Another highly aged variety of the spirit that got me into whisky. A lot of Laphroaig unfortunately commands a very steep price these days, and this is no exception. Fortunately samples are out there to allow trying it without making such a considerable investment. This is another sample I wanted to do unblind as I’ve found with over 20 years of aging a blind tasting can give the impression of being weak, and I think knowing that age going in gives a better experience. I suppose knowing the age but nothing else could mitigate that, though.
Minutia: The label says the whisky was matured in refill hogsheads then transferred into 1st-fill ex-Bourbon barrels and refill quarter casks. It mentioned they were hand selected for a final maturation, but I’m not sure if that transfer was the final maturation, or some of those were selected and matured in some undisclosed manner. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Color: Burnished, 1.1.
Nose: Medicinal, fruity, a bit fruity, some salt.
Taste: Subtley smoky, then sweet, then pepper.
Finish: Dry, mild, leather, tobacco. Medium.
While not a punch in the face, Laphroaig’s spirit is robust enough to take this kind of aging without losing its heart. I can’t say I’d consider purchasing a bottle for what it costs, but it is good enough that I wouldn’t be disappointed. I found myself drinking this very quickly relative to the usual, I suspect because the low proof made that easy, but that didn’t make it weak.
Score: 89
No comments:
Post a Comment