The Laddie 10, first released a few years ago, caused great excitement on arrival as it marked the coming of age of the reopened and rejuvenated Bruichladdich under the Reynier-McEwan regime. There had been limited edition releases of their peated Port Charlotte and Octomore lines along the way but this was the first release of whisky aged to a more traditional 10 years of age and was meant to be the cornerstone of what would become their new core range. This was a secondary cause of celebration for many whisky geeks as it also marked the end of a decade of tomfoolery at Bruichladdich, when to keep the cash-flow going they’d released about 30,000 different “high concept” releases, almost all of which were dodgy old stock jazzed up in wine casks or brightly coloured tins. (Some of these were actually very good, by the way: the Infinity 3, for example.)

Since then, of course, the distillery has been purchased by Remy-Cointreau, Mark Reynier has been forced out and the status of the Laddie 10 has been up in the air: not easy to find in all markets and constant rumours and denials that it’s been discontinued. Continue reading →

The Laddie Twenty Two appeared in 2012 alongside the Laddie Sixteen, and following the Laddie Ten, and together the series promised a departure from the wild profusion of Bruichladdich’s releases over the previous decade. Unlike the Laddie 10, which was entirely the spirit distilled and matured by Jim McEwan and co. after the distillery was purchased by Mark Reynier and co., this 22 yo is from stock remaining from the previous owners. Given the generally dodgy nature of much of this inherited stock—some hold that the endless finishes and experiments Reynier, McEwan and co. threw out were due to the need to find a way to make it palatable— it must be put together from some of the very best casks they had. Of course, since its release the distillery has been sold again and Mark Reynier has been pushed out, and the fate of the Laddie Ten is not clear either—and I’m not sure if this 22 yo is a going concern either.

I do know that it’s unpeated (as in the classic Bruichladdich style), entirely from American oak casks (and ex-bourbon at that, I think), that it’s quite expensive and that it was also very well received. Now to see what I think of it—the previous oldest Bruichladdich I’ve had (one of those dodgy cask experiments) was really not to my taste.

Continue reading →