All Things Whisky

Laphroaig 18 y.o.

48% abv

Score:  91.5/100

Maybe I’m wrong here, but I’d guess there just may be something a little older than 18 in this Laphroaig.  I don’t think that happens much nowadays, but in ages past (errr…a few years back even) it wasn’t necessarily a rare thing to find some brilliant old whiskies being married with younger casks to strike a harmonic whole.

With single malt whisky experiencing the boom it currently is, every drop counts.  Especially the now virtually priceless drops of older stocks.  I’d venture that in current days your 18 year old whisky is usually no more than 18 years and 6 minutes before it is ripped from the cask and bottled for retail.  Yes, yes…I’m a cynic, I know.

Anyway…here we have an 18 year old Islay malt from the legendary Laphroaig that boasts a profile far surpassing the number on the bottle.  Pleasant surprises like these don’t come often.  (Hmmm…maybe that’s why there are a couple extra bottles of this on my shelf).

The nose is where evidence for my aforementioned theory on this malt is most prevalent.  Big vanilla and sweet tangerine.  Orange and chocolate.  Pear drops and bubblegum.  Black licorice jujubes…right outta the bag and sorta carrying the scent of the others as well.  Some sweet smoke and faded dirty peat notes.

Man…what a beautiful orange tang on arrival.  Back to pear and syrupy fruit cocktail.  Peat and smoke (but none too heavy for a Laphroaig).  Chocolate and Werther’s Originals.  A bit of tobacco pungency.  Finish is slightly drying, kinda lengthy, completely pleasant.

Laphroaig young enough and old enough to be in its prime.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

Laphroaig 10 y.o. Cask Strength (Batch 001)

57.8% abv

Score:  90/100

Peatheads, rejoice!  Another young cask strengther to sink your fangs into.  The peat, smoke and briny medicinal characteristics that so define the Islay whiskies tend to severely polarize drinkers.  Mostly the noobs, I believe.  An acquired taste?  Perhaps.  Regardless, these scents and flavors are massive and unmistakable.  For the uninitiated palate this can be quite a challenge.  For those of us who like a little smoke and fire in our glass…this one’s for you.

Laphroaig’s flagship expression is their 10 year old.  Though unquestionably great as bottled, the 10 year is somewhat neutered by being bottled at 40%.  This beefier version of the 10 year throws ocean winds and sea spray all over your campfire as expected, but also offers a diverse palate of notes to provide a spectrum of nuances.

First of all, make no mistake…this is Laphroaig.  Burning stacks of peat, smoke, and citrus sit up front.  This prickles at both the tongue and nostril with sharp peppery notes and anise.  Some mild, but pleasant, cacao…a hint of pickle (?!)…some dust and spice.  I find it has a sort of cured meat quality as well.

This whisky is enormous.  It lingers in a way only Laphroaig can and leaves a hazy veil of peat reek over everything in the room.  Mouthcoating…sharp…and with a delicious burn on the tongue.  I would suggest it be tried neat before adding any water.  You simply don’t mess with a dram like this.

One final note…even though this is bottled at a respectable 55.7% abv, I find it has a subtlety that eclipses the Laphroaig Quarter Cask.  Where the QC is raw and jagged, this is a little more polished.  Personally I prefer the QC.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

48% abv

Score:  89.5/100

Another monster from the bog.  Laphroaig has done something different here.  In order to replicate whisky distillation and maturation from the days of old, the craftsmen at Laphroaig have finished this whisky in smaller casks to allow greater wood/whisky contact.  The Quarter Cask is aged to about 5 years in bourbon casks before the transfer.

The QC is the ultimate in successful whisky experiment and innovation.  There is simply nothing to rival this.

As you’d expect nothing less from Laphroaig, this is a bottle full of smoke.  Heavy peat, yet smooth beyond its age.  Seems a little raw around the edges as it lacks that certain sweetness you find in some some of the other Islays.  Big fat arrival…long development…finish that lingers almost as long as the beautiful aroma.

This is all smoke (no mirrors, thankfully).  The real deal.  Heavy and lingering.  Massive arrival that develops into something with a bit of heat and…I know, I know…dirt.  Very earthy.  I think I’m getting a touch of anise in there as well.  Typical young peat citric notes are a little buried (surprisingly) by smoke, but present nevertheless.

Definitely a winter whisky, but one that will have you thinking of summer bonfires.  Very raw and overpowering…in a good way.  I can promise you that the smell of this whisky will still be blanketing the room long after your glass is empty.

At ~$50 a bottle, and a brilliant bottling at 48% abv, this is definitely one to snag a couple bottles of if the opportunity presents itself.  One helluva Christmas gift idea too.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

Laphroaig 25 y.o. Cask Strength

51% abv

Score:  92.5/100

By no means can Laphroaig be considered a subtle dram. Its reputation as one of the most defining and polarizing single malts in existence is not without merit. Even the more readily available expressions in the Laphroaig line-up (Quarter Cask and 10 year old) are enough to have some swooning and some bolting. Taking this self-same malt from the isle of Islay up to cask strength (51% abv) only helps to reinforce this characteristic might.

But then again…who needs subtlety? There are enough bland and homogenized whiskies bending the shelves worldwide. Whiskies such as this, with its profoundly jagged and flavor-filled profile, should be embraced and, when the occasion calls for it, revered. There is just no way around it. This is an enormously aggressive whisky.

The nose…

Smoke, licorice and peppered greens. Some lime, mild chocolate and fresh tropical fruit. Sweet unidentifiable fruits carried over, I’m sure, from the Oloroso cask. Dry grainy/cereal notes come through as it opens up and the initial bite retreats a little. There is also a wee bit of caramel adding some smooth sweetness. Tack on the typical Islay profile notes of peat, fishiness and iodine and you pretty much have what I’m getting on this one. Quite a busy one.

There is a peppery bite on first sips. An odd and fleeting hint of red licorice as it first crosses the palate. The caramel notes absolutely do not carry over to the palate, however the chocolate does, and carries a hint of honey. A great delicious briny tang puts down roots as well.

Not a lot one could drink after this in a sitting. Most likely a malt you want to close your evening with.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt