Bruichladdich Laddie Eight

Malt Mileage Rating: ★★★★

Type: Single malt

Origin: Islay, Scotland

ABV: 50%

Distilled: 10/03/2008

Bottled: 15/03/2016

Aged: 8 years

Bruichladdich The Laddie Eight is unpeated single malt whisky that is matured in a combination of European and American oak casks for about eight years.

I have been extremely fortunate to taste Bruichladdich’s “new make” spirit, from three kinds of barley – Islay barley, bere barley and organic barley. The Laddie Eight is made from Scottish barley; the same variety of barley from which the Laddie Classic is made. The Laddie Eight appears to showcase Bruichladdich’s “distillery character” and malty profile, with subtle layers of oak which serve to accentuate – rather than dominate over – the malt. It is young, fresh, and balanced.

The nose is buttery and full of apples, pears, mandarin, honey and vanilla, and beneath the fruit and sugars sits biscuit base cheese cake, sliced black olives in brine, toasted oats, dry grass and the aroma of the barley (which smells like raw nuts). This malt has a very clean and fragrant bouquet. On the palate, find orange peel, sharp lemon, spices (black pepper, in particular) and honey; lots of honey! Once the layers of citrus and oak peel away, the spirit emerges with more clarity; it seems to taste of apple and raw nuts. There is also the mild taste of ale – yeasty with mild bitterness and rich in grain. That ale leads into the finish, with mild salinity.

This is sweet, fresh, and dangerously drinkable malt which shows off a very clean, malty and youthful character with soft vanillas, rounded spices and sugars from oak.