This is only my second purchase of a bottle of Bruichladdich. I brought the Laddie ten on its release, thought it was great and then went into a sulk when they quickly discontinued it and replaced it with the NAS 'Classic Laddie'.
My initial impressions of this were that it is very similar to the Ardbeg ten. But it's took me the best part of a year to finish the bottle and it's got better and more interesting with time.
Nose
Islay peat, iodine, seawater, farmyard smoke, also a touch of white wine vinegar
Palate
The smoke is there immediately but is balanced in quite well with the sweetness. The smoke seems to change from farmyard (ledaig smoke) to a more campfire dry smoke (longrow?) There's also a tonne of fruits. Pineapple, grapefruit, kiwi fruit. A slight biscuity note and a touch of brine.
Finish
Mediun-long, with green apples, sour boiled sweets and the smoke making an appearance again.
I would still say the whisky I've had closest to this is the Ardbeg Ten but this is different enough to warrant having both in your stash. I think I'll grab another bottle at some point.
@BlueNote This is an issue with the Bruichladdich classic laddies as well, and the 10 YO (at least the original 10). Luckily a phone flashlight does the trick.
@BlueNote you're right about the black bottle. Towards the end I was constantly having to hold it up to the light and squinting through it to try to work out how much was left!