Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

Bruichladdich 10 Year Old The Laddie Ten

A top tier ten year old...

0 1289

@hunggarReview by @hunggar

16th Jul 2014

0

Bruichladdich 10 Year Old The Laddie Ten
  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
    ~
  • Finish
    ~
  • Balance
    ~
  • Overall
    89

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

So the Laddie Ten is no longer in heavy production, and that’s sad. With dwindling stock and some technical problems at the distillery earlier this year, availability for this one is set to get thinner and thinner. Now that my current bottle is all gone, it’s time to go scour the city for more. If you’re a fan of this one and you can still find it in stores, I recommend buying it. Even if you don’t drink it now, this is a good one to have on the backburner. Where I live there are only a few stores left that still carry it.

Nose: Quite a fresh, clean barley note comes through first. Light honey, hay, ginger, corn flakes, lemon lozenges, sponge cake, butter, vanilla, ocean air, smoke, and something vegetal.

Palate: Light mouthfeel, with a salty, tangy arrival. Rich, lush barley, lemon tart, lemon meringue pie. The honey has a fun interplay with the citrus, and there’s a great balance between the sweet and the bitter.

Finish: The barley keeps on giving. Corn Flakes, honey, butter and cream, white pepper, ginger, mustard, anise, salt, oak, cookie batter, lemon tart, fresh peaches, a rather indistinguishable vegetal note, and light smoke. The Oloroso influence also begins to shine through here, with subtle berry and red fruit notes.

While I do love it, I’ll happily admit that the Laddie Ten is not the most accessible ten year old. It’s bolder, more complex, and more challenging than most whiskies within its age bracket. But, after you spend some time with it, you’ll find there’s much to like. There’s the bitter/sweet interplay, the orchard-fresh quality of the citrus and peach notes, the unique vegetal flavour, and finally the savory barley that Bruichladdich is known for. In spite of the universal praise the brand gets for its younger expressions, I feel a solid ten years has done this some favours. It’s still young, but it doesn’t taste too young or sharp like some of their releases do. It’s distinctive and delicious. Very recommended.

Related Bruichladdich reviews

12 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

Luscious barley! Every malt's barley should taste this good!

I've never found The Laddie Ten complex, though I guess that's because I am used to conceptually bunching the origins of flavours in my head. Lots of beautiful barley here, on a layer of peated water.

Thank you for your review, @hunggar. Thanks for your review, @hunggar.

10 years ago 0

@hunggar
hunggar commented

Well for me it's reasonably complex. Not overly so, admittedly, but I said that within the context of comparing it to most other ten year olds. And yes, you are much better at finding the source of the flavours, making your reviews somewhat more concise. I tend to just have a list of notes lumped together haphazardly.

Very true about the barley. Rich, clean, and big. Although it wasn't love at first sip, I've become a huge fan of this one. Thanks for the comment, @Victor.

10 years ago 0

@vrudy6
vrudy6 commented

Yeah, you're right. Here in Miami, FL is kinda hard to get. I've only seen it on a couple of stores and when I see it i keep pushing it aside for another one. And now that, as you mentioned it's harder to come by, I better make my move next time I run in to one. GOOD LOOKING OUT!!!!

10 years ago 0

@vrudy6
vrudy6 commented

Oh yeah! Good review, as always!!! Thanks @Hunggar

10 years ago 0

@hunggar
hunggar commented

Thanks, @vrudy6. I've been pushing aside buying a second bottle as well. We're in the same boat!

10 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

Lots left in Ontario... 271 to be close to exact. Though you pay more for the privilege...

10 years ago 0

@hunggar
hunggar commented

@Nozinan, still not impossible to find in Taipei either. But the online info about it is a bit murky. It's gone, it's not gone, it's gone but it's coming back, it's in strictly limited supply, it's only going to be available at the distillery, etc.

10 years ago 0

@Lars
Lars commented

Great review, I have one open and one placed in reserve but sadly it has been discontinued in Manitoba for a while now. A bargain at the price we paid, $50ish.

10 years ago 0

@vanPelt
vanPelt commented

By chance, I tried this for the first time just a few days before your review. From my 1 dram, I agree with your and Victor's assessments. In just the first sip, I was blown away by a big and thick mutant dose of malt (honey-butter type), and for me some grapefruit too where you say citrus and tang. I wonder where else I can find that big maltiness? Is this anything similar to the Classic Laddie?

10 years ago 0

@hunggar
hunggar commented

Well the Bruichladdich/PC lineups are known for their barley. But I'm also very keen on the barley presentation in Glen Elgin 12. Very different from the Laddie barley, but delicious and similarly affordable.

10 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@hunggar,

Now they've fixed their machinery perhaps there will be more 10 year available in 10 years. And maybe as they ramp up production we'll have a repeat of some of their successful younger expressions like PEAT, and the laddie classic, which is one of my favourite expressions (I should try it head to head with the 10', except my open classic is here and my brother in law's 10 is in Calgary).

Bruichladdich is a distillery I like but somehow don't get to very often, only about 3-4 times a year.

It's a shame they can't keep up with demand. Bad for us, the best of problems for the distillery. I have 2 bottles. One will replace the laddie classic when I eventually finish it. The other for a rainy year.

10 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 commented

@Hunggar For me the vegetal note is a mix of sage and lemon grass. Is that what you have?

@VanPelt What you call grapefruit, I would call lemon peel. But the butter you get , the vegetal note, the smoke... All of this make me think of a Springbank malt or better a light version of Hazelburn's malt. Of course the sultana raisin and flames raisins on the finish added to the lemon peel make The Laddie Ten stand by itself in its own right.

9 years ago 0