Ahh this is a nostalgic dram for me. At my first wedding I found whisky for the first time. We had a humanist ceremony (would recommend if you are in the UK) and their suggestion was a traditional Scottish quaich ceremony as part of the day. The Quaich is a traditional small bowl/dish thing which you charge with whisky and share it around to seal your partnership in life.

Anyway, never having tried whisky I expected it to burn like the fires of hell but I distinctly remember thinking “oh, actually this is ok”. That was a Glenfiddich 12 mini from Asda but it was the start of dipping my toe in the water.

Jura’s and all kinds of supermarket specials followed until I found the Whisky Exchange website. Browsing Islay whiskies especially because my wife had family from the island I kept coming back to these unusual Aqua coloured glass bottles. What were they all about? They seemed to be much more modern and fresh compared to the more stuffy Bowmore labels so I bought a bottle.

That was where things changed for me? It was so different and usual. Powerful but not disgusting and then it clicked that there was a whole spectrum of styles, profiles and bottles to try. That was where the collector switch was pressed and I haven’t looked back since.

Fast forward to my second wedding and this dram was the groom’s choice for the toast, then this year I bought a bottle on a Amazon flash sale and now this advent sample. I would bet good money all 3 drams will taste different as well and each of those will be different to the first bottle I bought. Bruichladdich make a big thing about transparency but also being a small batch producer so the batches are celebrated to being different. Each bottle contains a code which you can use on the website to find the exact recipe in your batch. Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Unpeated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Bruichladdich Distillery

Tasting Notes

Colour	Barley yellow
Nose	restrained, initially some fruit cake sherry and then creamy vanilla and refreshing barley water
Palate	More of the barley water, a touch of red grape skins, hints of peppery spice and custard cream biscuits
Finish	Spicy finish with bitter lemon and drying oak tannins

Where Can I Buy?

Supermarkets – Co-Op, Waitrose both stock this bottle

Amazon – https://amzn.to/49tfyXv

Master of Malt – Classic Laddie

Final Thoughts

I really should stock up on some Bruichladdich and especially Port Charlotte. From recent reviews I’ve heard great things about the Bruichladdich 18 Year Old especially.