A few days ago I got a very interesting sample from my Danish whisky friend Jorn. I’ve written quite a few times about Jorn, who’s a big whisky fan, and knows his way around whisky (and has a good nose for choosing the right casks). This time he brought a nice generous sample of a 10 year old Laddie bottled from a private cask (not his), of a Danish owner. A 10 yo fresh sherry cask Laddie, and from the colour of that (It’s very dark) you could tell it’s going to be HEAVILY sherried, as this cask was very very active. 10 years, but what a whisky. Big stuff indeed. Let’s dive in:
Bruichladdich Cask # 1201, 10 yo, 57,8% abv, DKK 899
Nose: This is a sherry monster all right. We begin with some rubber and sweet dairy notes (think about Knafe (a middle eastern sweet pastry and goat cheese desert) in very sweet sauce, there’s a certain peaty note as well, which is much stronger than I’d expect to find in a Laddie which is usually very lightly Peated. red fruit, soaked in liquor as well as sultana and plum, sprinkled with pepper. It dos benefit well from a dash of water.
Palate: Again, starting off with the rubbery notes, then off to peaty shores… Pepper, and new leather as well as red fruit jam, smoky nuts, buttered toast, getting bitter with a touch espresso. A few drops of water do help make this rounder and eliminate some of the rubber.
Finish: Chocolate truffle filled with alcohol drenched cherries, peat, and quite a few tannins.
Bottom Line:
This is a very interesting, yet different sort of laddie. It’s peatier than most, and It’s one hell of a big Wine influenced (sherry, ok) dram. Some would love this, and some would have a hard time with the rubber notes, and the extra big sherry influence. I quite liked it and although I find myself drinking less and less sherry monsters, this one tickled my fancy. Its got a certain funky feel to it, yet with some water it does get very very good. It does need some time to breath,then you’re in for major fun.