Laphroaig was my first love as far as whisky and will always hold a place in my heart. This is marketed as a summation of what “Laphroaig” is, more or less. After some stellar reviews of mid-high 20s Laphroaig, I’m looking forward to it. This was one of those bottles that’s hard not to open while trying to keep the collection of open bottles under control. I’ve seen some silly prices for this, but have also seen it quite reasonably priced, definitely one of the most variable in that regard. So, how is it?
Minutia: Ostensibly a 7 year age statement, this is described as having casks ranging 7 to 21 years old. Cask breakdown says five different types and I’ve seen ex-Laphroaig barrels, Sherry casks, 1st fill -ex-Bourbon casks, virgin European oak casks, and quarter casks, so I guess that’s the five. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Color: Tawny russet muscat, 1.3.5.
Nose: Classic Laphroaig as you pour it. Oaky, smoky, medicinal, vanilla/caramel. Musty dark fruit.
Taste: Smoke and oak/spice creepy up after a salty/oily opening. There isn’t really fruit in that opening, but it somehow reminds of it. Maybe like if you pick up some berries that washed ashore during an oil spill?
Finish: Smoke immediately overwhelms the other flavors. It gradually fades giving way to salinity, which takes on an earthy quality. Once the smoke and salt kind of find their quilibrium the oiliness returns in the back seat.
I really liked this. It never disappointed, but after being about 20% full for a while, it seemed to be even better. It’s worth noting that it was sitting like that for a while because I wasn’t finding myself in the mood for whisky all that much for a while, and even then reached for some of the less full bottles of less/unpeated varieties I’d already reviewed to make some shelf space, so that time away could be a bigger factor than sitting for a while in letting this have the flavor impact a proper Laphroaig ought to. And that was the takeaway feeling: a proper Laphroaig. In that regard, the name is well representative of what’s in the bottle.
I think they could have gone another way with this one, name/marketing-wise, though. While the dram does scream “Laphroaig,” this has a real feel of a “Kildalton single malt.” So many different times this reminded me of Ardbeg and Lagavulin. If you told me this was a blended Islay malt, I’d be certain it was from the trio.
Drinks a bit under it’s proof, too, not where it feels lacking, but that even at 48% the ethanol doesn’t interfere with the flavor a bit. If the prices are close enough, for me this would replace the 10 as a regular bottle, but that’ll depend on the store and all that. If I could get it at the price Laphroaig’s website has it for, I’d choose this over the 10. Here at about $80, I think it delivers for its value but is just too costly to be a regular thing. The listings I’ve seen for $130 and up, that store’s having a laugh.
Score: 92
Musical Evocation: Cruachan – “Óró sé do bheatha abhaile”
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