of a Bruichladdich fan, their products are pretty good as far as I've tried them.

The "house character" of Bruichladdich is an underlying fruitiness, probably passion fruit and this is evident in all the drams I have tried, apart from the 1986 sherried bottlings.

What would I recommend?

The "Waves" as mentioned above is a very good and reasonably-priced dram, but it is quite a young dram and thus, quite different to the older and smoother 14-15 year olds.
At 7 years old, Waves still offers lots of that passion fruit, but it is a wonderfully spicy dram, very tingly on the tongue and very alive.

The Links series and also the WMD II are all 14 year olds and are excellent. If you like the "15" you are certain to enjoy these too.

There is another "special" called Rocks:
This seems to have two very different bottlings, albeit with no differentiation in name, packaging or lebelling.
When this was first introduced, it was only available in the Morrisons supermarkets in the UK. I bought three bottles on a trip to the UK and they were all a very light coppery colour.
These were also wonderful to drink - quite like the Waves.
After a while "Rocks" became available on the open market, but the whisky in the bottles was a much redder colour.
Although I haven't tried this bottling, I have heard more bad reports than good ones about it.

Peaty 'Laddies:
The PC5 is a great dram, but very strong at just over 60% and quite hard to get hold of, unless you are prepared to pay stupid money for a bottle.
I have seen people asking around 140 GBP on Ebay UK!
The initial selling price here in Germany was around 45 GBP!

The first "3D" Peat proposal is a fantastic whisky and my favourite of the 3D range so far.
I personally didn't care too much for the 3D2 - Mòine Mhòr, it just seemed lacking in something.
The 3D3 (Norrie Campbell Tribute) is another very good, very peaty whisky. It is extremely soft and gentle, but has tons of pure peat per glass. I have said that 3D1 (Peat Prop.) was my favourite 3D, this one is quite different, with more peat and much softer, but it comes a very close second to 3D1 for my palate. Although I am sure there are many who would prefer this one.

I hope this helps,
MT

[les taylor]

The 17 year old is a definite must along with the twenty year old Flirtation.

I had in mind just saying everything but that would have been too general. For me you would not be dissaponted with my selection.

[Spirit of Islay]

I would agree with Vitara7 , go for the XVII , it's how Laddie should be !
The 1970 would be a great one for you if you can (A) find it and (B) afford it !
Look out for some of the Murray McDavid bottlings or even a G&M 1988 CS , i've found vintages from 1988 / 1989 / 1990 to be very good from Bourbon Casks . The 20yo 1st or 3rd edition are very good as well .
The WMDII-Yellow Submarine is also worth a try .
On the more expensive front the Legacy 1 and 2 are superb .

[les taylor]

Spirit of Islay wrote:-

The 1970 would be a great one for you if you can (A) find it and (B) afford it !


I could not agree more its one of my all time favouites I've got an opened bottle and a full one stached at the back of my cupboard.

[Mustardhead]

The Infinity, Links and Waves look to be affordable enough. I'll see what's on offer locally and try one.

Sorry, but the XVII, G&M CS and especially the Flirtation are a bit too pricy for something untested. If I'm paying over £40 a bottle I like to go with something I know will meet with approval from my second-class Frodometer which tends to mean Glen Grant, Glenmorangie, OMC etc.

[Spirit of Islay]

I could not agree more its one of my all time favouites I've got an opened bottle and a full one stached at the back of my cupboard.

A man of good taste ! i've got 2 stashed and a 1970 valinch !

[vitara7]

if your looking for somthing a bit cheaper, why not buy abottle of the old style 10yo.
i was in a shop today and got one for £20, along with an old talikser for £20 (the type with the old map label and gold sticker, i think two or three editions ago)
you can find them from time to time hitting about in shops.

[r900p]

Vitara7 where abouts is this old shop, or is it secret! £20 sounds pretty good

[vitara7]

talas it was the last bruichladdich they had in, but they do have more of the old talisker, dumpy 12yo HP's old tamnavulins and that.
the shop is in glasgow, dont know street name or that

[dram_time]

I like the 10 year old, the fist time I tasted it I was really quite shocked because I was expecting (rather naively) some big tasty whisky, and that wasn’t what I got. But a few drams in and I really started to enjoy the 10.

The finish reminded me of raw pastry!!!! But over all I found sweetness, saltiness and floral notes with a touch of heat to it. A very nice malt indeed.

Its stopped production now [I have four bottles left that I plan to sell later this year] but you can still find it in the shops for around £23.

Dt.

[Lawrence]

It's a very nice dram from a time that will not be repeated, the newer 10 (when available) will be more peated I supect. People will look back in fondness of the current 10 and drive the prices up. I have laid in a few bottles for the future.