Laphroaig Days, Part Deux


June 2, 2023

Many Islay, in celebration of Feis Ile 2023 and of the Queen of the Hebrides

Laphroaig Days, Part Deux

Sunset at Laphroaig, 2015 (WF Archive)

No words needed, just more upper-echelon randomness...

Williamson 11 yo 2011/2022 (59.8%, Whisky AGE, barrel, cask #425, 206 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: straight, pure, ashy, smoky Laphroaig. No fuss, no distractions, a working barbecue in the distance, a few apples, a chimney and a kiln, both working as well. With water: same, coal smoke, peat smoke, fresh bark… Mouth (neat): massive, simple, very smoky and briny. Lemon zests, ashes, liquorice wood, seawater. Utter Laphroaig purity, no flannel. With water: same, straight to the point, which I find marvellous. Lemon yoghurt, seawater, oysters, loads of smoke and ashes. Finish: long, very smoky. Grapefruit in the aftertaste. Comments: it is not a very medicinal Williamson, but boy was it smoky!
SGP:568 - 88 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, 'single Islay malt', UK, cork, 1l, +/-1987)

Not the screwcap version. Most evidently, these 43% versions used to be much better than the ones at 40% vol. No, seriously. Colour: gold. Nose: these older tens! I'd call this one intermediate, between the flabbergasting earlier 'tropical' ones (mango galore and basta cosi) and the smokier, peatier ones that came later on. This nose remains exceptional in any case, stunningly secondary, on aromas that you could only qualify as 'old Laphroaig'. You won't find this in nature or anywhere else, and certainly not in Whiskydom. Mouth: oooh… Raisins, meat sauce, longans, goji, mango, dried pineapple, dried jujubes… O-M-G, as we used to say, indeed an ode to bottle aging (I'm sorry, Tom, Dick and Harry). This whisky was different when it was bottled, like it or not. Finish: pretty long, sublimely fruity. Comments: grandiose. Wasn't Laphroaig 10 the best 'entry-level' Scotch Malt Whisky ever made?
SGP:755 - 93 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, unblended, Martini & Rossi, screwcap, +/-1980)

Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, 'unblended Islay malt', Roland Marken Import Bremen, Germany, screwcap, 75cl, rotation 1981)

ABV on additional back label, not on main. Poured freely at some poshy wedding in Scotland earlier this year. Well, Lucy and Angus's. I've heard no one complaining. Colour: gold. Nose: it is, indeed, a smokier version, with more briny smells, more creosote, more iodine, more old coal (old coal pit), more smoked fish as well, salmon, kippers, charcoal, grapefruits… In short, restless mangos haven't taken over yet, but that may occur later on. Like, around the year 2040. Mouth: no, cancel that, we're closer to the other one, with just as many raisins and goji berries, dried pineapples, angelica, pinot gris… Basically, it is the same extraordinary whisky. Finish: long, saltier, smokier, with even some olives. And winkles, naturally. Comments: it would be presumptuous to try to tell them apart. The other 10 was a little more 'mature', but all in all, both were stunning and, well, similar.
SGP:656 - 93 points.

Bessie Williamson 10 yo 2012/2022 (58.5%, Fadandel, 1st fill amontillado hogshead, cask #9, 294 bottles)

Laphroaig plus amontillado? Sounds about right! Naturally, this is some blended malt – I believe they blended it with thin Islay air. Colour: full gold. Nose: walnuts love smoke, smoke loves walnuts, that's the whole story here. You may add mustard, samphires, wakame, leather, cigarette tobacco, bay leaves, paprika… With water: perhaps a little leather now, new leather jacket, cherry stems… And amontillado. Lovely walnuts. Mouth (neat): creamy mouth feel, salty sherry, more and more walnuts, green lemons, horseradish, pea soup, loads of smoked ham and sausage… It is, indeed, one of the most sausage-y whiskies I've tried within the last months. With water: citrus coming out, especially those kumquats and bergamots that our Dutch friends love so much (sorry, a private joke). Also a lot of marmalade. Finish: long, potent, superbly bitter and, well, on kumquats. I know, I know… Saltier aftertaste. Comments: I'm afraid we'll never come down. Brilliant wee ultra-nutty dry Laphroaig.
SGP:467 - 88 points.

Laphroaig 25 yo 1997/2023 'Symington's Choice' (52.2%, Signatory Vintage, bourbon hogshead, cask #3372, 196 bottles)

This one's very dark for an ex-BB malt, but as we used to say in math (and malt) class, there are more exceptions than rules. Colour: full gold with copper hues. Nose: charcoal at first, old fireplace, guns, then meats and dried fish. Beef jerky, soot, coal dust, waxed papers, cigars, Aperol Spritz (apologies), eucalyptus wood… I find it curiously thick and 'sherried' for a bourbon hogshead, but we shan't complain as this one too is 'vastly superior'. With water: this kind of nutty and salty style that's rather to be found in deep-sherried Laphroaigs. Cherry liqueur, kirschwasser… Seriously, loving this, but what happened? Mouth (neat): beautifully weird, with some 7-up, lemonade, even Schweppes, then seawater, oysters, tobacco, liquorice wood… It is certainly not your average ex-bourbon Laphroaig. With water: no, this cannot be. If this was indeed a 'simple' bourbon cask, I'll eat a whole family-size Hawaiian pizza from Domino's, but I'll need proof. Finish: long, extremely good, with black raisins and loads of smoke. Comments: am I losing my mind? Or is someone gently pulling my leg? Ex-bourbon, really?
SGP:567 - 90 points.

Houston, please bring us down!

Islay Distillery 30 yo 1990/2022 (51.3%, The Peninsula Collection by Nanyang Whisky & Rejo Beverages, cask #NYWLP01, 310 bottles)

Funny cask # there, and an age statement that might be slightly undervalued. More cocketry, I suppose. We're in Singapore this time, while last time I was in Singapore, there was only Johnnie Walker around. But that was in 1988. All right. Colour: gold. Nose: once more, these older batches are straighter, better chiselled in a way, saltier, more coastal, more 'Laphroaig'. Oysters, langoustines and crabs, kelp, lemon, a little tar and rubber, beach sand, leek and asparagus, rainwater, fresh almonds… With water: classic move towards chalk, mud, wool and porridge. Mouth (neat): totally huge, citric, acidic, lemony, pungent, peppery, with rather a lot of wasabi, tart apples, grapefruit, limoncello… At 30 years of age! With water: sweeter and rounder, with two sultanas and three dried goji berries. The background remains superbly salty and tart. Finish: long, pretty perfect, with some riesling and sauerkraut. No, really! Lemon and seawater in the aftertaste, nothing unusual. Comments: just extremely good, if not totally focused. But at 31, or 30, or 32 years or age, that's more than normal.
SGP:557 - 90 points.

Hold on, let's add three bonus undisclosed Lap….

Islay Single Malt 31 yo 1990/2021 (49.3%, Thompson Bros., two refill barrels, 464 bottles)

What could go wrong here? This one is ticking strictly all the boxes, we even like seals. Colour: golden straw. Nose: only three-dimensional (medicinal, coastal, tropical fruit) but each would then get fractal and explode into myriads of tinier aromas, while keeping this feeling of focus and oneness. See what I mean? But let's only mention three main aromas just for the sake of it, let's say lip balm, let's say cockles, and let's say pink grapefruits. Plus, as we said, myriads of other smells and aromas. Beautiful, classic Laphroaig nose, the old tenners that we had last time aren't that far away… Mouth: indeed! Huge 'nervous' freshness, litres of lime juice, some Szechuan pepper, passion fruit, some moderate peat smoke, some coastal touches (anchovy brine, oysters), peat smoke and many putty-and-almond-like touches. Either you write a few lines, or you write a whole book about this one. I chose the easier option. Finish: perfect length, more ashy smoke, more coastalness, more lemons. Ginger tonic and, err, Campari in the aftertaste. Comments: hey, a high-end Laphroaig Spritz, ideas ideas, and why not?
SGP:656 - 92 points.

Secret Islay 31 yo 1990/2022 (51.9%, Archives, refill hogshead, cask #4404337, 257 bottles)

In theory… Colour: light gold… Nose: the Thompson was softer, this is a tad more brutal, peaty, medicinal, ashy… And just as superb. Tincture of iodine, ointments, engine oil, peppers, many kinds of camphor-led syrups and oils, then old ropes (those famous tarry ropes), hessian, chalk and gypsum, kelp… And of course oysters. Also the usual lapsang souchong. With water: more towards chalk, wool, fresh concrete, porridge, sourdough… Some elements of youth do remain, amazing. Mouth (neat): more tropical fruits this time, grapefruit, passion and mango, plus salty wines (manzanilla) and seawater, while it would then get fatter and oilier. With water: just more of all that, with some green walnuts, salt, lemon, grasses, white asparagus… Finish: long, and once again with a spritzy side, ginger tonic, cinchona… Salty aftertaste, say on peppered winkles. Comments: this one was more a classic, mineral, salty, old yet very vibrant Laphroaig. Quality's extremely high, as expected.
SGP:567 - 91 points.

Last one…

Unnamed Islay 30 yo 1991/2022 (51.4%, Wu Dram Clan, 3rd Anniversary, bourbon barrel, cask #2674, 237 bottles)

A bottle by Signatory Vintage for Kirsch Import for Wu Dram Clan… for us all. Colour: golden straw. Nose: it is fascinating to compare these old early 1990s Laphroaigs, as they're all so close and so different. This one's rather more on root vegetables at first, parsnips, celeriac, beets, then the expected salty coastalness, the usual medicinal side (bandages, ointments), whiffs of old books and magazines, ink, touch of liquorice, fennel… And not much fruitiness this far. Love it, still. With water: plaster and more bandages. Dis someone break a leg or an arm? Mouth (neat): it's the saltiest of them three, and consequently, the most coastal and briny. There's a fruity fatness too this time, touches of calvados perhaps, anchovies, eau-de-vie (sorb)… Great fun here, even if it is a tad unusual indeed. But it wouldn't make much sense if they were all identical after 30 years, would it. That's the whole point of single cask bottlings, if I'm not mistaken. With water: some passion fruit this time, but also pastis, which we already found today – or was it yesterday? Extremely good and not totally dissimilar to some old OBs. Like some 30s indeed… Finish: long, more medicinal once more, with a lemony and liquoricy signature. And let's not forget some oysters. Comments: these batches remind me of Knockando. Not stylistically, of course, but because the latter have some 'Slow Matured' expressions. Oh, forget about that. Great old Laphroaig for sure. No, we have no proper proof, but it is in the pudding. Excellent.
SGP:567 - 91 points.

Good, it was a superb Laphroaig session, but let's be honest, we took no chances and only tried 'proven ones'. No lousy OB NAS, for example…

(Thank you, Angus and KC)

Check the index of all Laphroaig we've tasted so far