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Any Bruichladdich fans?

1 13

@Hewie
Hewie started a discussion

Apart from Octomore, I don't see a lot of attention given to this distillery. I've just been reading through their website - there is so much information on there! Many very interesting articles and explanations of their philosophy etc. for example: bruichladdich.com/article/… I've not yet tried any of their range, so I thought the Port Charlotte Scottish Barley would be a good place to start. How do you find their core offerings compared to the other big boy Islay producers?

6 years ago

13 replies

@MadSingleMalt

Bruichladdich has been a lot less interesting since Rémy Cointreau bought them. But if you collected and bound all the online whisky nerds' collective old opinion on them through the Mark Reynier resurrection years, it'd be one of the thickest books on the whisky shelf.

For me, I like 'em. The Port Charlotte stuff is good. The high ABVs are good. The recent return of more age statements is good. The Octomore stuff is interesting, if overpriced. They're one of the few bottlers putting good stuff in travel retail. I dig the full "recipe" disclosure you can get on their website of the NAS stuff. It's the most fun distillery to visit on Islay. The standard Laddies are solid little "naked" malts.

Some people rag on them for the supposed "scam" of using the Port Charlotte brand as if they had resurrected the distillery itself, but that's just dumb. Some people rag on them for their "progressive whatever" posturing and their loud bottle designs, but that's all just marketing. Some people rag on them for making whisky that tastes like baby puke, and I gotta sympathize with that if you taste it! (I don't.)

If you really want to explore their range, I suggest starting with one of the standard Laddies—the NAS "Classic," the 8-year-old travel retail, or the returned 10-year-old.

My main take on them is this: If you're gonna play the "edgy" card and bottle most of your stuff at the much-higher-than-normal 50% ABV, why not just go whole-hog and bottle everything at cask strength? Almost everyone who cares would dig that. And they'd be the "edgy" distillery that actually is edgy—the one who bottles everything at cask strength!!! Seems like a winning move to me.

6 years ago 0

@KRB80
KRB80 replied

Although I think their marketing is a bit gimmicky, I like what I have had from them.

  • Laddie Ten (RIP) was good

  • most of their PC line has been excellent

  • Infinity 3.1 was interestingly awesome

  • the Octomores that I have tried are good, but as @MadSingleMalt said, definitely overpriced. (although different, if immense peat is what you are after, stick with Laphroiag 10CS)

I absolutely get the baby puke/curdled milk taste with their malt but, for some odd reason, I kinda dig it. and think it works. lol It's a distillery who I need to try more of their standard offerings.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@MadSingleMalt thanks for your thoughts. It's always good to hear from those of you with greater experience that goes back further than my more recent interest. As someone who is still building an understanding of the scope of single malt whisky, I'm more interested in good, solid core offerings rather than the more experimental batches that the more experienced enthusiasts are often enticed by. I may be slow coming to the party but they are definitely on the list now.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

I grew to like the long gone "the Laddie Classic" (not to be confused with the more recent "the classic Laddie"), and the "Peat", also long gone. Both were available in Ontario in 2011. I saw the laddie classic in Calgary 2-3 years later and wish I had picked it up. I've tried the old 10 but liked the laddie classic better.

@MadSingleMalt there is a new 10 YO and it seems well-regarded, but it hasn't shown up here yet and it will probably be expensive.

Of course, the Octomores are powerful.

6 years ago 0

@ajjarrett
ajjarrett replied

I will try to let "pictures speak louder than words." Although I don't consider myself a fan of Bruichladdich since I am not much of a peated whisky fan, so I don't go for the Octomore range.

I won't post my other photos of my bottles of the Bere Barley 2008 and Laddie Eight, but I will refer to them on the the thread, "Here's a recent purchase:" connosr.com/heres-a-recent-purchase-whisky…

Oh yes, I don't plan on opening (in a very long time) two of the three bottles of the The Laddie Ten: The Classic Ten, since they are quite difficult to come by. I am even trying hard not to open the one I had allocated to my "to be opened" list. Which is one post I plan to make on another thread.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

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@ajjarrett
ajjarrett replied

@Nozinan I saw the Laddie Ten Second Edition when I was in Tokyo. I was debating on what to get, and decided to pass it up. Luckily, I do have a few friends in Tokyo, who would be willing to pick up a bottle for me, in case it goes up in price or begins to become less available. Actually, another bottle, although not a Bruichladdich expression, I decided to pass up was the Glenfarclas 15yo. It isn't available where I live, and it is a good dram, so I might have my friends get that one for me as well, but I digress. Passing up the Laddie Ten Second Edit., I 'allowed' myself to pick up a bottle of the Bere Barely 2008 and Laddie Eight, which I mentioned in couple of other posts.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@ajjarrett That's a nice collection of a no longer produced expression. I have 2 bottles and I'm thinking of opening or trading one of them in the next 6 months.

6 years ago 0

@ajjarrett
ajjarrett replied

@Nozinan I haven't thought about trading any of mine, since I am not sure what would be a 'fair' trade. HA! What do you think you want to get in return for one of your bottles of The Laddie Ten?

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

I picked up my second bottle as the LCBO stocks started to fall from hundreds to a few dozen, specifically because I felt I'd eventually find someone who liked it and missed it.

If, and only if, I were trading, I'd be looking to get it to someone who would open it and enjoy it. I'd be looking for something I wanted that the other person valued equally to the Laddie. I tend to like to feel I'm giving at least as much as I'm getting.

6 years ago 0

@ajjarrett
ajjarrett replied

@Nozinan Well, I would be interested in following that story as it develops, meaning, seeing what you get if you ended up trading.

6 years ago 0

@Alexsweden
Alexsweden replied

I've had one or two PC's And they were really good,

6 years ago 0

@NamBeist
NamBeist replied

Well, I used to love Bruichladdich, but it is all over now. They are overpriced. Octomore is great. I will not pay € 200 for a bottle . I paid about € 100 years ago , which I did not consider as a reasonable price at that time. Bruichladdich is a great name.

They have made incredible drams like Infinity 2 and 3. Despite of its past, I won't buy it anymore. Writing this, I remember a 19 yo IB, which had a great and impressive lemon taste.

6 years ago 0

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@MadSingleMalt

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