Review 284. Bruichladdich 10 year old old school. 2026 release
You might have noticed how in recent months Bruichladdich has released several special edition bottles. All to celebrate their 25th anniversary of being brought back to live in 2001. It’s hard to imagine these days with over 10 operating distilleries on Islay (and a few more even in various stages of planning), but at the end of the 20th century, ‘Islay whisky’ was close to becoming an endangered species. Bruichladdich was dormant, Ardbeg hadn’t seen much in terms of production for the better part of two decades, Bunnahabhain had been closed during the 1980’s as well and Port Ellen had been shut down and closed altogether. Leaving Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Bowmore and Caol Ila to keep the Islay flag rising high.
The re-awakening, particularly of Ardbeg and Bruichladdich around the start of the 21st century, were writings on the wall indeed for what was to come. And even though the whisky industry currently is in a bit of a transition after two decades in which the sky was being considered the limit, it’s still safe to say that Islay whisky is going strong. Bruichladdich has easily become one of the flag bearers for Islay whisky, despite them a-typically not fully focusing on heavily peated malt. 25 years on, they mark the occasion with a series of special releases. Some of these releases are revisiting ‘cult’ bottlings like the yellow submarine 14 year old; or emphasizing their ‘progressive’, sustainable mindset with the 15 yo ‘Greener still’. Often these are highly sought after and, consequently, very expensive whiskies. If not for their RRP (both about €150), then certainly what they go for on secondary (€200 and more is not an exception). Luckily for us, mere mortals with a budget to keep an eye on, they also released a 10 year old ‘old school’ earlier this year which is far more budget friendly (about €70-€80) and with a far greater outturn, making it much easier to get a hold of. The label looks like an homage to their old 10 year old from yesteryear, but both the bottle shape (that ‘dumpy’ style) and the ABV (50%) are very much Bruichladdich anno 2026.
One cool little factoid about this release comes when you look at the back label. It shows a map of Islay with all the farms Bruichladdich has been cooperating with throughout the years, specifically marking the ones that provided the barley for this particular release. If you’re going to bang on about terroir, you might as well make the most of it! Now, I’m not about to open that can of worms – happy to discuss that on another occasion – but I do think it’s nice to have that information as such (with us being all about transparency and what not), not to mention that the whole locality and short chain aspect is of course very much ‘down with the times’.
Bruichladdich 10 year old ‘old school’. 2026 release. 50% ABV, 1st fill bourbon and 1st fill sauternes casks matured. App. €70-€80.
I’ve always been a big fan of the heavily peated Port Charlotte 10 year old ever since I first picked up a bottle ‘quite a few moons ago’. It must have been 2018 or 2019, when the first bottlings of this expression were released. That said, it has taken me quite some time to embrace the non-peated expressions under the Bruichladdich brand. Probably that’s because I initially didn’t really connect with their flagship ‘Classic Laddie’ – be it the 10 year old or the NAS version. What made me change my mind, was trying a few of the Bere Barley expressions, where they use this (Orkney sourced) ‘primal’ barley variety to crank up the fruit, mineral and savoury to eleven. With less emphasis on the wood and more on what happens before the maturation in terms of flavour, you could argue that these releases helped to pave the wave to recognizing that there’s more to whisky than the wood it matured in. Any way…
Nose
Oh yes! So very fruity (think white fruit like grapes, apricot; but also tangerines). So very funky (yeast and farmy - wet hay). So very grainy! These notes are what jump out, but also there’s a ground note coming from that typical dairy -creamy element alongside a hint of coconut and a profound, deep earthy note. And yet: this is clean and crisp!
Palate
Yep! The palate delivers what the nose suggested/announced. The farmy vibe gets a bit dirty even. Overall, the balance between the lighter fruit notes and those deeper earthy-mineral and farmy-savoury notes is excellent. The mouthfeel is dense. Not necessarily viscous, but chewy. A hint of wood gives it a drying touch. A drop of water puts a lid on the fruit and cranks up the farmy elements.
Finish
Long, coating, distinct echoes of gentle spices, pepper and wood.
Final thoughts
A few months ago I reviewed their 8 yo Islay Barley release – a whisky I ended up liking, but I initially struggled with as it took more than its sweet time to open up and reveal what it truly has to offer. Not so much an issue with this puppy! From the neckpour it was already very good and it’s been consistent in delivering from there on. This has so much of the Bruichladdich DNA running through it, you might as well consider this a blueprint for what the distillery is all about. A worthy celebration bottle and an absolute top dram! I initially rated this one 87/100, but seeing how I ended up scoring the 8 yo a (well deserved, in the end) 85, I feel this is worth an extra point as I do believe this is significantly better still: 88/100
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