Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 700 ml

Product Information

The result has been a thrilling array of releases that probe questions serious whisky drinkers have pondered for eons. How important are age statements, really? Is there an upper limit to peating? An upper limit to transparency? How much of barley’s flavor comes from where it’s grown? What about ancient barley varieties? And what responsibility does the whisky industry have to support grain growing practices that take the environment into account? How about its responsibility to the community at large? B Corp status is really taking off around the world, with over 4,700 businesses signed up covering about 400,000 employees in over 80 countries. It is cross industry, and therefore many readers may have encountered the status outside of whisky. There are as many organisations aiming to grant independent certification as corporations looking to virtue signal and sign up. For me, the most important aspect of the B Corp status that elevates it above other certifying bodies is that it requires legal changes in the business’ articles of incorporation to require the business to look for benefits for all stakeholders not just the shareholders. Never striving for absolute consistency, each batch of The Classic Laddie will, by nature, be unique and subtly different.

Producing the Classic Laddie is among the most intricate and demanding tasks entrusted to their Head Distiller, Adam Hannett. He personally selects an assembly of the finest spirits to achieve the signature fruity and floral Bruichladdich house style. Living Wage employment, a 5-10% bonus scheme shared for 100% of our staff, annual cost of living adjustments as well we private healthcare, life assurance provisions and 34 days paid annual leave as standard. We’re also a diverse employer with a sound training and development program, including 50%+ female management and an age range of staff spanning from 19 to 75 years of age.” B Corp has absolutely no impact on the flavour of your whisky, but it can impact on how warmly you feel about the brand. I had previously been a little withering about the green status of Bruichladdich and the speed of change to reach net-zero in comparison to some of the other distillers. However, going green is only one small aspect of what makes a company a force for good or a force for evil. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. So what of the Bruichladdich range? Well after the “reawakening” in 2001, we saw lots of experimentation with cask finishes, wine casks, and multiple expressions which was all a bit bewildering. They carved themselves out as an experimental distillery under the watchful eye of Jim McEwan. Much of that experimental approach has been retained under head distiller Adam Hannett, however the range has settled into a more regular set of core expressions and slightly fewer limited editions.Malted bread. Vanilla sun cream, pencil shavings and a coastal hot-sand note. Bright apples and maybe even a pear lurking. It’s a powerful nosing experience and quite hard to separate out the individual flavour components, but the overall sentiment is that of fresh, sunny bright summer. There’s a little hint of agriculture here too, like the beach is a mile or so from a working farm and you catch that sharp scent on the wind. Or maybe even just a dot of creme fraiche in there - a zingy but creamy component. Quite evocative.

With some water added its actually quite enjoyable. The acidity calms down and becomes citrus fruit, pineapple juice and green apple. There's an underlying sweetness and a floral note though I couldn't identify it if I tried. There's just a touch of vanilla as well. Bruichladdich talk of a 20-year journey to become a company worthy of certification, which certainly puts the efforts to get this far into in context. It’s also clear that there is a significant commitment to the resources to monitor all the work being done, to ensure that year on year performance is achieved and there is evidence to prove it.The B on the Bruichladdich logo obviously stands for Bruichladdich, but now it can also stand for “B Corp.” We bottle our Classic Laddie at 50% alcohol by volume as opposed to the average of 40-46%. The flavour of our spirit at 50% ABV is barley forward, meaning you taste more of the Scottish malt we have worked hard to trace. We will not stretch our spirit and compromise on quality for the sake of profit.

The vatting, once complete, is bottled at 50% ABV without added coloring or chill filtration. The higher ABV helps those subtle notes pop, and as we know from Octomore, Bruichladdich spirit likes to be braced by a high alcohol percentage. This dram needs some time in the glass and the fastidious application of water to get the most out of it, but if you find the sweet spot the complexity is really great. The top-dressing casks help tame the youthful base spirit, given time to open up both the sherry casks and red wine casks add discernible layers to the spirit. Score: 6/10 Governance: code of ethics; financial information disclosure; whistle-blower policy; mission and engagement

Smell

Stays fairly consistent regardless of water. Long and oaky, a little bitter along with some residual malt. Bruichladdich (pronounced like ‘brookladdie’), is a distillery doing things differently. Based on Islay, a southern island of the Inner Hebrides, they are the first company of their kind in Europe to become a ‘BCorp’. What does that mean? Well, without getting into the nitty gritty, Bruichladdich meet an incredibly high standard of social and environmental performance. They’re a progressive, forward-thinking company with a focus on the world around them as much as their liquid. It’s an interesting choice, for a distillery borne from transparency, to make this bottle completely opaque. A style choice, of that there’s no doubt, but I would have liked to have seen the whisky, because… I like to see whisky. Bruichladdich uses clear bottles for other variants, like their Bere Barley, Islay Barley and travel special Laddie 8, but not this. Instead we are greeted with solid matte aquamarine glass, bold white printing and silvery foils. It’s really smart and I love the colour - it’s my favourite out of all the colours available in the visible spectrum. The whisky, once poured, is bright, white-wine-light and it’s an indication, or rather a statement of intent, of what this whisky is going to taste like. The presentation, as a whole then, feels fresh, bright and modern.

Aroma has a warm, fruity, malty profile with a strong layer of decadent dessert/pastry notes that lend some buttercream frosting characteristics making it a a loverly fun aroma; Palate comes through similarly to the aroma but with more apples and more depth to the malty notes; Finish is warm and fruity fading to oaky char. On the sustainability front, Bruichladdich was using residual heat from the stills to heat offices, the visitor centre, and the bottling hall. They also switched to 100% green electricity. This is interesting as it relates to choosing a green energy tariff from the electricity supplier – which any of us can choose to do – however the production process still requires non-renewable energy. There is a target to change this by 2025. Despite the transparency of cask make up the only the youngest of those ages is legally allowed to be identified according to the SWA regulations. In this case the youngest component makes up roughly 46% of the total number of casks. 2011 making the youngest component about 8 years old, in line with similar distilleries NAS output. Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley – ReviewHopefully this summary helps persuade you that we whisky drinkers are in the privileged position not only to enjoy this expensive spirit, but also having the option to make ethical purchasing decisions. We can avoid the companies that are failing to improve the world around them, failing to look after their employees or local community, and instead support those striving to make a difference. Nc’Nean is the only other single malt distillery currently holding the B Corp status. A slight health warning: Brewdog also hold B Corp status despite multiple exposés on the treatment of employees and the management culture at the brewer. Fruit salad and caramel, with a malted biscuit underpinning. Bright and apple saucy, the coastal hot air lingers around if you look for it. Pepper and spice from the big ABV is exhilarating, the addition of water opens up the sweetness and soft spices, adding more of a sandy cinnamon bun to the picture. It’s delicious stuff without being overly complex or demanding. When I was working my way through the bottle I had of the Classic Laddie, it was always a surprise when I poured a dram how light in colour it was. Also surprising was how long the bottle seemed to last, because I couldn’t see how much was left in there. It felt like I was on the last dram forever, and as a result, when the final dribble left the bottle, it was quite the downer. This “mystery of it all” experience is a strange counterpoint to the sentiment of openness permeating through all of Bruichladdich’s stuff, and I do wonder if there’s a way for them to keep the overall aesthetic of the iconic aquamarine painted bottle but also reveal what's inside, to cater to us strangelings. Perhaps only dip half of it - the top half, if we’re choosing, then we could see the colour of the whisky, Bruichladdich could keep that pub-shelf-presence of the vivid blue-green, we could see how much we’ve got left in there and we could marvel at the continued modern excellence of Bruichladdich. If this does happen, by the way, then I’m taking all credit and I’ll have the lifetime's supply of Classic Laddie shipped to my Barbados holiday pad, please and thank you. Very tasty, easy and full of pleasant notes that slowly open and unfold. It gets more honied as it opens and with some water the malty notes grow but that sweetness always stays heavy and pleasant. My favorite thing about this particular bottling though are the waxy lemon notes that slowly arise and help build the warm fruity profile that under pins everything from aroma to finish.