Single Malt Savings - Bruichladdich's Laddie Ten

This week it is Asda looking out for all us dram fans. Bruichladdich 10yr is down to a paltry £20 at Asda, a saving in the region of £12 - THAT'S RIGHT, TWELVE WHOLE POUNDS. At first I thought this was a simple pricing mistake, but dreams do come true (so I expect Krispy Kreme's to be deemed health food and excessive drinking to improve brain functionality).

Bruichladdich is an Islay distillery with a turbulent history, having changed hands, closed down and reopened a number of times. For an Islay distillery Bruichladdich has historically produced slightly more floral malts than might be expected when compared to the likes of Laphroaig or Ardbeg. This has been addressed in recent years with new additions to the range, but The Laddie 10 is the flagship bottle and the first ongoing bottle in the line since the reopening in 2001 stays true to the distillery's less peaty character.

Firstly, this whisky is fairly dark in comparison to the traditional Islay malts, with Bruichladdich spurning any added colourants favoured by many distilleries.

The nose is nicely floral and sweet, chok'a'blok with caramel, sweet spice and fruit prominent. There is also a sharp sea air quality coming through, mixing with other herbal/vegetal qualities. It's wonderfully complex, bringing the Islay seaside air notes to a more Speyside style whisky, leaving behind the heavy smoke and medicinal fragrances that can drown everything else out.

On the palate the whisky is very complicated, with lots of opposite notes coming through with elements of sweet and sour. The fruit and sea elements are there along with the caramel and so on, but there is an added bitterness which comes through strongly on the finish. The mouthfeel is nicely thick and oily, a product again of Bruichladdich presenting a true, unadulterated whisky, not subjecting it to chill-filtration. Due to this process not being undertaken, the Laddie is a little hot-headed (it's bottled at 46%) and is better with a slight touch of water added.

This is a really nice and brilliantly individual malt. The Lad is a bit feisty, but with time in the glass and some water he matures nicely, calming himself down and developing some more sweetness with vanilla and toffee starting to creep in. A complex, fresh, and massively interesting malt.

And it's a real steal at £20 - I cannot stress this enough. It's unclear how long the Bruichladdich 10yr will be at this price so get yourself down to Asda or online ASAP, you'll regret missing this deal.