Laphroaig 28

The last of the well aged samples of Laphroaig I have, I can’t wait to get into it. Based on the 25 and 27, I have pretty high hopes for this.

Laphroaig 28, Islay Single Malt, 44.4% ABV

Minutia: An interesting maturation process, this was matured in casks of various sizes from quarter casks to butts and married in sherry casks for the final 12 months. This was bottled in 2018. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Tawny, 1.4.

Nose: Smoky, sweet fruit, earthy/herbal. Nothing stands out more than anything else, really. The aromas blend well together thus the punchiness of a younger Laphroaig’s nose isn’t there (just stating how it is, that doesn’t add or detract from the nose).

Taste: A sweet and smoky dance as pepper builds behind it. It’s an unbelievable burst of flavor at the beginning, and once you get over your surprise it’s doing something else just as intensely and swaps around and in between. It’s so fluid it’s tough to pin down anything less broad than “sweet” and “smoky.” While you focus on that a peppery heat builds up and persists.

Finish: A smoky, bready delight. I couldn’t wait to get more into my mouth just to get it out of there the other way to taste this again.

Even if it were in my price range, the cost of this bottle is still more than I’d like to spend on any consumable, but after having it I might actually go for that if the money were available. If somehow I spent that much on something I hadn’t had before, I would not have been disappointed.

Score: 93

Musical Evocation: Pensées Nocturnes - "Deux bals dans la tête”