The Whisk(e)y Vault - Episode 94 - Bruichladdich, The Classic Laddie
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ค. 2017
- An episode of The Whisk(e)y Vault hosted at Whisky Marketing School in Austin, TX.
Today we talk about The Classic Laddie from Bruichladdich Distillery.
6:20 - It's Port Ellen that malts barley for most of Islay, not Port Charlotte. In some cases even "peats" (is that a word?) it, but I don't remember for which distilleries.
Juraj Hura You are right! That's the downside of never editing videos and discussing things improv style. In this comment to the top so other people can see the correct answer
It was one port or another.
"The dominant flavor is aggression." I like that phrase!
"They snuck peat in there" haha lost it...
Bald one: Smell is 100% subjective.
Ugly shirt: This smells like peat.
Bald one: No.
I'm not getting Pete
This definitely needs revisited, not to give Rex too much credit but his palette and understanding has grown.
My absolute effing jam. Always thought myself more of a bourbon guy but Classic Laddie is goddamn irresistible.
Wife grabbed me a bottle of this stuff for Xmas this year. Superior to anything I've had thus far. Enjoying sipping on it while video gaming. :)
This is such a great channel. Thanks for the great content.
I love classic laddie and port charlotte, my favorite EXPRESSIONs.
Rex was right that the classic Laddie has a slight taste of peat to it. I learned that the whiskey itself is unpeated, but it is cut with peated water! Love the videos, you guys rock 😊
Ahhhh, that is extremely interesting. I love the idea of that!
I was feeling the same thing. That classic scotch taste I assumed was peat but was so confused when I had this and still tasted what I thought was peat.
Bought this for my father. HE loved it. Thanks for teaching me so much about Whisky :)
Salty Kettle Corn. This is great stuff. Most scotches you can open and have thoughts of other similar scotches. This is so unique, and has no contemporary. I love it.
Been watching your channel for over a year and loving every moment, after being invited to a whisky evening 7 months ago I realised I've learnt so much when I picked up on an 8/10 blind tastings and even correctly noted to the organisers an incorrectly labeled pour. Since then I'm in Sh#t... You're costing me a fortune as I now look out for whisky events and bottles based on your reviews, I have developed an unhealthy attraction to some pricier whiskies I was originally blissfully unaware of in the past. You've also introduced me to my go to bourbon - Buffalo Trace - thank you, you wonderful Bastards, keep up - South Africa
Love this distillery. Islay for the win. Please do some more of their expressions.
"Being outdoors on a cold Scottish coastline during a storm" I totally understand what he described there. Thinking back, thats how i would describe Laphraoig 10.
Just tried the Laddie today for the first time. With all the talk of the apparent smokiness I was prepared to be blown away but I was pleasantly surprised. While the smokiness is there, it's not in-your-face, and I think you could hand a dram of this stuff to a bourbon guy and not turn him off.
5 years later, I'm having the laddie for the first time (right now) and man, I think it became my favorite instantly
@@niltonzagolikewise, i picked this up about a month ago and I just love how it balances sweet and savory flavors together
Rex was a noob. There is no smokiness at all. I think what he is experiencing the signature Bruichladdich coastal/umami/saltiness that you'd find in PC10. Also, the wine cask influence is pretty signature too. Once again, Rex was a noob, he's still a smooch.
The classic Laddie is crisp, pear, apple, salty, umami, sweet, etc.
Bruichladdich classic Laddie I bought solely because of the bottle colour. Only being into whisky for a month (or 2) this was the whisky that started me on the trail to collector/blogger/geek of today
My exact experience. That color is apparently inspired by the bay when the light hits it in certain sunny days. Port Charlotte is fantastic as well. Not over the top with peat like a Laphroaig. I’m trying to collect one or two great bottles from each region. Doing lots of research. What’s in your collection that stands out?
I just opened a bottle and looked for your video, also checked a couple sites for tasting notes. I'm new to this whisky tasting thing, but I get just SO MUCH VANILLA in this. No one mentions the vanilla! To me, the nose is all a buttery vanilla flavored toffee, and then a lot of vanilla on the palate as well. So nice!
Let the bottle rest for a few weeks. It gets even better.
Right? I tasted it yesterday and found a LOT of vanilla, pound cake and toffee in it, so much that I didn't even get any alcoholic harshness, even though it is a 50% ABV single malt. Definitely loved it!
Had the classic Laddie on a trip away recently. It was AMAZING! Definitely its on my shopping list now. 🙂
Thanks for this review, I just had to make arrangements from halfway across the world to have someone bring it for me from England to Trinidad. Absolutely no regrets, sharing this with my grandfather was great.
i love bruichladdich, and i like their website especially to be able to have information about the vintage used for the specific batch you are drinking.
My girlfriend just popped over and saw your necklace Daniel. i quote "I pitty the fool" :) She thought it was a Mister T necklace :P She has no interrest in Whiskey but still bought me a Caol Ila 12. :) I found the right one.
And. a friend of mine who wanted to turn me into whiskey... He said "you really have to try this. it's awesome". And i really tried to like it. but it put me SO off scoth :P Perfect insight on that light blue monster :D
You picked a winner. don't' screw it up :-)
I've given Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2011 to at least a dozen people who are not regular whiskey drinkers and they were blown away.
I love Islay whiskies. Laphroaig was the start.
It was interesting to see what a "non" peated whisky would taste like.
Seems unusual for an Islay as peat and smoke differentiates them.
One word.... "delightful!"
Si, great content as always!
Yeesss! Thank you, guys. I've had the Port Charlotte and it's one of my favorites. I guess I'll have to try the classic too. Thanks, guys!
This is the only whisky channel I've watched that isn't cringe. The only one where the guys have genuine unforced chemistry.
Also, totally agree with you he 'expression' call
Ralfy.
I can understand Rex's frustration with this Scotch. I recently picked up a Bruichladdich box set that has the (unpeated) Classic Laddie, (unpeated) Islay Barley, and (heavily peated) Port Charlotte all in 200ml bottles Just like Rex I thought I was picking up notes of peat in the Classic even though it doesn't have any. I had to go back and forth with those and a few other Scotches to realize the notes I thought were peat were actually the spicy oak, brine, and bitter cocoa. Definitely a beautiful whisky and great learning experience.
Yes! The fastest way to pinpoint things is direct A/B comparisons. But all three of those whiskies are amazing.
Classic Laddie is my favorite scotch or (Scots). Period. There's simply nothing like it. I discovered it several years ago.
just got a bottle of Port charlotte scottish barley because of this video. omg its lovely. lagavulin 16 is my go to be this has opened up more fuity notes for me. love smell too. reminds me of jaffa cakes but christmasy.
love the videos. cheers to more awesome videos.
That's awesome! Love it. All great choices. Thanks for commenting!
Totally agree on this review. Was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I got sea, grass, mildew , earth . Love it
Just got my first Classic Laddie yesterday thanks to your recommendation. I'm sure Rex is a more experienced drinker than I, but I don't get the smoke. I get "scotch" flavors, but that doesn't mean smoke to me. A beautiful dram, cheers!
I think Bruichladdich, The Classic Laddie is one of the best you can buy for around $50-$60. A must have for every scotch drinker.
I agree but it's a tie between this and Bunna 12
Bruichladdich is a great distillery. Bunna 12, Port Charlotte 10, and the classic laddie are all among the best in their price range. IMHO
I fell in love with this whisky the first time I tried it and now, having tried many more with greater variety than I had in the past, I am confident in saying that this is my favourite whiskey, bar none.
I didn’t find the description they gave to be accurate at all. The Classic Laddie to me was extremely smooth and easy to drink with lots of malty, sweet, biscuits notes. The empty glass smelled like Walker’s shortbread. It was as easy to drink as a soft Speyside.
Coming back to this review after a recent experiment I did.
I was never sure what "peat" tasted like, so I took a whisky I owned that was considered peaty, and one that was similar, but unpeated.
I took a glass of this, the laddie, and a glass of Kilchoman Machir Bay, and found the differences were exactly what I was looking for. Helped me better isolate the peat taste in Lagavulin 16, and was in general a very satisfying learning experience.
Just bought a bottle of this from amazon for 40€! Bargain. Getting it tomorrow. I. Can’t. Wait. You guys are the shiznizazzle.
That dark colored Deanston over Daniels right shoulder is all I can look at. Can you please give me more info on it and your tasting notes as it looks absolutely luscious.
YES. I think you're referring to the Deanston 18yr. It's awesome.
The Classic Laddie has all the elements of peated Islay scotch minus the peat!!!!!! It's a Christmas miracle!!!! Actually I love peat, and I love this. Sometimes you want those Islay elements, but aren't necessarily in the mood for peated whisky. Winner!!!!
Yes!
This might be my favourite whisky
Funny I've only just finished a bottle I've had for 9 months, and it's gone from mineral-y and seaweedy and altogether delicious but kinda aggressive, to butter and honey and almost floral and delicate once the initial punch has gone. One of my favourite scotches, but I much preferred it when it tasted like seawater to me.
Instead of expression, whiskey companies ought to take after the car industry and use 'flagship'. As in, "The Classic Laddie is the Bruichladdich flagship whiskey". Side note, have been getting caught up on your all's videos over the last few months and really enjoy the banter and occasional whiskey tasting notes.
This whiskey definitely has a peaty aroma. From what I've read online, it's pretty much a general consensus that there is indeed some peaty-ness to this. So if the baey isn't peated...I don't know how they get this in there but it's damn wonderful.
This was the first whisk(e)y I ever tried. I smelled it coming from 5 feet away and knew it was going to be a problem. Took me 3 years to try whisk(e)y again after that, but found my way to the Glenlivet and Glenfiddich 12. I'm getting up to this type of dram now, but that was a brutal introduction.
Had it for the 1st time in the ATL last week-end at the Hilton dwtn. Me and three others cranked a bottle between us! That sure is some good stuff! Funny thing is I didn't know the other guys and gal until they noticed me ordering it. I saw the bottle on the shelf with the other singles and was curious, so I tried it.
My two favorite scotches being shown and tasted. Both very aggressive. I agree Daniel. I will never get tired of Classic Laddie and Port Charlotte.
I just bought a bottle of this and got into it yesterday. I was NOT expecting it to be 100 proof! (Even though it is indicated ob the bottle) The ABV was so high that I think it interfered with the appreciation of the taste.
*7 months later* I no longer think this :)
Love that you're reviewing my favorite distillery. But please... "Brook-laddie." Also, *Port Ellen* Maltings malts barley for most of Islay. Bruichladdich has announced that they are opening their own malting onsite to continue to produce Islay-centric spirit.
We were getting fast food when the lady at the window said, ‘Any condiments?’ My dad responded, ‘Compliments? You look very nice today!’”
This is 100% m'y favorite
Love the Bruichladich, bought the Port Charlotte when i wasn't into peat, thought i opened a stale old ashtray, but time and taste has made it a go to, smooth, personal fave is the Organic 2009, also invested in the Octomore 9.1 which is just ridiculous (great) but pricey.
the Classic Laddie is great for the price point though
You guys should hit Lagavulin 8. The 16 is one of my favorite whiskys, and I just picked up the 8. I would be curious to see how your thoughts compare to mine.
We'll shoot that this week!
As an interesting fact, I will say, that I do not taste any smoke drinking Classic Laddie neat, but sometimes I make Old Fashioned with it, and then it becomes smoky.
Watching this in 2022. Holy shit Rex… you have aged soooooooo much from this video to now 🤣
I told my friend who loves Scotch that I wasn't really interested because I didn't like peat that much. He asked me what I did like, and I told him wheated bourbon. He told me to buy this. Great buy
Kotzebue is fun. I loaded you for an hour and a half and I got five minutes. Five. I cannot wait til I get home and can binge you properly.
Wait. Did he just say the classic laddie is 16 years old??? No way
I've been drinking tiny pours of the Laddie most days for a couple weeks to try to get really familiar with it and today, on the nose (in a standard Glencairn), I got a strikingly present smell of rubber/plastic, specifically the smell of any new inflatable pool toy while you blow it up!
Hi Daniel,
I got here way of Modern Rogue. I love you philosophy of less pretention in the whisk(e)y world. Today's episode (Bruichladdich) reminded me that I don't really like agressive peaty whiskys, like a lot of Islay Scotches. Is there a way to adjust my palette to enjoy them more? Are there any flavor profiles I should be looking for beyond heavy smokey or peaty flavors? Or is this something I just have to get my taste buds used to? I've never had the Classic Laddie but to me, Bruichladdich sounds like it goes down as smooth as saying it's name.
Thanks for doing what you do! I've learned more about whisk(e)y in the last 3 weeks than I have my entire drinking life. You and Rex are the best!
Thanks! This is awesome to hear, because it's exactly what we're hoping to accomplish. If you want to get into Peat, try out the Bunnahabhain 12yr, Oban 14, Higland Park 12. All good lovely introductions that will let you work your way in.
Bunny 12 is truly unpeated.
People like peat because of the associations to peat more than the taste of peat itself. Peat is misty highland coasts, tiny villages, rustic labour and vagabonding. Visit Scotland or Ireland or anywhere, visit the North, fall in love with the area and you'll have peated Scotch whenever you feel homesick.
Bought my first bottle of BL today. Sipping the first glass watching this. So fucking good
This video is 7 years old, so the whisky may have changed. I have had only one bottle of Classic Laddie. If there is one thing I NEVER would call it, it´s aggressive 😅 To me it feels like drinking water that have been sitting in sawdust for a while (probably not though, but that’s the “feeling” I get). I have a 60% IB of Bruichladdich hidden in the back of my whisky cabinet that I find more interesting, but even that have so much taste of pinewood and sawdust I’m not sure it’s aged in oak barrels 😜 Bruichladdich is a great distillery, but I prefer Port Charlotte 😊
It’s a NAS, if I’m not mistaken. So probably not a sixteen year old. They do sell a Laddie 8, 10 and 22, that I’m sure of. I think they used (?) to do a Laddie 16 though.
Thanks for the review though.
They do list all the barrels that went into the batch if you enter the bottle code on the site. It ranges anywhere from 6yo to 18yo with the average being 7-9yo
If you take suggestions, Lot no 40 Canadian whisky (if you can get it) is a great bourbon-style (new american oak aged) 100% rye whisky.
As for the smoke note you taste, I call that toasted wood and brine notes. Not peated though, as you put. One of my faves for he price. The oak smoke is sort of like wolfburn; unpeated, but very smoky; lots of Smoked/toasted oak notes.
Keep up the good work lads!
I'm trying to get some!
Rex is right, these are not unpeated. No matter what they say. Islay barley is the same.
2:00 had me dying :D
I had port charlotte first then classic laddie and it definitely has something similar going on and I could also feel these Islay notes that tasted like peat but they were really gentle barely noticeable. Amazing whisky.
Love you guys but do you ever talk about the actual whiskey ?
8:18 - Opposite experience with Islay scotch. I did not think I cared that much for whisky UNTIL I had Laphroaig 10 for the first time.
I too instantly fell in love with peated whisky, i guess were among the anomalies that just enjoy smoky whiskys. Ardbeg was the first whisky I enjoyed, Although i do enjoy Islay whiskys more now than when i discovered them.
I may just try this after all, we have a couple of them open. Of course I need to start with the non peated one first since the ones with it tend to be a little harsh.
Rex might like whiskey, but he loves Brandy !
Just read a one star review on master of malt that said there were notes of "baby spit up" in this whiskey's taste...
Any plans to review the Bere Barley edition?
Well i got this for my birthday today and i gotta say. It’s really damn strong but i only took a small taste before sleeping so i’m going to give it a better go later on
rex, i want to see you pour daniel the classic laddie without his knowledge of the name or distillery and see what his tasting notes. got to see if he's full of shit or not! haha
Any chance of getting a review of a Bruichladdich from the Octomore farm?
I'm waiting until Rex is ready. I'll need him to be wearing his big boy pants.
Lol. I think we all need our big boy pants for that one. Never had it myself, but hear it's pretty intense.
Just a novice observation here. The barley is still roasted right? What did they use instead of peat? I’m guessing that’s where the smoke profile is coming from. I tried the Classic Laddie and picked up that note as well.
Daniel, where did you read/hear that the classic laddie is aged 16 years? Everything that I can easily find out about it suggests that it's more likely aged around 10 years. I read that they made this whisky to be a "sustainable" version of the laddie 10.
That being said, I'd be glad to know otherwise.
Re. the smokey smell: I'm getting it, too (it's mild but it's there). It doesn't especially smell like peat smoke, just a light smokiness. Don't rule out the possibility of cross-contamination (they smoke other whiskeys at Bruichladdich and peat smoke is a very strong flavor, it wouldn't take much).
Sometimes i get smoke out of unpeated Scotches. First, I started making damn sure my glencairnes were very well washed and no longer harbored that sweet smokey smell. When I still got smoke where I wasn't expecting it, I've come to assume that it comes from barrel char. I have no idea if that's right, but it's my best guess. Rex may be talking about something other than smoke when he said "peaty," but I'm talking about smoke, yo.
The Laddie is no where near 16 years old.
It is called batch 16.
It is a young expression with just over half the casks used being 7 to 8 years old. It is a vated malt from 83 casks.
I genuinely think that this has to be my next purchase just to see if I can work out what Rex is tasting.
The laddie is like vegan peat 😂
Is it possible that the smoking process is done near enough to the barrels (empty or filled) to taint the flavor of a long aged whiskey?
I get the same smokey note rex is talking about. So where does that come from if not peat.
im on the rockside farm.was on the heavy peat last night.
Nice!
I too can identify with Rex's reaction but since Laddie insists it's not peated, the peat note must be the "burnt rubber" note found in many scotches. To which I abhor since burnt rubber is simply foul (contrastingly I love the smell of fresh rubber at les Schwabe). The Laddie is like a richer Auchentoshan- simply wonderful.
I'd definitely buy a mooch shirt
Late to the tread on this, but just because it's not smoked with peat doesn't mean it won't pick it up from the water source.
I live in the west of Ireland and the water that comes out of my tap is turfy and makes my tea and coffee taste like turf. To me tea should have a peat note and I miss it when I drink tea elsewhere.
Planning to pick up Laddie next so here doing homework.
Slainte.
Dude you r doing too much snow...this is unpeated
What do you guys think about monthly whiskey clubs? Thinking about joining one to taste some brands I can't get locally. However, I'm wondering if they're worth it and whether it's better to go for ones that send a 750ml bottle every month vs those that just send a sample. I'd be kinda of bummed if my $70 that month got me a whiskey I hated. I guess that's part of the experience too though, I guess.
All I can say, is I would absolutely join all of them if Texas laws allowed them mail to my house. Like it or not, I think it would be a fun adventure.
Really? That's lame. My parents live right next door in AR and they have the same laws. I had to sneak a bottle of Blanton's on the plane to give my dad for his b-day one year.
10:55 Daniel was that an Eddie Izzard reference!?!? lol!
Midnight - those are the rules that I’ve just made up!
No flag, no country!
I'm with Rex, there is no way this is unpeated.
The random censorship of The Mooch is priceless. Yall should do a review of Leadslingers Whiskey. If need be I can try and send yall some.
Never heard of it, but Moore OK! Love it. Let's see if we can get some. I dig the veteran owned focus.
Matt Best came out with leadslingers as a budget drink for vets unfortunately some asshole shops realized the high demand in the vet community and charge insane prices for it. Matt and his gang do alot for vets
Matt would probably do a video with you also
Today is my birthday, so when I get home I will be be celebrating with my friends: Bulleit Rye, The Yamazaki 12, and Lagavulin 16.
Happy Birthday!
Cameron Mount I think bulleit rye should sit that round out. Ryemageddon is RSVPing.
I'll have to look for that when the Bulleit runs out. Only so much room in my cabinet (and budget).
Did Daniel mooch a ride from Rex? What kind of bizarre mirror world episode is this?
There's some sort of funk on the nose that I get, but oddly enough I don't get it everytime I nose it even with the same glass, and every time I notice it I can't decide if i like it.
But i think I like that
Help my mind is melting
I have a question. Should we wash our Glencairn glass? How should we wash them?
yes! and generically like any glass. they can stand up to it.
Rex I hope that car is clean by now. If not... well... ya know
Nice to see Rex perpetuating the fine tradition of trashing the censors. th-cam.com/video/wQbAb0mNCjY/w-d-xo.html
Ah, I miss Craig Ferguson.