Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Sherry Cask Edition
July 28, 2025
For this attempt at capturing my whisky opinions in print form, I’m pulling back the curtain on a Travel Retail Exclusive that tries to put a spin on a well-known, whisky favorite. I’m referring to The Classic Laddie Sherry Cask Edition, from The Bruichladdich Distillery, located on the Eastern shore of the Rhinns of Islay peninsula, a lovely chunk of geography, on the Scottish island of Islay.
Travel Retail Exclusives are products intended to be sold in places like Duty Free Shops, in international airports. The hype around them is that they’re exclusive to those shops and not available anywhere else. Which isn’t necessarily true because they do show up on various online locations, if you know where to look. And, in fact, I’ve been told you might even be able to pick this one up at the distillery. There are usually options.
Speaking of the distillery, you can views photos of the place here in the Whisky Shots section of The Whisky Zone website.
I bought this whisky at the Heathrow Duty Free Shop in London’s primary airport. Now, last Fall I was traveling in Scotland and visited The Artisan Restaurant in the town of Wishaw. The proprietor, Derek Mather, is renowned for his love of Bruichladdich spirits and it was on Derek’s recommendation that I bought this one at the airport, on my way back to The States. So you can blame hime for this review. Incidentally, if you’re in Scotland and enjoy good food and whisky, a visit to The Artisan Restaurant should probably be on your list. Unsolicited promotion there.
Like its well-known cousin in the aqua-colored bottle, The Sherry Cask Edition is a non-aged statement release. Entering the code that’s on the back of the bottle into Bruichladdich’s website I can tell you that this one is a vatting of 70 different ex-bourbon and wine barrels, before being finished in Fernando de Castilla sherry casks and like all of the Classic laddies it’s bottled at 50 percent ABV.
And in the tradition of all Bruichladdich releases the Sherry Cask edition is non-chill filtered and has all natural color, which is what I’m most often hoping to find in my whiskies. Thank you for the transparency, and making what I consider to be the right call, Bruichladdich.
Visuals:
So this very natural color is like liquid amber honey, maybe liquid gold
And the legs that form on the inside of the glass are really thick but they move with some decent downward velocity.
Nose:
Oh I found the first noseful to be quite lovely. I get strong vanilla, some apple peels, and honeysuckle. That sweet side of the flavor scale continues to be represented but also brought down to a more earthy balance with the smell of a sweet malt. And then there are some fresh cherries.
Palate:
Initially I got a spicy bite from my first taste. It has that feel like it’s kind of chewy in the mouth. There’s the taste of caramel. I detected cinnamon buttered toast. There’s some fun sweetness, like bubble gum. Corn syrup, dried fruit, and a pad of butter melting on my tongue.
My tongue initially gets a pleasant taste of chocolate-covered cherries. Then flat (generic) cola. A bit of a strong punch with molasses. Then burnt butter, maybe buttered popcorn. Definitely black pepper. And some somewhat refreshing watermelon taste.
There’s not much here that’s knocking me backwards so, even at a fairly robust 50 percent ABV, I’m proceeding here without adding water to my review pour.
Finish:
It surprised me how quick this one went away. I’m left with a little fishy taste, some almonds sautéed in butter, nutmeg, and sweet vanilla.
Rating:
Before I conducted this review, I did a side-by-side comparison with the standard Classic Laddie and I must say they’re the same - and unique - at the same time. They both have a buttery spiciness to them that I think defines what Bruichladdich is doing here but the Sherry Cask Edition reins in some of the spice…and compliments it with a rich, sweetness. There’s no sherry bomb here, it’s mostly bourbon influence. It’s a very nice whisky to drink.
Look, international travel through international airports sucks. Too many people crammed into too little space so there should be some kind of reward for putting up with that. This Travel Exclusive Release, might be just that reward. I’m handing The Classic Laddie Sherry Cask Edition release, an 8 finger pour.
Age Statement: NAS
ABV: 50 %
Chill-filtered: no
E150a caramel coloring added: no
Average Price (700ml): £61 (UK)
https://london-heathrow.worlddutyfree.com/en/63/bruichladdich-laddie-sherry-travel-exclusive-70cl
