Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Sherry Cask
Travel Retail Exclusive | 50% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
It’s on the expensive side but markedly different from TCL
Air Travel Has Zero Upsides
Mrs Crystal came into the office and excitedly waved two big boxes in front of my face. “It’s Christmas time!” she said. I read the writing on the box and knew then it was going to be one of those days.
150 meters of flashing LED fairy lights might seem like a lot, because it is. Yet those meters were eaten up quickly, as under watchful eye and bracing against a bitter wind, I strung them from the eaves, outlining our wee house in a mesmerising blue and orange glow.
The tail end of 2024 has whizzed by at dizzying speed, with work ramping up as we enter into the festive season, and multiple flights to and fro the big smoke to launch new products and meet with new people, setting ourselves up so that we head into 2025 healthier than we did this year.
Whilst loitering in terminal buildings waiting on yet another delayed flight home, I performed the rudimentary flypast of the whisky shop in T5, comprised of both outrageously priced nonsense, and litre bottles of exciter favourites (like Craigellachie 13yo) for decent prices. I always think about picking one up, but never make the final move because I can’t be bothered lugging it around with me.
This time, and from a distance, I saw the iconic aquamarine bottle and naturally gravitated towards The Classic Laddie, like moths to the flame. This bottle had an additional little flash of orange though - almost fluorescent orange and once again I’m reminded of how masterful Bruichladdich are at branding. It’s just bloody beautiful.
This is still The Classic Laddie, but is a Sherry Cask Edition, destined only for the Travel Retail Exclusive segment - unobtainium unless you willingly put yourself through the wringer of air travel. As I stood there seriously considering buying this bottle, I decided to take myself off to get a coffee and do some research into this edition - is this potentially another Tomatin experience? Would the Classic Laddie formula of summer sunshine be improved with a dalliance in sherry casks? Maybe someone in the Dramface writers team might have tried it?
Review
Fernando de Castilla Sherry Casks, 50% ABV
£60 paid / £72 Domestic Flight / £60 International Flight
Well turns out all that doesn’t matter anyway, because the Dramface crew notified me that domestic flyers, such as yours truly, are not eligible to buy any whisky, Travel Retail Exclusives or no. Taxes or some other weak excuse. So even if I really wanted that bottle of The Classic Laddie Sherry Cask Edition Travel Retail Exclusive, I couldn’t buy it. Another reason, on a list already longer than LHR’s runways, to hate air travel.
But, through knowing someone who knows someone who knows someone, I was able to procure a bottle of this whisky despite the barriers to entry! It’s nice to know people. It turned up weeks and weeks ago as well, but since then I’ve been neck-deep in work, Christmas decoration assembly and watching Wolf Hall, so the witterings of Douglas have had to be put on a low simmer.
In those intervening weeks I’ve also welcomed a number of other interesting things, including a bottle of Ardnamurchan AD/10, another Sauternes Cask Release (which I need to review because it’s one of their best “cask” releases to date), opened a number of stash bottles and worked my way through the sample drawer. I might not have been writing about whisky, but I’ve still been exploring it.
The Classic Laddie SCETRE was opened as soon as it arrived and, after pouring some into sample bottles for some folks and working out where it fits in my Bruichladdich Appreciation Scale versus The Classic Laddie and Islay Barley 2024, the bottle is almost gone! Perhaps that’s a spoiler of how much I’ve been enjoying it.
I’ve written enough about Brucihladdich and their approach to whisky to not repeat here - instead check out the two reviews I’ve done already to get that stuff - The Classic Laddie and Islay Barley 2024 respectively. This expression continues the deconstructed presentation, arriving in a cardboard box with one of those cool new paper concertina sleeves that replace the landfill fodder airbags.
I still love the new bottle design, still love the colour and still get a kick out of photographing Bruichladdich. But the whisky inside?
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
It’s on the expensive side but markedly different from TCL
Nose
Rich sweet cedar. Red apple - Fuji or Pink Lady. Red overripe fruit - a bit of funk/decay. Great nose. Wee bit of pepper. Sweet and sour red sauce.
Palate
Coffee!? Red fruits - light coffee ice cream. Creamy. Bit of musty curtain. Broccoli at the death, peppery sweet. Vegetal. Garlic frying in butter. Integrated red cherry, strawberry. Flat cola. Summery vibes underneath - silky. Bit of parm somewhere in there. Cedar woods and all the good red stuff.
The Dregs
Why isn’t this on general sale? Given The Classic Laddie’s availability everywhere, from corner shops to Tesco Ultras, this could easily be plopped alongside it, allowing me to keep it on my permashelf. That’s where this TCLSCETRE belongs, because it’s fantastic.
It’s Bruichladdich alright, bringing a lot of those summer vibes to the party, a bit of Bruichladdich cheese too, but far more palatable than something like Bladnoch. The sherry is elevating The Classic Laddie massively, bringing a lot of the stuff I love about whisky into the already solid character - cedar wood, red berries, bit of match striker and some lovely strawberry fruitiness on top of that oily, tropical fruity base. It also has some interesting vegetal things happening that I don’t think I picked up on in The Classic Laddie.
There was a risk that TCLSCETRE would be tantamount to a gimmick for affluent flyers, or maybe a justification for charging a higher price for something that was as near as dammit the same as the regular Classic Laddie. The Islay Barley, for example. But no, this is markedly different, markedly improved and stands on its own two feet.
Price wise at Travel Retail this costs around £72 if I was flying domestic, and for that price I say no thank you. I paid just under £60 for it through my friend network and is what it would cost if flying internationally. The Classic Laddie can be found around town for as little as £35, but generally it’s up near £40.
It’s another Bruichladdich debate then, whether this Sherry Cask Edition is bringing enough attributes to command the extra £20 over the Classic Laddie. It’s a difficult one, because I have really enjoyed this, and the presentation is totally Exciterville - 50% ABV and natural. If it was £40-50 it would be a no-brainer. For the extra levy you are getting a different whisky to The Classic Laddie.
I will happily pay £60-65 for 50% Ardnamurchan, like the Sherry Cask, Sauternes, Cask Strength et al, and think no more of it, because I absolutely love Ardnamurchan’s whisky character. So I think where I’m going to pitch the Sherry Cask Edition is as thus: if you are a Bruichladdich fan and love their character, fancy a bit of sherry spiced Laddie and have the ability to get outside of the UK imposed tax increase at airports, then go for it.
It’s a really good one. I don’t naturally gravitate to Bruichladdich and so have loved this chance (thank you friend of a friend of a friend who is my friend), and will nurse this TCLSCETRE until it's but a memory. Perhaps by then it will be freely available…but if not then I’ll see what is happening at that point in time.
If you’re listening, Bruichladdich, get this into normal shops asap!
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DC
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