Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie

Strong dram all the way around.

After the initial burn wears off (takes 2-3 distant sniffs), there is an almost cooling, minty aroma; it's perfumey sweet, but has a grainy, malty backbone. Just a touch of lemon creme. It's sweet and mild, and has a touch of shortbread like you'd find in an Irish whiskey. The first taste I get in the first sip is wood barrel, spicy and prickly. That is quickly followed by a grainy barley flavor that I identify with a young barleywine that hasn't aged enough to smooth out yet. More lemon creme, like whipped cream that blended with a lemon meringue pie, giving it a zing. The finish is pine oils and forest; I'm surprised this is how it ends.  Some smoke and ash, then a metallic and barrel tannin pucker. The final finish is a bed of charcoal and tobacco in a goop of molasses. But with every swallow the first dominant is heavy, oily pine. And yet the cooling finish bookends the nose. A terrific Scotch.

Malty and butterscotch on the nose. Oaky and fruity with notes of pear and green apple turn to saltiness and a bit of sherry and a touch of smoke into a long slightly smoky finish. Complex but easy drinking. Sweet and fruity, slightly funky, and just a tiny bit smoky. Looked up the cask combination on their website and my bottle recipe was mostly 1st fill bourbon barrels alongside a combination of different sherry and French wine barrels with a minimum age of 8 years.