Bruichladdich The Laddie 18 yo

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 50% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

The Laddie Eighteen is an 18-year-old, unpeated Islay single malt matured entirely on Islay. Ex-bourbon casks form its core, complemented by a smaller proportion of wine casks. Its barley composition brings together Bruichladdich's first own Islay harvest from 2004, organically grown barley and other Scottish barley, making provenance and agriculture a tangible part of this edition.

The whisky is bottled at 50% alcohol, with natural colour and without chill filtration, and has a dense, oily texture on the palate. Stone fruit, floral notes and cereal sweetness combine with mature oak and a mineral finish, without bringing smoke to the fore.

For the marrying process, the whiskies from bourbon casks are brought together with smaller proportions from Sauternes and port wine casks and matured together for nine months before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, ripe peach and honeysuckle combine with delicate violet and lavender notes. Vanilla and coconut cream accompany melon, apricot and lively citrus notes, joined by honey, vanilla custard with caramel notes and crème brûlée.
• Palate: The whisky feels dense and oily on the palate. Honey, butterscotch and fresh fruit give way to sweet, syrup-soaked porridge, barley sugar and toasted oak. Tropical fruit then emerges with subtle toasted oak and a hint of leather, while honeycomb complements the soft, sweet impression.
• Finish: The finish combines minerality with oak, stone fruit and a delicate floral note.

Distillery/Bottler:

Bruichladdich Distillery was built in 1881 by the Harvey brothers on Loch Indaal as a modern Islay distillery. The slope of the site allowed gravity to be used in production processes. After a lengthy closure, the distillery was revived in 2001 under Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin and Jim McEwan. Its working methods include slow fermentation in wooden vessels and slow distillation in tall, narrow-necked stills.

Today, the distillery distils and bottles its whiskies on Islay, where all their maturation also takes place. For its barley programmes, Bruichladdich works with Scottish farms and traces origins, varieties and harvests separately. The Laddie Eighteen reflects this focus on provenance through the first own Islay harvest from 2004.

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