Official bottling | 50% ABV

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A delicious fruity and floral whisky. Kudos to Bruichladdich for bringing back the age statement*

Nostalgia is a curious thing.

That want to connect to a memory which has created a sense of longing in our mind. It could be a memory from childhood of a great family moment, such as Christmases or birthdays which no longer bring the same sense of excitement as an adult. Maybe a TV show you loved or a chocolate bar which has either been discontinued or reduced in size by the dreaded shrinkflation.

With the world seeming increasingly fragile right now, and certain global leaders and tech billionaires more concerned with lining their pockets than making the world a better place, it is even more tempting to get trapped by thoughts of what life used to be like, or at least how the mind recalls them with its usual rose-tinted view.

The Italian poet, writer and philosopher Dante wrote, “There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery”, and I think that can be true at times. I am of the generation who remember the nineties as this epic time of no smartphones, no social media, limited access to a much more innocent internet era, playing out with friends and only returning when it was getting dark or your dinner was ready, and Saturday nights sat in front of the TV as a family rather than all watching separate devices. Maybe we’d even go to Blockbuster and rent a movie.

Those are all amazing memories to recount, but the mind is smart enough to suppress most of the bad stuff that may have happened too. If you spend too long thinking about the so called “better times” your memories go from a pleasant recollection to a hatred for the current world and its political unrest, environmental problems, screens filling your mind with constant streams of information and tracking you whilst you do so.

TV shows and movies have fed on that nostalgia in recent years. Lazy reboots of classics as well as new shows set in the eighties and nineties, which crowbar the music, fashion and other cultural references of the time at every opportunity, are hugely popular. If you see a character grabbing their Sony Walkman, loading a cassette of that song everyone remembers, jumping on their BMX and going for a ride with their friends, it provides a memory of what your mind certainly perceives was a better time. If your social media is anything like mine it will be feeding you nostalgia on a regular basis in order to satisfy that need people have to connect with their past memories. Nostalgia sells.

A friend of mine bought a pair of Adidas “popper” tracksuit pants recently. If you aren’t of the generation to remember these, they had buttons up the side of each leg, which resulted in your friends tearing them apart from behind when you weren’t expecting it. They were terrible in the 90’s and they’re terrible now, but it feeds that desire to go back to the relative innocence of those teenage years. There’s a huge amount of comfort in it.

Nostalgia can be the same, albeit to a lesser extent, with whisky. The longing to go back to that epiphany moment and relive it again, or to a bottle you once loved but is either no longer available or has changed for the worse. Then again, maybe it’s the drinker who has changed more than the liquid. I often feel jealous of people who got into whisky decades ago; picking up whiskies from distilleries at ages we could only dream of today for relatively little money and having vast collections of unicorn bottles.

I think back to my first taste of Laphroaig 10yo and Lagavulin 16yo and I sometimes wish to relive that moment. For all the great whiskies I have been fortunate to try since, I am unlikely to have a moment as profound and eye opening as that again. The more whisky you try and the more you understand it, the less likely it is to surprise you. I hope for a moment when I take a sip and am left dumbfounded by what I am tasting, but those are less and less of an occurrence the more I taste.

I buy less whisky these days. Financial reasons are a driver to some extent, with my money being diverted elsewhere more than it was four or five years ago, but I think another reason is that I tend to know what to expect from a whisky before I buy it. I’ve tasted the distillery and I’ve tasted the profile that the cask offers many times over.

Occasionally I stumble on something which I’ll decide is stunning whisky, but most of the time it’s in the realm of average to very good. More of the same is not necessarily a bad thing when the whisky is good, but it doesn’t drive me as much as the whisky discovery phase did when I wanted to try anything and everything looking for that next experience. I still love trying new whiskies, but I feel more comfortable dialling it down.

Review

Bruichladdich Classic Laddie, 10 year old, 2026 release, 50% ABV
£46 (£40 paid) & wide availability

The obvious thing to do here would be to review a whisky which holds a certain amount of nostalgia to me, but I’ve gone for the complete antithesis of that. This is my first ever bottle of Classic Laddie.

My first bottle of any Bruichladdich whisky was the Bruichladdich Old Skool, which I reviewed with Nick and Murdo recently. It seems crazy that I have only now started appreciating Bruichladdich, but it’s true.

Why has it taken me so long? One reason I may have been put off by Classic Laddie is that there were similar whiskies on the market with age statements at a similar price. An age statement isn’t everything, but if I have lots of options I’m going for whatever carries one. Also, although branding shouldn’t make much of a difference, I actually don’t love this bright blue bottle. Unpopular opinion I know. It’s iconic. However, I think it looks more like a shampoo bottle than whisky, especially the previous bottle shape. I also like to see the level of the whisky and I can’t do that with this. I much prefer the design they have for the Islay Barley and the 18yo with the large label and clear glass, which gives plenty of information and doesn’t obscure the level.

Perhaps another reason for failing to connect with Bruichladdich as a whole is the range seems a little incoherent. The Classic Laddie and peated Port Charlotte 10yo both represent decent value, but beyond that you’re looking at £70-80 for the Islay Barley versions and then you jump to the 18yo at £150. The recent Yellow Submarine release is a 14yo at £100. That’s too expensive in my book, but it’s selling out everywhere so what do I know?

Then there’s Octomore, which I have tried and enjoyed, but don’t see the value at all. I think the range could be improved by a 15yo to bridge the gap and perhaps a cask strength version of the Classic Laddie. It’s also a distillery that isn’t as widely available through independent bottlers, and when you do find one it is often at fairly high prices.

Nose

It’s fresh and bright with waxy orchard fruits of apples and pears in abundance along with peach, honey, floral meadows, dry grass and light oak.

Palate

It’s those orchard fruits again, but more sweet juicy red apples this time and there’s lemon citrus bringing the sour too. There’s a peppery spice, but it’s never too assertive and is joined by honey, creamy vanilla and salt. The finish is creamy, with oak and green apple skins. The green apple note lingers for an age on the palate.

The Dregs

This is undoubtedly good, spirit-forward whisky with plenty of flavour. There’s a really nice light and fruity profile and I love that we get 50% ABV here rather than the integrity base of 46%.

I was tempted by a seven, but I decided to go for a high six in the end. It’s not overly complex, but complexity isn’t always needed when you have a well-balanced and tasty dram. Feeling the weight of the bottle it’s clear I have been reaching for it plenty and kudos has to go to Bruichladdich for bringing back the ten-year age statement. Is it a sign of a cooling market and more stock being available? I don’t know, but it’s certainly a positive. The RRP on this is close to the £50 mark, but I have seen it for £40 or less at a number of retailers recently.

There’s a lot of six and seven out of ten scores on Dramface, but it goes back to my earlier point about most whiskies being good without giving a profound ‘wow moment’ which elevates them to eight, nine or even ten. We always encourage reading the words more so than the score and then decide if it’s something that would appeal to you.

I want to finish by going back to the nostalgia theme that frames this review. It can be a very useful thing when it comes to whisky and tasting notes. Memories of aromas and tastes from childhood can be especially strong and when whisky takes you back to a moment in time it’s truly wonderful. I learnt writing this that this has a name – The Proust phenomenon. It’s not always whisky which produces this psychological effect, but in my experience it does so a lot more so than anything else I have encountered and is one of the magical aspects of this great spirit.

Generally speaking, I think it’s important to maximise living in the present. There’s a lot to be thankful for. Today’s vibrant whisky scene would not have existed without the invention of the internet and social media. Whisky purchases would be restricted to the local supermarket if, like me, you don’t have an independent spirits retailer nearby. I wouldn’t be here writing for Dramface if it wasn’t for YouTube and social media. From that I‘ve met so many great people both online and in person. A group of us are even planning a trip to Campbeltown and Islay next year. In the eighties and nineties, the only way to connect with other whisky folk was via local bars and whisky groups and there’s nothing like that which doesn’t involve significant travel from where I live.

The availability of whisky right now has never been greater either. We may long for the days when old whisky could be picked up relatively inexpensively, but younger whisky is fantastic too and we have so much choice from both Scotland and around the world. Now the mega hype of four or five years ago is over, the older whiskies are gradually coming back to us too.

The past wasn’t all sunshine and roses. The eighties and nineties brought us large scale unemployment, sky high interest rates, HIV and CJD fears, The Cold war, Falkland’s war, Gulf war, Bosnia, IRA bombings etc. etc. There’s always been good and bad in the world, but the difference is the modern constantly connected world feeds us the negativity at every turn like a monster hungry for depression. As children we rarely engaged with politics and current affairs, but this generation are fed it every time they scroll and it’s exhausting and for some completely debilitating. It’s an issue governments need to sort out and hold social media platforms accountable for.

It’s vital to try and embrace everything you hold dear and look through the windscreen rather than the rear-view mirror as much as possible. Leave that phone at the other side of the room and pour yourself a good dram whilst you’re at it!

This Bruichladdich will do the job nicely.

Score: 6/10

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