Better than Classic Laddie? | Bruichladdich The Laddie Eight REVIEW

[@GeoffreyBangers]

This review was informative, entertaining, insightful, honest, eye-catching, humourous, and (insert adjective of your choice here). I think Bruichladdich is a great distillery because they really embrace batch variation, coupled with naturally made, integrity whisky. That's all we want! And it tastes good... interesting at the least. Whelp, cheers!

[@Gwhisky]

Hah agree. For me the vast majority of their stuff is good to great, but there are a few dud batches in there. They definitely keep in interesting! 🥃

[@paologramatica9231]

I was at Bruichladdich some days ago doing the Warehouse tasting. We had the chance to taste a 20 year old PC from Bourbon, Oloroso ans Sauternes casks re-racked after the 16 yo bottling vatting from some years ago into a bourbon cask. Also 13 yo Octomore from a Ribero del Duero cask, and a Classic 14 yo Laddie. The host served us some gigantic 5 ml pours some we could take 2.5 cl samples and still have 2.5 to taste. She was just the best, Laddie was already a favorite but it's now close to my absolute favorite.

[@mtpanning]

Yeah, I think you nailed it when you said that the batch variation makes the whole comparison a little difficult. I like Bruichladdich, but that can be frustrating. I don't buy the Classic very often for that reason, and have never seen the 8 year. But I never fail to have a PC10 on my shelf.

[@Gwhisky]

Good point. We can rely on PC much more than Bruichladdich for consistency, I admit. 🥃

[@vinceandtheresa1243]

Thanks for the review. Here in Ontario, Canada, the Classic sells for $90 CAD which is about $67 USD. It's in line with most Scotch Whiskey. I like it as well. We don't have the 8 year old available, but will be keeping my eyes open for it on trips or when it does get arrive. Thanks again.

[@Gwhisky]

Thanks for watching. Glad to hear you're enjoying the Classic.🥃

[@Koby616]

Missed your videos, so you made my day. Haven't tried yet, but hope I can try it in the future. I like the look of lady 8 bottle more, than regular lady.

[@Gwhisky]

Hah fair enough. The Laddie bottle is definitely a weirdo. Thanks for watching! 🥃

[@WhiskyWolf514]

Nice to see you back at it Mr! 🎩🥃 Thanks for the breakdown and comparison! I tried the Classic Laddie based on your recommendation at my bachelor whisky night and both me and my best friend loved it very much! Interestingly enough we were reminded of Bunnahabhain . Definitely found some similar notes on the pallet...Which is strange yet it kinda makes sense as they are both unpeated Islay Whiskys. I will try the 8 in a bar next time I visit one. Cheers Geoff and thanks again for the review! Slainte 🥃 🥃

[@Gwhisky]

Glad you and your friend enjoyed the Laddie, buddy! Not a whisky for everyone. The 8 is worth a go at a bar, ideally next to a dram of Classic for a side-by-side! 🥃

[@PW-72648]

I like your style you do your content and still keep it very condensed and enjoyable in short form! Thanks again 👍

[@Gwhisky]

Very kind words. Thank you! 🥃

[@hansvaneenennaam457]

Good review Geoff. At my dealer the 8 is cheaper than the classic. Will add it to my list for trying it out, think I will go first for samples of both. Good to have you back online again.

[@Gwhisky]

Hah thanks, buddy. Curious to hear how you think it compares. 🥃

[@lightplays2181]

Hi Geoff ! One month ago in whisky club we degusteated Classic Laddie , Bere barrley 10 , port sharlotte 10 and port sharlotte pac 01 . My favorite pac 01 , Laddie also not bad ))) Slainte !

[@Gwhisky]

LOVE the PAC! That would be my favourite, too. Cheers, my friend! 🥃

[@TheOneGlassMan]

I just bought a travel exclusive (at Heathrow) "Laddie Classic Sherry Cask Edition" ..I recommend it if you can find it. My first impression is better than the regular classic Laddie

[@vimalrajkappil]

I was eagerly waiting for this review

[@kevinnordby4808]

Nice review Geoff! I had a bottle of the Classic Laddie about three bottle ago that was much more coastal that has had me chasing laddie batches. I’ve been getting my coastal character needs met recently from the Old Pulteney Huddart which is probably my personal whisky of the year….so please review Old Pulteney Huddart!!!!

[@Gwhisky]

I'll put it on the shopping list. Cheers! 🥃

[@steeno1985]

Great review as always thanks. Just having a look and I notice they do a 20cl bottling of the classic laddie too. Tempting...

[@Gwhisky]

Might be worth a go if the price is right! Thanks for watching. 🥃

[@Ediranii]

I like the classic laddie. I like the transparency as to where the barley comes from what types of casks were used and they give you the year of distillation of the youngest spirit in the blend. I'm drinking my new bottle right now and it's 22/003 batch where the youngest barrel is around 8 years old (distilled 2014 bottled 2022 they only share the youngest cask info because of some EU law or whatever :D ), and it's delicious.

[@peathead4450]

Informative and enjoyable as usual. Thanks for reviewing, Geoff. The whisky itself enjoyable and affordable. Slàinte mhath

[@Gwhisky]

Thanks! Agree... enjoyable and affordable stuff. Cheers, my friend. 🥃

[@davidowen2834]

Hi Geoff. I like the classic laddie it’s around €45 (£38) in Germany, so a decent price. Thought about buying the 8 when going through travel retail but alas didn’t pull the trigger and I don’t travel much. As always a good and fair opinion of a whisky.👍. Slàinte Geoff.

[@Gwhisky]

Cheers David. Not an essential buy, but a solid whisky. 🥃

[@pfalzgraf7527]

Dang! I guess in the future I will simply buy what you recommend. I know nobody who has a palate as similar to mine as you do! And in terms of opinion about prices as well. (which I always realize when you talk about stuff I know already)

[@Gwhisky]

Great minds think alike, eh? Glad to hear our tastes align. Thanks for watching! 🥃

[@carlmartinlinder]

You finally got around to it and I fully agree (again). I have had four different batches of Classic laddie and they are quite different. Some of them better, some of them worse than the 8. I wonder if the 8 also have batch differences 😏

[@Gwhisky]

Yeah I was curious about the 8 being batchy, too. But as it's more expensive and a travel retail exclusive, I think people are less likely to experience batch variations with it simply because they'll buy it less. Doesn't mean they aren't there, though. 🥃

[@thewhiskyscribe]

I loved the Classic Laddie, but had one bottle that just didn’t stack up to the usual releases. I haven’t really come back to it since. Great review, appreciate the comparison.

[@Gwhisky]

Totally fair. No reason to re-buy any bottle that gave you a bad experience! 🥃

[@Nikolay_Nikolov]

In Bulgaria Laddie 8 costs a little over 42 euros in the Travel Free stores near the border crossings and The Classic Laddie goes for 48-49 euros in the better liquor shops. Haven't tasted any of them yet but given the feedback I'd most probably get a bottle of The Classic Laddie on special sale :) Cheers!

[@Gwhisky]

Strange how the 8 seems to be cheaper in some markets. For that price I'd get one of each! 🥃

[@BadgerJeff]

The Eight sounds too polite. Us GJeofs like a Laddie that smacks back a bit! Excellent description, as always!

[@Gwhisky]

Nothing like smackin' laddies! 🥃

[@themole2024]

Totally agree. For the price the Classic is ($54) here in CA, is FANTASTIC. Better than anything in its price range. By Far.

[@jackhammer8439]

Classy v-neck for the classy laddie. I see what you did there. Well played sir. Well played.

[@eviltrain24]

Did not know (or never made note) of the fact that the Laddie is batchy. Probably because I'm still nursing the first bottle. Mine is from late 2021 and it's currently scoring 4.1/5 or about 89~91 territory. Well damn. Guess I'll have to remember to buy a back up if I buy a good batch next time. FYI: these run $55~57 in northern California. which is a good price. Cheers man!

[@Gwhisky]

Great price and glad to hear you're enjoying your batch. Our tastes line up once again! 🥃

[@eviltrain24]

@@Gwhisky it hasn't been perfect, but it's been broadly similar. At this point, I'm just compelled by powerful forces to watch your content.

[@DileepB]

How about the Bruichladdich Islay Barley? $75 vs $55 for the Classic Laddie in the US. The Taiwan prices are outstanding.

[@rafaelnardiiii]

They used to have all the Laddie 8 information on the website before they updated it... I don't know why they didn't put it back. I had at least two different batches of the Laddie 8 that I remember more or less the cask composition, and both were more red wine heavy than the Classic Laddie. One of them, I think from 2020, had a lot of ex-Rioja casks and the other, a little older, had ex-Amarone casks...

[@Gwhisky]

I found an article on the website where it said 5 different cask types were used, so presumably, we have stuff like wine and sherry in there. I guess the 8 could be just as batch as the Laddie. My 8 is much more distillate-driven, and my Laddie is much more wine-driven. Really makes the comparison tough. 🥃

[@teddyballgame25]

The Laddie has a bigger score range I think. It can be very young, farmy, simple…the bottle I have now was an 81 when u opened it and after a couple months is a solid 87.

[@Gwhisky]

Fair enough. I agree it can be all over the map! 🥃

[@philipn5162]

Great review. Is there something with the same profile but not as brash. The same great fresh maltiness and abv. Obviously looking at something a bit older

[@Gwhisky]

Bright clean and malty... Try Glencadam 10, Compass Box Orchard House, or Kingsbarns Dream to Dram! 🥃

[@thewhiskyenthusiast]

I was wondering what you'd think of the 8. I found them extremely similar in profile with small nuances of difference. I think I prefer the Classic Laddie as well but I did enjoy the 8 but as you've touched it in my market the Classic Laddie is much more expensive than the 8 so that comes in to consideration. Cheers Geoff

[@Gwhisky]

Yeah odd that it's cheaper in some places and more expensive in others. A really tough comparison as the Laddie is so batchy. I've only had one 8, but that one might be batchy, too, so basically it's impossible to say one is better than the other. Both good! 🥃

[@MY-bd3fo]

Laddie 8 is slightly cheaper where I at. To be honest I can't decide which is better. So naturally I have both.

[@Gwhisky]

Cheaper? Interesting. For the same price, I'd have both, too! 🥃

[@MY-bd3fo]

@@Gwhisky Yup cheaper coz not many is talking about the Laddie 8. The duty free shop usually offer some discount for slow moving items.

[@jbar6284]

In my market classic laddie ranges from USD56 to USD83. PC10 ranges from USD71 to USD94. Both seem quite overpriced. I tried Bruichladdich 10, 46%, silver & blue canister, and enjoyed it, but that was many (>15?) years ago.

[@nicholasmartinelli3]

Have you done a complete review on the Classic Laddie?

[@Paasken]

Babe new Gwhisky vid finally dropped

[@Gwhisky]

😂😂😂

[@barryfrombarnsley2790]

It might just be the bottle I have, but The Classic Laddie is one that I don’t get on with due to one absolute mood killer for me… a l*ctic note that no one wants me to describe else it might ruin your enjoyment too, I’ll say no more than that

[@MaLiCeCoLtRaNe]

I haven’t come across this one, but would probably prefer it to the classic laddie, which I like but sometimes have found it to be too young. Often when I’m in a (unpeated) Bruichladdich mood at the store I opt for the Islay Barley.

[@Gwhisky]

Love the Islay Barley! This is closer to the Islay Barley than the Classic. 🥃

[@johnmarkle9125]

Thank you for this review, however, This distillery continues to confound me. Can’t seem to get used to the off sour notes in both bottles

[@Gwhisky]

Hah trust me, you're not alone. There are plenty of seasoned enthusiasts who also struggle with the brand. Matter of taste! 🥃

[@chriskellas2902]

I took a pairing knife and scraped off a strip of paint on the side of the bottle....fill level indicator!

[@Gwhisky]

Great idea! 🥃

[@Brad-ic4bp]

As cool as I think the Classic Bruchladdich is, I always thought it lacked more time on the barrel. I don’t think 8 years is enough to get it to the point of my preference. Please, please, please, give us a 12 year version.

[@Gwhisky]

I love the youthful zest to this, but I agree that it would be great to have a 12! 🥃

[@alexbone98]

I'm insanely jealous that you can get the Classic for $50 cad. In ontario its $90. Still cheapish but if it was $50 here I'd have two bottles at all times haha

[@Gwhisky]

Hah yeah we're very lucky. Canadian prices, man... 😬

[@ashythedon]

Thanks a lot Jiff! I got nothing out of this video! 😂

[@Gwhisky]

That tracks. Pretty sure no one gets anything out of my videos. 😉🥃

[@ashythedon]

@@Gwhisky 😂 😂 😂

[@neolaonl]

the laddie 8 is cheaper in my market, should i go for it?

[@Gwhisky]

They're so different but both good. I'd grab whichever is cheaper! 🥃

[@bannedcommander2932]

Bruichladdich is one distillery that I could never get to terms with. I know they pride themselves on their batch-based style, but in my opinion, they're taking the maverick distilery image way too far. It's just too inconsistent, and when it's bad, it's really bad. I'd much rather buy a Bunna than the unpeated Laddie line, that way I know the whisky won't trigger my gag reflex.

[@mtpanning]

I'd take Bunnahabhain every time too, but to be fair, that's setting the bar pretty high. The Bunna 12 is a perma-shelf item for me.

[@cemtuncel1602]

Thx for the video Geoff, my thoughts are quite similar with you.

[@barryfrombarnsley2790]

🤣 I wish I’d seen this comment before @bannedcommander2932, I have a bottle from I think maybe 2019 that does indeed trigger my gag reflex!

[@adrianwiuk]

I picked up a bottle at the airport as a holiday treat and also think the classic is the better buy. I think the 8 needs some water where I enjoyed the classic more without. I have a couple of bottles (old and new style) at home so will try and take some back to compare. It’s a decent whisky, just competing with an even better one from the same distillery for less money!

[@CampervanTravelsInDora]

Great content but I'm put off by your notes being over to your right 👀

[@Gwhisky]

Huh? I keep my notes on the left on the table right out of camera view.

[@TheOneGlassMan]

I vote 8.... by a nose ;-)