"Unobscured despite the cask breakdown." Well said. A very honest whisky imo. Worth noting that it's quite batchy, as they play around with the casks a lot. Completely echo your sentiments about the SWA. Cheers Shane, great video. 🥃
I added a comment to the video about the SWA. They were portrayed as bad guys 'making a ruling', but this misrepresents, they were doing their job upholding EU regulation 12.3 of spirit and drinks reg.
Thanks Geoff and thanks for inspiring me to revisit this one. I can see why you picked it for WOTY. Honest, fairly priced and very well presented. Cheers 🥃
Great review & worth the extra time content. I was sipping same along side you & your tasting notes were superb ! I was getting peppery notes when the bottle was first opened, its been half full for a while now (2yrs maybe) & its lost its pepperyness, but still every bit as good. There's a good oiliness in the mouth feel too which shouldn't be overlooked. It's a perma-shelf for me.
Thank you 🙏 yes I noticed my bottle smooth out a little after being open too. And you're right about the oily mouthfeel. Undoubtedly a result of the higher ABV and lack of filtration which I should've made more of a point about. Due to that quality production it does stand head and shoulders above similar young malts on that front. Cheers 🥃
It is scary how similar our palates are. I'm so glad you keep making these videos, they help me immensely. I've really come to trust your palate. I emptied a bottle of this 3 years ago and it was... interesting, but disappointing. I think mine was completely different, darker in color and strong toffee flavors. I really like the profile they were going for, but it was just extremely alcoholic. The nice salty and funky toffee, the sweet rich barley and all the casks complexity were behind a thick wall of peppery alcohol. I could not take more than one dram at a time. I don't think I'll buy another Classic Laddie again, especially given that they are producing PC, which I prefer in every single way, and the Scottish Barley one (was this discontinued? I still have a bottle), which is absurdly lactic, funky and farmy, and I just love it. But it is nice to know that, if I get a dram of this one in the future, it will most probably be a completely different Scotch. Anyway. I think what SWA is doing is good overall, even if it is a bit annoying for the nerds like us. Imagine a world in which every single distillery was offering 50 yo whisky for cheap, and all those bottle had 0.1% of 50 yo whisky and the rest was 3 yo trash. If you let companies write how old every single cask that went in the batch is on the label, they would find a way to deceive buyers sooner than later. The age statement of the oldest casks would cover most of the label, and the rest of the ages and the percentages would be hidden in a corner, or under the bottle, or in a web page. A scary world indeed.
That's really great to hear. It's very valuable to find others who share your palate and hearing about people who have found my reviews useful in finding new things is the main reason why I keep making these videos. I know exactly what you mean by the peppery alcohol. Even though the youngest components in my bottle of Classic Laddie are only 3 years younger than the Laddie 10 that I used to love, this modern bottle is just a bit too young. Too much bite, needs more time. I like it but the youth qualifies as a flaw IMHO. The convoluted cask breakdown and wine influence don't help. Agreed that we do need something like the SWA. We don't want the same (almost) anything goes situation in whisky that we have with rum! But I feel like something could have been done. The obvious solution would be to stick with the law about only putting the youngest age on the label but add an ammendment that allows PDFs on the producer's website in the same format as Compass Box were doing where every component, its age and proportions are listed. They could've used Compass Box's layout as a template! So close but no cigar... 🥃
I bought a bottle of this back in 2021. Batch # 21/011. I really liked it at first but after breathing for a few weeks it developed a very strong cow barn aroma that I find very off putting. I keep checking every few months to see if it’s disappeared but no, every time it’s still there. Not sure if it is just that batch that was maybe exposed to something. Wonder if anyone has had a similar experience.
Cow barns 😮 this is going to shock you but it sounds like you got an old style Bruichladdich batch. Perhaps they put some older casks in that batch. Perhaps you're just very sensitive to it. But the early spirit from when Bruichladdich reopened 20 yrs ago all has that cow sheds and lactic butyric profile and over the years it has disappeared. I miss it! Laddie 10 (distilled 2001) has it, Bruichladdich Origins (contains casks from 2001) has it and I'm assuming that the new 18yo (which will have been distilled around 2005) will have it too. I have a bottle so we will find out soon! But why does it taste like that? Interesting. Possibly they changed their distillation process. I think it's more likely a change to the washbacks. Maybe different yeast. Maybe more regular cleaning. It does seem like a fermentary flavour to me. Paradoxically I also sometimes get very faint and mild peaty flavours from Bruichladdich distilled just after the reopening and others have found the same. So I don't know if they were using a very small percentage of peated malt in early batches (not unheard of) or if there was some residual peat in the equipment. Very interesting and not something we get in modern Bruichladdich.
Great and well balanced review Shane. Their transparency is awesome and great they were one of the series BCorp whisky distillers! I kinda like the aqua marine bottle colour! Annoying they didn’t make a liquid level viewing window !!Love the detail you go into. I agree. It’s a decent honest whisky but nothing remarkable. I bought my first Classic Laddie in 2023 But haven’t tried the previous 10 years old Laddie! Decent flavour and strength and if you get it a discounted price then it’s decent value for money. It’s a safe bet. But not a dream dram or knock your socks off. It is a shame the price has gone up and the quality has gone down. But let’s not live in the past! Like you challenging the SWA’s logic and throwing some shade their way whilst explaining the topic and issue. Keep Up the great work ! Slanj. 🥃🙌🏻
I really like the classic laddie. It encouraged me to buy the 18 too. I really like what Bruichladdich are doing with sustainability as well. With the caps, wood likely has a higher carbon footprint than recycled PP in most cases. It depends on forestry practices and crucially whether the wood ends up in landfill though. It’s complicated.
I haven't tried the Classic Laddie, I ordered it but received the Laddie 8 instead. When I read up on the differences between the two, the Classic Laddie had 6-7-year-old whisky and used more casks overall in a batch than the Laddie 8. I'm enjoying the Laddie 8, it doesn't taste young and is quite balanced. Cheers!
Just picked up a bottle for £39 on Amazon. Not seen this in the supermarket. I agree all the different casks this has bern made with is just ridiculous. I love barley flavours so im hoping the wine casks dont drown the flavours of the spirit.
I bought this after seeing a review from another TH-camr. Loved the bottle although it seems that most people don't like it. Having said that I do prefer the old bottle to this one but I can't fault the liquid. Not sure that I follow what you say about it tasting like a young whisky although it is younger than ten years old as you say. I feel that Stuireadair tastes like a younger whisky but I do enjoy both. One thing about offers, I often see this on offer in both Tesco's and Morrison's and indeed any whisky I can purchase at reduced prices I will. E.g. Ardbeg 10 £40 at Sainsbury's and Cardhu Gold Reserve £27. Keep up the good work.
Stiuireadair is a good comparison to make to this one. I like Stiuireadair but I like Bunna 12 a lot more. I will buy Stiuireadair though because its cheaper which makes it very, very good value. Especially when on offer. I think this Classic Laddie is on about the same level as Stiuireadair. Ardbeg 10 offers at Sainsburys are a god send 👍
I remember opening a bottle about 2 years ago and and couldn’t get past the ethanol for months, to later fall in love with it and buy another four bottles of that specific batch 😄
Great stuff Lock now I loved the old Tobermory 10 and that was batchy. So I've always got on with this dram, but I just love the Manchester City colour of the bottle 🙂 makes me smile every time I reach for the bottle ;-)
I'm looking to get into whiskey drinking and wanted to know a good place to start? The only one I've seen multiple videos recommend is Monkey Shoulder. Any other recommendations that preferably are available in a miniature as I don't fancy spending £40 on a bottle to end up hating it lol
Welcome to the wonderful world of whisky! My advice would be to try as many different miniatures and samples as you can and KEEP NOTES so you have a permanent reference for future. If you're in the UK then Master of Malt and Whisky Exchange are incredible for offering a huge range of 30ml samples. This is the shortcut to becoming experienced with whisky without spending too much. ASDA and Sainsburys also have a small amount of whisky miniatures. 200ml bottles are great for trying more things affordably. Glenfiddich and a few others offer these smaller bottles. Regarding Monkey Shoulder... it used to be great value but I don't think it's as good as it used to be. If you want a sherried whisky that's excellent value, look for Thompson Bros TB/BSW. It's only a little over £30 and is excellent. Other cheap bottles that are an excellent intro to Scotch: Glen Moray Elgin Classic can be had for not much more than £20 on supermarket discount and Glendower Blended Malt is a very enjoyable starter dram which can be had for under £20 if you have an Iceland Food Warehouse.
@@WhiskyLock Would you recommend AnCnoc 12, Aberfeldy 12, and Old Pulteney 12? I've seen some videos suggesting these are good for beginners and the flavour notes mentioned do interest me. I saw your Monkey Shoulder video after leaving my original comment and I think I'll steer clear of it.
Yes to any of the three if you can get them on discount. Which should be possible several times a year. They're all decent, non challenging, middle of the road drams. We can also add Glenlivet 12 (currently £31 with a clubcard) and Glenfiddich 12 (£30 with a clubcard) to that list.
@@WhiskyLock I think I'll give all of those a try then. Are the Glenlivet 12 'Double Oak' and the Glenlivet 12 'First Fill American Oak' the same thing? The Whisky Exchange only seem to have Glenlivet 12 'Double Oak' and a Glenlivet 12 'First Fill American, the only Glenlivet 12 is £175 a bottle lol .
@@MrHowardMoon Not the same. Glenlivet 12 Double Oak is the normal, standard one. Used to just be called Glenlivet 12. Double Oak means it's matured in bourbon casks AND sherry casks. Just been in ASDA; it's £31 in there if you wanted to save some money.
Hi man. Love your channel. Great review. I've started a little whisky club for some mates of mine and want to showcase a classic Lowlands profile whisky at some point in the not too distant future. What might be a good option for classic Lowlands flavours? - whilst also being fairly affordable? Thanks WL
Thank you. Interesting and difficult question. I'd probably skip Auchentoshan unless you can find an IB with good reviews. Their OB stuff just doesn't make the grade. Glenkinchie 12 is decent but being a Diageo product you don't get a craft presentation. Still good and usually easy to find though. Bladnoch 10 would've been a great example of the Lowlands but will be hard to find now. Bladnoch Vinaya is a good substitute although perhaps a little sweeter than you'd expect from Lowlands. My pick though would probably be Kingsbarns Dream to Dram or Doocot. It's very, very good. A relatively new distillery but I think they're one of the future stars of the Lowlands. Hope this helps.
Great bang for your bucks, but Im not a fan of the glenmorangie 10 which is a generic entry level whisky to me. I love the malt in this and is totally drinkable straight for a young whisky if you don’t mind a bit of pepper. It gives it a great mid palate presence. Like having high rye bourbon. Is there something with a similar profile that is not as youthful? Obviously expecting something a bit older and more expensive .
Very interesting comparison to high rye bourbon. I can see where you're coming from. And no... Glenmo 10 isn't the most exciting! Things that are similar to this but less youthful... actually a surprisingly difficult question I think! I haven't tried them for a while but I'm tempted to say Deanston. Probably Dalmunach once they start releasing some older stuff. Probably Glencadam. And if you have access to IB stuff then probably most of the blend filler distilleries like the three Singletons, Balmenach or Dailuaine if you can find them at a good ABV and matured in bourbon / hogsheads. There's a few leads for you 😁
The latest batch of this expression seems younger but I do like Bruichladdich a lot and The Classic Laddie is very nice! I like the integrity of the distillery! I am a peat head but this is a nice dipper. The Scottish Bstley is amazing and I love and appreciate the nosing and what I get in my palette! There is some batch variation though - IMO! Terrific review! Cheers!!
Young but decent and very well presented 👍 The ABV, transparency campaigning and lack of filtration alone make me want to buy Bruichladdich again. A great example to the others. Cheers Christine 🥃
It's been a while but I liked Laddie 8. I think it's better than Classic Laddie. More mature, more cohesive but still sharp and distillate led. Classic Laddie, Laddie 8 and Laddie 10 are surprisingly different whiskies IMHO.
@@WhiskyLock I thought the Laddie 8 was younger but realised I was wrong after your insightful review. Should have guessed since there is no aged statement on the Classic.
Yeah... my batch of Classic Laddie has a lot of 6-7 yo casks in it and it shows. Some batches may be younger/older 🤷♂️ sneaky NAS... I remember the Laddie 8 being a more polished whisky though.
Finally opened a bottle of this. Not sure, seems youthful And the distillation dates of 9 out of 12 of the casks is surprisingly absent. Only the 8 year casks are noted. Crazy vatting for sure. 4 of the casks were dual matured and one was triple matured.
Its not bad at all but I’ve never really connected with it. It’s got too much sharpness to it. A bite that I’m not fond of. Even with a little water and plenty of time. Bere Barley is more expensive but waaay better.
Youthful yes. I enjoy it but it's young whisky. A little younger than it probably should be! Bruichladdich did originally give distillation years for all casks but 'redacted' them when the SWA ruled that the law on only advertising the age of the youngest component must be enforced literally and without exception 😕 Sad... And yes, lots of crazy casks go into this. All types of grape based casks. Different woods. Different levels of refill. Bruichladdich have a massive hard on for wine casks in particular and I wish they'd give it a rest. Still... a decent and very well presented young malt but not a must buy as the discontinued Laddie 10 was.
Wee surprise these days...Bruichladdich with no eighteen on a bottle 😉. Old good Laddie. Still got a dram or two in my bottle so its good occasion to sip it. I will come back latter to watch again and enjoy this one with you 🥂👌
Between you and me... I bought a bottle of the 18 😬 haven't opened it yet. I might save it for a special video as I have a few other 18s on the shelf and it'd be good to compare. Especially as the prices vary a lot... if you get where I'm going! I also have one last bottle of Laddie 10 on my shelf. Precious stuff! Which I will review soon 🙂 Cheers 🥃
Great review echoing my own journey with this expression. I had a glass at a hotel bar a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Since then I've bought a couple of bottles. I don't think it's worth more than £40 a bottle. Errr, that certain online behemoth was selling Bunnahabhain 12 for £36 recently.
Giving money to Jeff doesn't make me happy. Cheap Bunna 12 on the other hand... does! I'm glad we have Bruichladdich but Bunna has overtaken them now as my favourite unpeated Islay OB 🥃
The whisky which feels best when rubbed against the face. I too get that splintery newly-made shed note, particularly on the aftertaste. I don't know where it comes from. Despite that, I keep returning to Bruichladdies because it's bold and intriguing, without being peated. I am currently enjoying the Islay Barley 2013.
There's definitely been some 'wood doctoring' gone into this one. Considering that the youngest casks are 7yo I'm not entirely surely why... tinkering for the sake of being clever and different? 🤔 I agree that Bruichladdich is an endearing and inspiring distillery though. Love their commitment to transparency and quality and I may have to get an Islay Barley soon as well. Fun Fact: the 'glug glug' in my intro is a bottle of Islay Barley that I had just finished when I started doing TH-cam 😁
Hello, when it comes to Bruichladdich, i prefer their peated Expressions. Rhins, Port Charlotte, Lochindaal and Octomore always get me.😅 I dont like their fully colour covered Bottles for the Reason you already said, but its the only Thing they do wrong in my Opinion. All Bottlings i had from them always delivered fully. (Even their Gin, The Botanist) Great Distillery. Love it. Thanks for Reviewing. Keep up your good Work. Greetings from Germany 😎 🤘 I think i should turn my Peathead more to their unpeated Bottlings in the Future.😅
Yeah I think I prefer PC10 and Octomore too. Now if Laddie 10 were still around then that'd be different! Botanist gin is fantastic. Probably my favourite gin. Cheers 🥃
Nice Shane! I do like the old one but when I say 'old' I have no idea which batch of the NAS versions it is. I have tried the 2023 release of the new design and I thought it tasted younger than the first NAS with the old shape. I never think a redesign is as innocent as 'just aesthetics' and I think companies always play around with the formula as well.
I really need to start recording batch numbers in my tasting notes for everything (not just the special stuff) but haven't quite got there yet! I know that I had around 3 bottles of the old style NAS. One was from 2014 when it first appeared. One was from around 2018 and one after that. I think this 2023 bottle is a slight improvement but I don't think the difference is huge. Well within the range of normal batch variation. And while well presented and good value, all the Classic Laddie that I've had has been a very poor imitation of the previous Laddie 10 from 2011. I loved that stuff. Entirely different animal. I even preferred it to the old Laddie 16 and 22. I'm not sure why Bruichladdich can't bring that 10yo back without all the wine cask faff that we have in this one. Interesting that Bruichladdich don't get the pushback for removing age statements and relying on wine casks that say... Jura and Glenlivet did/do. I guess bottling everything at 50% and ncf wins you a certain degree of tolerance from the enthusiasts. Which is fair!
@@WhiskyLock See I haven't tried the old 10 so my reference point is much limited. Yeah Bruichladdich doesn't get that much crap because of the things you mentioned and also they make tasty whiskies unlike Jura!😅 Man the day I enjoy a bottle of Jura will be a special day! Here's hoping 🤞🥃
Great review ! For me it has many floral notes specially on the nose. I love it. But I found horrible the new bottle design. It looks like a sport water bottle.
Thank you Pierre. I can see what you mean about the bottle. It's a very odd one! Nice and compact though and it definitely stands out on a shelf 🤔 Cheers 🥃
Whisky over the last 10 years has seen more bottlings, but the overall quality has gone DOWN for certain and the prices have gone up 30-50%. It’s not a happy scene right now.
Hard to disagree. I think part of the reason is lots of distilleries 'playing it safe'. Many distilleries simply have less character and stand out notes than 10-20 years ago. Like this Classic Laddie.
@@WhiskyLock they all also seem to be drifting toward younger whiskies at the price that older whiskies use to be at. I expect to see more whiskies with NAS or young ages being sold higher, but with higher ABV and the whole natural color non-chill filtered bragging. Meanwhile the cost of a 14 year dram will soon be above what we paid for an 18 to 21 year old soon.
Aah, the good old days... when 10yo whisky was "entry level." Now we have new distilleries selling their 5yo for more than we're used to paying for 15yo because it's so old. I can't wait for Bruichladdich to put a 10 year age statement back on this bottle. I'd love to try one but it's not happening before that.
Good old days indeed! It's cliche to harp on about how much better things used to be.... but that old Laddie 10 really was. And if anything we're paying more now for the younger product than we were back then. I would love to see Laddie 10 return. Although having tried the Laddie 10 Second Edition I think it will take more than just extra time to get that original flavour profile back. But we can hope!
@@WhiskyLock Yeah... they've fallen hard on the wine casks and I'm not sure we'd get them to abandon that for us. But still, giving us a reasonable age statement doesn't seem beyond their capabilities. Most distilleries in scotland can do it, and even some that haven't been able to are getting back to it. (Good job, Glenglassaugh!) Interestingly there was a bottle of this on the bar at dinner last night, so I ordered a pour. Your review was spot-on. It's pleasant enough, clearly young & a bit spiky still. Good flavor if not intense flavor. I've certainly loved 7yo whisky from Bruichladdich in the past (Islay Barley 07, 09...) but this one needs another 3 years. It drinks like a compromise.
The biggest positive here is there are other choices.. LOL this is actually good and unique on its own but in contrast with much anything else it gets swamped. +65€ in Portugal not thanks. Cheers!
Agreed. I get that it's their entry level product but I think it could do with a little improvement. Or bring back a bourbon matured 10yo and price it a little higher. Cheers 🥃
@@WhiskyLock yes I'm grateful. I've got a specialist shop round the corner to. Got macleans nose a few weeks ago, was disappointed but terrific in coffee.
Are you saying it serves a dual purpose? Sounds like excellent value 😂 Agreed there's room for improvement. It's probably worth mentioning that it is one of a handful of affordable OB bottles that goes above 46% though. There aren't many.
Sounds about right to me. Did you get that info from Bruichladdich? The problem is that approx 40% of my bottle is 6-7yo and it shows. IMHO the apparent age is much closer to 7 than 10. My talk of 142 yo casks is obviously levelled at the SWA and the murky guesswork that their decision leads to. I'd be shocked to hear that there's anything remotely old in this. Cheers John 🥃
@@WhiskyLock 🤐… recently attended a Bruichladdich event where we were given 7 cask strength component bottles and were challenged to recreate the Classic Laddie… can’t say much more…😇
1 - sweep everything that's not a wine cask into a large bag 2 - leave 😂 This is why I don't get invited to these things anymore 😬 Seriously though... I used to buy the 3x 200ml Micro Provenance sets from Bruichladdich. And some of those cask strength single casks were phenomenal. Don't think they do them anymore 😔
Hi! I wouldn't have a problem with it being on the simple and straight forward side (ie boring), that style can be a nice change now and again. But I agree it is a little sharp, maybe even borderline rough. I feel like Bruichladdich should have the stocks to be able to improve it in that regard. More in line with the old Laddie 10.
@@WhiskyLock I tend to reach for Islay Barley or Bere Barley. Both quite a bit more expensive here. Even those need a good amount of time to settle down open up in my experience. At a similar price point, Glencadam 10 is what I’d go with. Clearly better to me, and cheaper. Great job with your channel, by the way.
@@WhiskyLock Sounds like a review! I’ve had 2 bottles each of the 10 and 15. Both very impressive. Excited to try the 18, and they have a few other interesting bottlings.
Oh no - someone's trying something different than the standard classic bottle to try to standout on the shelves. It's the end of the world, whisky fans let's protest !
@@WhiskyLock Meanwhile at Ardbeg: hey let's take some second rate experimental whisky aged in ex-motor oil barrels, put some flashy packaging and make it a limited edition for 130€ Whisky fans: shut up and take my money !!!
Laphroaig may have gone a step further. Just reading an email about Laphroaig Elements 2.0 going on sale for £175. They've created a whisky specifically targeting enthusiasts like us and put a 4x on the price... makes me want to buy my whisky elsewhere...
@@WhiskyLock i got the email too yes ! I love Laphroaig but for the price of two bottles of 10CS i'll pass. However i did preorder the Ardbeg spectacular 😅 Couldn't resist ! And based on your recommendation i'm about ton order a Ledaig 18... But 120€ is my limit. I won't buy anything more expensive than that. For now...
Ah they got you! 😉 you'll have to let me know what you think of that Ardbeg. I let it go. Too many other things I need to review before I buy anything else. I think you'll really enjoy Ledaig 18. It's one of my favourites and very good value 👍
I like your videos, but I think you've misrepresented the issue between SWA and compass box. Someone reported compass box to the SWA for breaking EU regulation which is there to protect the consumer and to stop 'teaspooning' old whisky into new. It's the SWA's job to uphold law, and so they informed compass box. SWA did not "make a ruling" as you said in the video, they simply did their job and unfortunately there was a lot of misinformation about that. Feel free to Google it and do a bit of digging on the subject. For me, the much more interesting question is who reported them in the first place and what was their motive.
Firstly thank you 🙏 To be fair we're all dealing in second hand information and one sided stories on this matter. From what I've seen, the SWA haven't been to forthcoming with their side of the story. Probably understandably. The original law on declaring age statements wasn't to stop teaspooning, which is still done regularly. It was to stop distilleries from putting an age on the label that corresponds to the teaspooned portion. In the distant past and with some other spirits, distilleries have been known to put the age of the very oldest casks on the label. There's a "5yo blended rum" for sale right now called Duppy's Share which clearly states 5yo on the front label and on the back label that it's a blend of 3 and 5yo rum!! Perfectly legal for rum and clearly misleading. This is what the law for Scotch is to prevent. And rightly so. I don't believe that the law was ever to prevent distilleries from total transparency. ie. Clearly revealing the age and proportion of every component of a vatting. Why do we need protecting from the honest and complete truth after all? As for who reported them... some believe that a company beginning with D who owns a distillery beginning with C reported them because Compass Box were getting very popular by openly selling products containing whisky from distillery C that were better and cheaper than the overly diluted and filtered OB stuff and making them look bad 😉 but that is purely speculation that I've heard! The ruling that I mentioned the SWA making is that Bruichladdich and Compass Box appealed for it to be allowed to mention the older casks providing that all ages and proportions were listed. SWA said no. Which is when Compass Box removed the actual ages from the datasets (kind of) and Bruichladdich redacted the year of distillation for all but the youngest casks used in Classic Laddie. IMHO to comply with the law but also to show how stupid the ruling is. The interesting part to me. And to be honest the only part I care about is that if distilleries are making a multivintage product then they're no longer allowed to tell us what we're buying. I don't see how that's a good thing and I think it's a massive shame that SWA didn't allow an exception when the full cask breakdown is given. It really flies in the face of this idea that we've been sold about NAS whisky being as good as age statements because of the potential of mixed vintage vattings. The current situation means we're not allowed the information we need to make a judgement on whether or not to buy NAS and we run the risk of only finding out that a bottle is full of 3-4yo whisky after we've bought it. Hardly seems like protecting the consumer to me. Obviously the consumers (and profit margins) that the SWA are protecting are the majority who are buying cheap blends and not the informed enthusiasts like us. Apologies for the long reply. I just find the situation interesting and I really hope that things will change at some point to allow the level of honesty we used to have.
Thanks very much for the important feedback. I've just replaced my recording laptop so I've had to set everything up again. I took the gain down a little to keep the recording clean but might have gone too far. Hard to tell for an amateur such as myself. Cheers 🥃
Ahh man... if you find the hint of baby vomit in this one unpleasant then you need to keep away from early Bruichladdichs which had it 10x 😂 I know exactly what you mean though. Once you find something that you don't like in a whisky it stands out so much more. Cheers 🥃
@@WhiskyLock that's why I'm a bit scared to open a couple of single cask bruichladdich I have. It's also why I don't mind macallan once in awhile (not my favorite or anything) and can pick it out of a lineup. I always get "old coloured pencil box with pencil shavings" on macallan. Too much nostalgia to pass up.
@@Whiskyfan519 are they pre 2000 vintage? You may be OK. If they're from the early 2000s then I'd definitely look up tasting notes to see what might be in store 😬 Coloured pencil box with shavings is an excellent tasting note. I know exactly what you mean.
@@WhiskyLock 2009 distillation 11yr and 2010 distillation 10 yr. The 2009 is aged in 2nd fill Spanish ribera del duero and 63.5% The 2010 is 1st fill bourbon 58.8% They're store picks from 2 separate stores in Alberta. According to the notes I can almost guarantee I'll like the wine cask more. The bourbon cask is described as cheesy and farmy. But it is lightly peated so it might draw me back in. I'll have to crack em and just get on with it lol.
That’s ridiculous why wouldn’t you want total transparency I know many that really want full transparency and seeing how we as consumers should have total transparency. Those that are against this shouldn’t be in the position they have. What are you hiding from us that buy these products. Again just ridiculous. I don’t buy blended whiskey unless on vacation cause it’s cheaper but I only buy single malt whisky cause if you can’t get it right with one then you just suck at producing whisky. Just saying.
"Unobscured despite the cask breakdown." Well said. A very honest whisky imo. Worth noting that it's quite batchy, as they play around with the casks a lot.
Completely echo your sentiments about the SWA. Cheers Shane, great video. 🥃
I added a comment to the video about the SWA. They were portrayed as bad guys 'making a ruling', but this misrepresents, they were doing their job upholding EU regulation 12.3 of spirit and drinks reg.
Thanks Geoff and thanks for inspiring me to revisit this one. I can see why you picked it for WOTY. Honest, fairly priced and very well presented. Cheers 🥃
Definitely very catchy.
Great review & worth the extra time content. I was sipping same along side you & your tasting notes were superb ! I was getting peppery notes when the bottle was first opened, its been half full for a while now (2yrs maybe) & its lost its pepperyness, but still every bit as good. There's a good oiliness in the mouth feel too which shouldn't be overlooked. It's a perma-shelf for me.
Thank you 🙏 yes I noticed my bottle smooth out a little after being open too. And you're right about the oily mouthfeel. Undoubtedly a result of the higher ABV and lack of filtration which I should've made more of a point about. Due to that quality production it does stand head and shoulders above similar young malts on that front. Cheers 🥃
It is scary how similar our palates are. I'm so glad you keep making these videos, they help me immensely. I've really come to trust your palate.
I emptied a bottle of this 3 years ago and it was... interesting, but disappointing. I think mine was completely different, darker in color and strong toffee flavors. I really like the profile they were going for, but it was just extremely alcoholic. The nice salty and funky toffee, the sweet rich barley and all the casks complexity were behind a thick wall of peppery alcohol. I could not take more than one dram at a time. I don't think I'll buy another Classic Laddie again, especially given that they are producing PC, which I prefer in every single way, and the Scottish Barley one (was this discontinued? I still have a bottle), which is absurdly lactic, funky and farmy, and I just love it. But it is nice to know that, if I get a dram of this one in the future, it will most probably be a completely different Scotch.
Anyway. I think what SWA is doing is good overall, even if it is a bit annoying for the nerds like us. Imagine a world in which every single distillery was offering 50 yo whisky for cheap, and all those bottle had 0.1% of 50 yo whisky and the rest was 3 yo trash. If you let companies write how old every single cask that went in the batch is on the label, they would find a way to deceive buyers sooner than later. The age statement of the oldest casks would cover most of the label, and the rest of the ages and the percentages would be hidden in a corner, or under the bottle, or in a web page. A scary world indeed.
That's really great to hear. It's very valuable to find others who share your palate and hearing about people who have found my reviews useful in finding new things is the main reason why I keep making these videos.
I know exactly what you mean by the peppery alcohol. Even though the youngest components in my bottle of Classic Laddie are only 3 years younger than the Laddie 10 that I used to love, this modern bottle is just a bit too young. Too much bite, needs more time. I like it but the youth qualifies as a flaw IMHO. The convoluted cask breakdown and wine influence don't help.
Agreed that we do need something like the SWA. We don't want the same (almost) anything goes situation in whisky that we have with rum! But I feel like something could have been done. The obvious solution would be to stick with the law about only putting the youngest age on the label but add an ammendment that allows PDFs on the producer's website in the same format as Compass Box were doing where every component, its age and proportions are listed. They could've used Compass Box's layout as a template! So close but no cigar... 🥃
The "Hard to see" part properly cracked me up! 🤣 Nice review!
🤓🤡 😂
😆 same
I agree with you about Classic Laddie. I have a 2023 bottle, an honest whisky , but nothing remarkable. Cheers!
Well said! Cheers 🥃
I bought a bottle of this back in 2021. Batch # 21/011. I really liked it at first but after breathing for a few weeks it developed a very strong cow barn aroma that I find very off putting. I keep checking every few months to see if it’s disappeared but no, every time it’s still there. Not sure if it is just that batch that was maybe exposed to something. Wonder if anyone has had a similar experience.
Cow barns 😮 this is going to shock you but it sounds like you got an old style Bruichladdich batch. Perhaps they put some older casks in that batch. Perhaps you're just very sensitive to it. But the early spirit from when Bruichladdich reopened 20 yrs ago all has that cow sheds and lactic butyric profile and over the years it has disappeared. I miss it!
Laddie 10 (distilled 2001) has it, Bruichladdich Origins (contains casks from 2001) has it and I'm assuming that the new 18yo (which will have been distilled around 2005) will have it too. I have a bottle so we will find out soon!
But why does it taste like that? Interesting. Possibly they changed their distillation process. I think it's more likely a change to the washbacks. Maybe different yeast. Maybe more regular cleaning. It does seem like a fermentary flavour to me.
Paradoxically I also sometimes get very faint and mild peaty flavours from Bruichladdich distilled just after the reopening and others have found the same. So I don't know if they were using a very small percentage of peated malt in early batches (not unheard of) or if there was some residual peat in the equipment. Very interesting and not something we get in modern Bruichladdich.
Great and well balanced review Shane. Their transparency is awesome and great they were one of the series BCorp whisky distillers! I kinda like the aqua marine bottle colour! Annoying they didn’t make a liquid level viewing window !!Love the detail you go into. I agree. It’s a decent honest whisky but nothing remarkable. I bought my first Classic Laddie in 2023
But haven’t tried the previous 10 years old Laddie! Decent flavour and strength and if you get it a discounted price then it’s decent value for money. It’s a safe bet. But not a dream dram or knock your socks off. It is a shame the price has gone up and the quality has gone down. But let’s not live in the past! Like you challenging the SWA’s logic and throwing some shade their way whilst explaining the topic and issue. Keep
Up the great work ! Slanj. 🥃🙌🏻
Fully agree. Do try the old Laddie 10 if you get the chance at a reasonable price. Cheers!
I really like the classic laddie. It encouraged me to buy the 18 too. I really like what Bruichladdich are doing with sustainability as well.
With the caps, wood likely has a higher carbon footprint than recycled PP in most cases. It depends on forestry practices and crucially whether the wood ends up in landfill though. It’s complicated.
It's great that they're really doing something about sustainability. A great example!
I haven't tried the Classic Laddie, I ordered it but received the Laddie 8 instead. When I read up on the differences between the two, the Classic Laddie had 6-7-year-old whisky and used more casks overall in a batch than the Laddie 8. I'm enjoying the Laddie 8, it doesn't taste young and is quite balanced. Cheers!
Sounds like a good result. Classic Laddie is decent but I enjoyed Laddie 8 more. Cheers 🥃
Thanks for an as always excellent review, Shane.
Slàinte mhath
Cheers buddy 🥃
Just picked up a bottle for £39 on Amazon. Not seen this in the supermarket. I agree all the different casks this has bern made with is just ridiculous. I love barley flavours so im hoping the wine casks dont drown the flavours of the spirit.
It's a solid dram. The Cask recipe does seem like they're trying a little too hard though...
I bought this after seeing a review from another TH-camr. Loved the bottle although it seems that most people don't like it. Having said that I do prefer the old bottle to this one but I can't fault the liquid. Not sure that I follow what you say about it tasting like a young whisky although it is younger than ten years old as you say. I feel that Stuireadair tastes like a younger whisky but I do enjoy both. One thing about offers, I often see this on offer in both Tesco's and Morrison's and indeed any whisky I can purchase at reduced prices I will. E.g. Ardbeg 10 £40 at Sainsbury's and Cardhu Gold Reserve £27. Keep up the good work.
Stiuireadair is a good comparison to make to this one. I like Stiuireadair but I like Bunna 12 a lot more. I will buy Stiuireadair though because its cheaper which makes it very, very good value. Especially when on offer. I think this Classic Laddie is on about the same level as Stiuireadair.
Ardbeg 10 offers at Sainsburys are a god send 👍
I remember opening a bottle about 2 years ago and and couldn’t get past the ethanol for months, to later fall in love with it and buy another four bottles of that specific batch 😄
Result! 😂 never underestimate the power of airing 🙂
Great stuff Lock now I loved the old Tobermory 10 and that was batchy. So I've always got on with this dram, but I just love the Manchester City colour of the bottle 🙂 makes me smile every time I reach for the bottle ;-)
I can see a fan of Tobermory 10 getting on with this 👍
Yes, it's a spray on coating similar to metal powder coating.
Thanks for confirming. Love it or hate it, they've certainly put a lot of thought into that bottle.
I'm looking to get into whiskey drinking and wanted to know a good place to start? The only one I've seen multiple videos recommend is Monkey Shoulder. Any other recommendations that preferably are available in a miniature as I don't fancy spending £40 on a bottle to end up hating it lol
Welcome to the wonderful world of whisky! My advice would be to try as many different miniatures and samples as you can and KEEP NOTES so you have a permanent reference for future.
If you're in the UK then Master of Malt and Whisky Exchange are incredible for offering a huge range of 30ml samples. This is the shortcut to becoming experienced with whisky without spending too much. ASDA and Sainsburys also have a small amount of whisky miniatures.
200ml bottles are great for trying more things affordably. Glenfiddich and a few others offer these smaller bottles.
Regarding Monkey Shoulder... it used to be great value but I don't think it's as good as it used to be. If you want a sherried whisky that's excellent value, look for Thompson Bros TB/BSW. It's only a little over £30 and is excellent.
Other cheap bottles that are an excellent intro to Scotch: Glen Moray Elgin Classic can be had for not much more than £20 on supermarket discount and Glendower Blended Malt is a very enjoyable starter dram which can be had for under £20 if you have an Iceland Food Warehouse.
@@WhiskyLock Would you recommend AnCnoc 12, Aberfeldy 12, and Old Pulteney 12? I've seen some videos suggesting these are good for beginners and the flavour notes mentioned do interest me. I saw your Monkey Shoulder video after leaving my original comment and I think I'll steer clear of it.
Yes to any of the three if you can get them on discount. Which should be possible several times a year. They're all decent, non challenging, middle of the road drams.
We can also add Glenlivet 12 (currently £31 with a clubcard) and Glenfiddich 12 (£30 with a clubcard) to that list.
@@WhiskyLock I think I'll give all of those a try then. Are the Glenlivet 12 'Double Oak' and the Glenlivet 12 'First Fill American Oak' the same thing? The Whisky Exchange only seem to have Glenlivet 12 'Double Oak' and a Glenlivet 12 'First Fill American, the only Glenlivet 12 is £175 a bottle lol .
@@MrHowardMoon Not the same. Glenlivet 12 Double Oak is the normal, standard one. Used to just be called Glenlivet 12. Double Oak means it's matured in bourbon casks AND sherry casks. Just been in ASDA; it's £31 in there if you wanted to save some money.
Hi man. Love your channel. Great review. I've started a little whisky club for some mates of mine and want to showcase a classic Lowlands profile whisky at some point in the not too distant future. What might be a good option for classic Lowlands flavours? - whilst also being fairly affordable? Thanks WL
Thank you. Interesting and difficult question. I'd probably skip Auchentoshan unless you can find an IB with good reviews. Their OB stuff just doesn't make the grade. Glenkinchie 12 is decent but being a Diageo product you don't get a craft presentation. Still good and usually easy to find though. Bladnoch 10 would've been a great example of the Lowlands but will be hard to find now. Bladnoch Vinaya is a good substitute although perhaps a little sweeter than you'd expect from Lowlands.
My pick though would probably be Kingsbarns Dream to Dram or Doocot. It's very, very good. A relatively new distillery but I think they're one of the future stars of the Lowlands. Hope this helps.
@WhiskyLock thank you so much WL. Super helpful. Will see if I can get a bottle of Doocot at a reasonable price 🥃💙
Great bang for your bucks, but Im not a fan of the glenmorangie 10 which is a generic entry level whisky to me. I love the malt in this and is totally drinkable straight for a young whisky if you don’t mind a bit of pepper. It gives it a great mid palate presence. Like having high rye bourbon.
Is there something with a similar profile that is not as youthful? Obviously expecting something a bit older and more expensive .
Very interesting comparison to high rye bourbon. I can see where you're coming from. And no... Glenmo 10 isn't the most exciting!
Things that are similar to this but less youthful... actually a surprisingly difficult question I think! I haven't tried them for a while but I'm tempted to say Deanston. Probably Dalmunach once they start releasing some older stuff. Probably Glencadam. And if you have access to IB stuff then probably most of the blend filler distilleries like the three Singletons, Balmenach or Dailuaine if you can find them at a good ABV and matured in bourbon / hogsheads. There's a few leads for you 😁
Great amount of information as always! Thanks 🙂
Lo and behold, reviewing a Scotch has summoned SOWLEG 😂 Nice to hear from you and I hope you're both in good spirits. Cheers 🥃
@@WhiskyLock You know us well😂 We certainly are - we have a tasting with the regular crew line up in two weeks time, those are always great😋
@@sowlegwhiskyreview5501 Agree with Lock. Great to hear from you.
@@welshtoro3256 Right back at you WT🙂
The latest batch of this expression seems younger but I do like Bruichladdich a lot and The Classic Laddie is very nice! I like the integrity of the distillery! I am a peat head but this is a nice dipper. The Scottish Bstley is amazing and I love and appreciate the nosing and what I get in my palette! There is some batch variation though - IMO! Terrific review! Cheers!!
Young but decent and very well presented 👍
The ABV, transparency campaigning and lack of filtration alone make me want to buy Bruichladdich again. A great example to the others.
Cheers Christine 🥃
@@WhiskyLock Yes agreed Shane!! 🙂
Tastes more like well made five year old dram to me. If it’s all 7 year old I would be shocked.
I just got this for £25 really love it .
Really great price 👍
How does it compare with the Laddie 8?
It's been a while but I liked Laddie 8. I think it's better than Classic Laddie. More mature, more cohesive but still sharp and distillate led. Classic Laddie, Laddie 8 and Laddie 10 are surprisingly different whiskies IMHO.
@@WhiskyLock I thought the Laddie 8 was younger but realised I was wrong after your insightful review. Should have guessed since there is no aged statement on the Classic.
Yeah... my batch of Classic Laddie has a lot of 6-7 yo casks in it and it shows. Some batches may be younger/older 🤷♂️ sneaky NAS...
I remember the Laddie 8 being a more polished whisky though.
Finally opened a bottle of this. Not sure, seems youthful
And the distillation dates of 9 out of 12 of the casks is surprisingly absent. Only the 8 year casks are noted. Crazy vatting for sure. 4 of the casks were dual matured and one was triple matured.
Its not bad at all but I’ve never really connected with it. It’s got too much sharpness to it. A bite that I’m not fond of. Even with a little water and plenty of time. Bere Barley is more expensive but waaay better.
@@utoobia malt and bourbon barrels....mmm. I just want to add a bit of Ralfy water and enjoy the mist
Youthful yes. I enjoy it but it's young whisky. A little younger than it probably should be!
Bruichladdich did originally give distillation years for all casks but 'redacted' them when the SWA ruled that the law on only advertising the age of the youngest component must be enforced literally and without exception 😕 Sad...
And yes, lots of crazy casks go into this. All types of grape based casks. Different woods. Different levels of refill. Bruichladdich have a massive hard on for wine casks in particular and I wish they'd give it a rest.
Still... a decent and very well presented young malt but not a must buy as the discontinued Laddie 10 was.
Wee surprise these days...Bruichladdich with no eighteen on a bottle 😉. Old good Laddie. Still got a dram or two in my bottle so its good occasion to sip it. I will come back latter to watch again and enjoy this one with you 🥂👌
Between you and me... I bought a bottle of the 18 😬 haven't opened it yet. I might save it for a special video as I have a few other 18s on the shelf and it'd be good to compare. Especially as the prices vary a lot... if you get where I'm going!
I also have one last bottle of Laddie 10 on my shelf. Precious stuff! Which I will review soon 🙂 Cheers 🥃
Great review echoing my own journey with this expression. I had a glass at a hotel bar a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Since then I've bought a couple of bottles. I don't think it's worth more than £40 a bottle. Errr, that certain online behemoth was selling Bunnahabhain 12 for £36 recently.
Giving money to Jeff doesn't make me happy. Cheap Bunna 12 on the other hand... does! I'm glad we have Bruichladdich but Bunna has overtaken them now as my favourite unpeated Islay OB 🥃
The whisky which feels best when rubbed against the face. I too get that splintery newly-made shed note, particularly on the aftertaste. I don't know where it comes from. Despite that, I keep returning to Bruichladdies because it's bold and intriguing, without being peated. I am currently enjoying the Islay Barley 2013.
There's definitely been some 'wood doctoring' gone into this one. Considering that the youngest casks are 7yo I'm not entirely surely why... tinkering for the sake of being clever and different? 🤔
I agree that Bruichladdich is an endearing and inspiring distillery though. Love their commitment to transparency and quality and I may have to get an Islay Barley soon as well.
Fun Fact: the 'glug glug' in my intro is a bottle of Islay Barley that I had just finished when I started doing TH-cam 😁
Hello,
when it comes to Bruichladdich, i prefer their peated Expressions. Rhins, Port Charlotte, Lochindaal and Octomore always get me.😅
I dont like their fully colour covered Bottles for the Reason you already said, but its the only Thing they do wrong in my Opinion. All Bottlings i had from them always delivered fully. (Even their Gin, The Botanist)
Great Distillery. Love it.
Thanks for Reviewing. Keep up your good Work.
Greetings from Germany 😎 🤘
I think i should turn my Peathead more to their unpeated Bottlings in the Future.😅
Yeah I think I prefer PC10 and Octomore too. Now if Laddie 10 were still around then that'd be different!
Botanist gin is fantastic. Probably my favourite gin. Cheers 🥃
Such a good value whisky, at least here in the US ... Great breakdown of this one.
Cheers 🥃
Nice Shane! I do like the old one but when I say 'old' I have no idea which batch of the NAS versions it is. I have tried the 2023 release of the new design and I thought it tasted younger than the first NAS with the old shape. I never think a redesign is as innocent as 'just aesthetics' and I think companies always play around with the formula as well.
Agreed all the way!
I really need to start recording batch numbers in my tasting notes for everything (not just the special stuff) but haven't quite got there yet!
I know that I had around 3 bottles of the old style NAS. One was from 2014 when it first appeared. One was from around 2018 and one after that. I think this 2023 bottle is a slight improvement but I don't think the difference is huge. Well within the range of normal batch variation.
And while well presented and good value, all the Classic Laddie that I've had has been a very poor imitation of the previous Laddie 10 from 2011. I loved that stuff. Entirely different animal. I even preferred it to the old Laddie 16 and 22.
I'm not sure why Bruichladdich can't bring that 10yo back without all the wine cask faff that we have in this one. Interesting that Bruichladdich don't get the pushback for removing age statements and relying on wine casks that say... Jura and Glenlivet did/do. I guess bottling everything at 50% and ncf wins you a certain degree of tolerance from the enthusiasts. Which is fair!
@@WhiskyLock See I haven't tried the old 10 so my reference point is much limited.
Yeah Bruichladdich doesn't get that much crap because of the things you mentioned and also they make tasty whiskies unlike Jura!😅
Man the day I enjoy a bottle of Jura will be a special day! Here's hoping 🤞🥃
Great review !
For me it has many floral notes specially on the nose. I love it.
But I found horrible the new bottle design. It looks like a sport water bottle.
Thank you Pierre. I can see what you mean about the bottle. It's a very odd one! Nice and compact though and it definitely stands out on a shelf 🤔 Cheers 🥃
Yes I prefer the old bottle too.
I still haven't tried it. I love the new bottle design. Looks like a baby bottle.
Hopefully that's not who they're marketing to 😂 agree though. It's a striking bottle and I prefer it to the old one 👍
Whisky over the last 10 years has seen more bottlings, but the overall quality has gone DOWN for certain and the prices have gone up 30-50%. It’s not a happy scene right now.
Hard to disagree. I think part of the reason is lots of distilleries 'playing it safe'. Many distilleries simply have less character and stand out notes than 10-20 years ago. Like this Classic Laddie.
@@WhiskyLock they all also seem to be drifting toward younger whiskies at the price that older whiskies use to be at. I expect to see more whiskies with NAS or young ages being sold higher, but with higher ABV and the whole natural color non-chill filtered bragging. Meanwhile the cost of a 14 year dram will soon be above what we paid for an 18 to 21 year old soon.
This fashionable bottle color is called Tiffany..😅
Is it really 😂 nice info 👍
Aah, the good old days... when 10yo whisky was "entry level." Now we have new distilleries selling their 5yo for more than we're used to paying for 15yo because it's so old.
I can't wait for Bruichladdich to put a 10 year age statement back on this bottle. I'd love to try one but it's not happening before that.
Good old days indeed! It's cliche to harp on about how much better things used to be.... but that old Laddie 10 really was. And if anything we're paying more now for the younger product than we were back then.
I would love to see Laddie 10 return. Although having tried the Laddie 10 Second Edition I think it will take more than just extra time to get that original flavour profile back. But we can hope!
@@WhiskyLock Yeah... they've fallen hard on the wine casks and I'm not sure we'd get them to abandon that for us. But still, giving us a reasonable age statement doesn't seem beyond their capabilities. Most distilleries in scotland can do it, and even some that haven't been able to are getting back to it. (Good job, Glenglassaugh!)
Interestingly there was a bottle of this on the bar at dinner last night, so I ordered a pour. Your review was spot-on. It's pleasant enough, clearly young & a bit spiky still. Good flavor if not intense flavor. I've certainly loved 7yo whisky from Bruichladdich in the past (Islay Barley 07, 09...) but this one needs another 3 years. It drinks like a compromise.
The biggest positive here is there are other choices.. LOL this is actually good and unique on its own but in contrast with much anything else it gets swamped. +65€ in Portugal not thanks. Cheers!
Agreed. I get that it's their entry level product but I think it could do with a little improvement. Or bring back a bourbon matured 10yo and price it a little higher. Cheers 🥃
Its £38 in morrisons .
I think that's a fair price. Don't think I've ever seen it in Morrisons near me though 🤔
@@WhiskyLock in Glasgow.
Ah you guys always get nicer selections in the supermarkets 👍
@@WhiskyLock yes I'm grateful. I've got a specialist shop round the corner to. Got macleans nose a few weeks ago, was disappointed but terrific in coffee.
😊😊
Strong whisky, it literally sterilised my mouth of bacteria when I had tooth removed. Not my favourite but tolerable.
Are you saying it serves a dual purpose? Sounds like excellent value 😂
Agreed there's room for improvement. It's probably worth mentioning that it is one of a handful of affordable OB bottles that goes above 46% though. There aren't many.
@WhiskyLock have a hot toddie with this stuff and the flu doesn't stand a chance. Decimates everything 😂
The majority is 8-9 years old.
Cheers 🥃
Sounds about right to me. Did you get that info from Bruichladdich? The problem is that approx 40% of my bottle is 6-7yo and it shows. IMHO the apparent age is much closer to 7 than 10.
My talk of 142 yo casks is obviously levelled at the SWA and the murky guesswork that their decision leads to. I'd be shocked to hear that there's anything remotely old in this. Cheers John 🥃
@@WhiskyLock 🤐… recently attended a Bruichladdich event where we were given 7 cask strength component bottles and were challenged to recreate the Classic Laddie… can’t say much more…😇
1 - sweep everything that's not a wine cask into a large bag
2 - leave 😂
This is why I don't get invited to these things anymore 😬
Seriously though... I used to buy the 3x 200ml Micro Provenance sets from Bruichladdich. And some of those cask strength single casks were phenomenal. Don't think they do them anymore 😔
@@WhiskyLock agree… there was one in particular that was sublime and probably makes up 40% of the Laddie…
Have had no luck with this one after 3 bottles over 6 years. Too sharp and a bit boring.
Hi! I wouldn't have a problem with it being on the simple and straight forward side (ie boring), that style can be a nice change now and again. But I agree it is a little sharp, maybe even borderline rough. I feel like Bruichladdich should have the stocks to be able to improve it in that regard. More in line with the old Laddie 10.
@@WhiskyLock I tend to reach for Islay Barley or Bere Barley. Both quite a bit more expensive here. Even those need a good amount of time to settle down open up in my experience. At a similar price point, Glencadam 10 is what I’d go with. Clearly better to me, and cheaper. Great job with your channel, by the way.
@@utoobia I bought a set of Glencadams a few months ago. Not opened yet but really looking forward to it. Thanks buddy 🥃
@@WhiskyLock Sounds like a review! I’ve had 2 bottles each of the 10 and 15. Both very impressive. Excited to try the 18, and they have a few other interesting bottlings.
Oh no - someone's trying something different than the standard classic bottle to try to standout on the shelves.
It's the end of the world, whisky fans let's protest !
How dare they try something different? Don't they know this is Scotch? 🤔
@@WhiskyLock
Meanwhile at Ardbeg: hey let's take some second rate experimental whisky aged in ex-motor oil barrels, put some flashy packaging and make it a limited edition for 130€
Whisky fans: shut up and take my money !!!
Laphroaig may have gone a step further. Just reading an email about Laphroaig Elements 2.0 going on sale for £175.
They've created a whisky specifically targeting enthusiasts like us and put a 4x on the price... makes me want to buy my whisky elsewhere...
@@WhiskyLock i got the email too yes !
I love Laphroaig but for the price of two bottles of 10CS i'll pass.
However i did preorder the Ardbeg spectacular 😅
Couldn't resist !
And based on your recommendation i'm about ton order a Ledaig 18...
But 120€ is my limit.
I won't buy anything more expensive than that.
For now...
Ah they got you! 😉 you'll have to let me know what you think of that Ardbeg. I let it go. Too many other things I need to review before I buy anything else.
I think you'll really enjoy Ledaig 18. It's one of my favourites and very good value 👍
I like your videos, but I think you've misrepresented the issue between SWA and compass box. Someone reported compass box to the SWA for breaking EU regulation which is there to protect the consumer and to stop 'teaspooning' old whisky into new. It's the SWA's job to uphold law, and so they informed compass box. SWA did not "make a ruling" as you said in the video, they simply did their job and unfortunately there was a lot of misinformation about that. Feel free to Google it and do a bit of digging on the subject. For me, the much more interesting question is who reported them in the first place and what was their motive.
Firstly thank you 🙏
To be fair we're all dealing in second hand information and one sided stories on this matter. From what I've seen, the SWA haven't been to forthcoming with their side of the story. Probably understandably.
The original law on declaring age statements wasn't to stop teaspooning, which is still done regularly. It was to stop distilleries from putting an age on the label that corresponds to the teaspooned portion.
In the distant past and with some other spirits, distilleries have been known to put the age of the very oldest casks on the label. There's a "5yo blended rum" for sale right now called Duppy's Share which clearly states 5yo on the front label and on the back label that it's a blend of 3 and 5yo rum!! Perfectly legal for rum and clearly misleading. This is what the law for Scotch is to prevent. And rightly so.
I don't believe that the law was ever to prevent distilleries from total transparency. ie. Clearly revealing the age and proportion of every component of a vatting. Why do we need protecting from the honest and complete truth after all?
As for who reported them... some believe that a company beginning with D who owns a distillery beginning with C reported them because Compass Box were getting very popular by openly selling products containing whisky from distillery C that were better and cheaper than the overly diluted and filtered OB stuff and making them look bad 😉 but that is purely speculation that I've heard!
The ruling that I mentioned the SWA making is that Bruichladdich and Compass Box appealed for it to be allowed to mention the older casks providing that all ages and proportions were listed. SWA said no. Which is when Compass Box removed the actual ages from the datasets (kind of) and Bruichladdich redacted the year of distillation for all but the youngest casks used in Classic Laddie. IMHO to comply with the law but also to show how stupid the ruling is.
The interesting part to me. And to be honest the only part I care about is that if distilleries are making a multivintage product then they're no longer allowed to tell us what we're buying. I don't see how that's a good thing and I think it's a massive shame that SWA didn't allow an exception when the full cask breakdown is given.
It really flies in the face of this idea that we've been sold about NAS whisky being as good as age statements because of the potential of mixed vintage vattings. The current situation means we're not allowed the information we need to make a judgement on whether or not to buy NAS and we run the risk of only finding out that a bottle is full of 3-4yo whisky after we've bought it. Hardly seems like protecting the consumer to me.
Obviously the consumers (and profit margins) that the SWA are protecting are the majority who are buying cheap blends and not the informed enthusiasts like us.
Apologies for the long reply. I just find the situation interesting and I really hope that things will change at some point to allow the level of honesty we used to have.
I’d love to know who reported Compass Box and their motives. Awful.
Superb information Shane!! I appreciate this a lot! Thanks! Great review as always and very much appreciated!
Had to double my volume to hear you. Good post, otherwise
Thanks very much for the important feedback. I've just replaced my recording laptop so I've had to set everything up again. I took the gain down a little to keep the recording clean but might have gone too far. Hard to tell for an amateur such as myself. Cheers 🥃
@@WhiskyLock Cheers, buddy! Still great content as always 💪
Can't get past the baby vomit nose on this one. One of my least favorite bottles I've purchased. First impression I enjoyed it. Second on not so much.
Ahh man... if you find the hint of baby vomit in this one unpleasant then you need to keep away from early Bruichladdichs which had it 10x 😂
I know exactly what you mean though. Once you find something that you don't like in a whisky it stands out so much more.
Cheers 🥃
@@WhiskyLock that's why I'm a bit scared to open a couple of single cask bruichladdich I have. It's also why I don't mind macallan once in awhile (not my favorite or anything) and can pick it out of a lineup. I always get "old coloured pencil box with pencil shavings" on macallan. Too much nostalgia to pass up.
@@Whiskyfan519 are they pre 2000 vintage? You may be OK. If they're from the early 2000s then I'd definitely look up tasting notes to see what might be in store 😬
Coloured pencil box with shavings is an excellent tasting note. I know exactly what you mean.
@@WhiskyLock 2009 distillation 11yr and 2010 distillation 10 yr.
The 2009 is aged in 2nd fill Spanish ribera del duero and 63.5%
The 2010 is 1st fill bourbon 58.8%
They're store picks from 2 separate stores in Alberta. According to the notes I can almost guarantee I'll like the wine cask more. The bourbon cask is described as cheesy and farmy. But it is lightly peated so it might draw me back in.
I'll have to crack em and just get on with it lol.
@@Whiskyfan519 Best of luck! 🙂
That’s ridiculous why wouldn’t you want total transparency I know many that really want full transparency and seeing how we as consumers should have total transparency. Those that are against this shouldn’t be in the position they have. What are you hiding from us that buy these products. Again just ridiculous. I don’t buy blended whiskey unless on vacation cause it’s cheaper but I only buy single malt whisky cause if you can’t get it right with one then you just suck at producing whisky. Just saying.
Absolutely! For those drinking to appreciate rather than inebriate, info is king. I think the SWA have too many board members from Diageo & Co...