Advent 2022 #22 - Laphroaig 15 200th Anniversary

A celebratory release, and if what I’ve read about a bunch of bottlings from Laphroaig, it will likely be one that should be standard but isn’t. I wonder if I’m right.

Laphroaig 15 200th Anniversary, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV

Minutia: Bottled in celebration of Laphroaig’s 200th anniversary. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Deep copper; 1.0.

Nose: Musty, lemony, apple skin. Tobacco, leather, fruit. Gummy bears.

Taste: Vegetal. Honey, Wood. Heat builds, but not to a high level.

Finish: Delicious bitter note into smoke and coffee and sweet grapes. Malt.

Guess: Laphroaig 15

Non-standard indeed. Wow, this whisky is good in many ways. I got notes I’ve never gotten from a Laphroaig and didn’t get some notes I usually do. I thoroughly enjoyed drinking it and it’s such an interesting expression I felt surprised the whole dram. Not necessarily because a new note appeared or anything, but I kept being surprised it was a Laphroaig, and at 43%, too.

Score: 89