Laphroaig Days, Part Un


June 1, 2023

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

Laphroaig Days, Part Un

Laphroaig

Laphroaig's 'romantic' (our word) dunnage warehouse (WF Archive)

We've got vast quantities of Laphroaig, some flying the Distillery flag, some others from the indies, some bottled as 'Secret Islay' (which are often superior, go figure) and some rather bottled as blended malts (as 'Williamson' or else). So indeed, this will be a merry, joyful mess but why not further increase that mess by trying a good few completely at random? There will be two parts and 15 Laphroaigs altogether.

Williamson 10 yo 2012/2022 (54.1%, Acla da Fans & Sansibar, refill sherry butt, 379 bottles)

Labelled as a single malt, which is uncommon with Williamson. Do not forget that Bessie Williamson was one of the most famous Managers at Laphroaig. Colour: super-white white wine. Nose: unmissably L, that is to say full of iodine, roots, fresh almonds, clams, ointments and eucalyptus. It's always an utter joy to have them clean and uncluttered with any heady vanilla or wines. With water: plain and pure mercurochrome. Would you pass the bandages? Some porridge too, it is not the most mature Laphroaig ever (but we shan't care this time). Mouth (neat): watch it, it would cut you. Ultra-bladey, zesty, salty, smoky and limey. Some no-literature young Laphroaig. With water: there, perfect. Smoke, lemon, brine, cough syrup, oysters. Finish: same, plus smoked almonds and smoked tea. Lapsang souchong. Comments: it is not complicated but it is pretty perfect. Wonderful oak – because there was virtually none, ha.
SGP:567 - 88 points.

Laphroaig 16 yo 2005/2022 (59.1%, The Character of Islay, The Stories of Wind and Waves, LMDW Antipodes, sherry butt, cask #11682)

An elegantly discreet series by Atom Brands/Master of Malts, this time for La Maison. Colour: full gold. Nose: a Laphroaig that's got accents of Port Ellen, with rather a lot of shoe polish and tar at first nosing, then green walnuts (the sherry I suppose) and brand new tyres plus pipe tobacco. It is like if the cask had offset the medicinal side, but not too sure, water feels obligatory. With water: bresaola, biltong and smoked bacon, plus a lot of soot, more tar, then towards a proper Laphroaigness, with more camphor, pine resin, linseed oil, embrocations and turpentine. Mouth (neat): very rich, once again a little 'Port-Ellen', that is to say very tarry. Tarry, smoky marmalade, in the style of some similarly aged full-proof PEs by the Italians. Remember? With water: no, it's well Laphroaig, and a rather fab one at that. Some amazing herbal and citrus liqueurs, chartreuse, liquorice, oysters, cough medicine… It is pretty incredible and rather 'retro' in fact, which is great news. Finish: very long and quasi sublime. Some late-1960s tropical fruits in the aftertaste. Comments: a perfect example of a peater and a sherry cask that tangoed to perfection, which only happens a few times within a decade in my book. Oh and love these small labels that are almost smaller than Adelphi's. Ha. Very great bottle.
SGP:567 - 92 points.

Houston, we're too high already…

Unnamed Islay 28 yo 1992/2021 (52.8%, Signatory Vintage, bourbon barrel, cask #6774, 237 bottles)

An unnamed Islay? Let's call it Bob then! Seriously, we know these batches… Colour: light gold. Nose: we're now in fully coastal territories, with twenty-four oysters (No.2) and a lot of fresh kelp and other kinds of seaweed at first, then these superb citrus jams, passion fruit, mangos… And ointments. As always, it needs a little breathing, which is totally normal. With water: smoke, a working kiln, smoked salmon, smoked eel, creosote… Mouth (neat): a tad unusual at first, that is to say on really a lot of zests and squashes, Fanta… Some seawater as well, seashells, grapefruit juice… You do feel that two drops of water should stabilize it. With water: bingo. Tar, smoked fish, lapsang souchong, bitter oranges (a lot), oysters once more, cough lozenges… In short, Laphroaig. Finish: long, rather thick, coating for a long time. Smoked sesame, roasted tea, bitter oranges, brine… Comments: excellent, even if it does not go down easy. Needs a little work and your best pipette.
SGP:567 - 90 points.

Williamson 12 yo 2010/2022 (56.1%, The Whisky Firm, China, blended malt, butt, cask #143, 150 bottles)

The label isn't leaving any doubts, is it. Glad to see more Chinese bottlings coming our way, but it's true that couriers are working much better between China and France than between the UK and my wee country these days. Colour: full gold. Nose: shoe polish and coal tar once more, citron liqueur, smoked almonds and walnuts, artichoke cordial, metal polish, old copper coins, old tools, these sorts of things… With water: no changes, that is to say even more metal polish and tars. A pit stop at a grand prix. Mouth (neat): very good, strong, on peppered citrus, crystalised lemons, Timut pepper, thyme, barbecued bacon… With water: sootier yet, also fruitier, with some awesome citrus and notes of guavas. Finish: long, fruity. A lot of sweet citrus and tropical fruits. Comments: I think this one was pretty close to the best official Cairdeas, with a cask that was pretty active. So, pretty un-indie, but I don't think that means a thing, it's excellent anyway.
SGP:656 - 88 points.

Houston, we're still a little too high…

Drum Mor 13 yo 2009/2022 (54.6%, The Whisky Cask Company, Switzerland, sherry finish, 639 bottles)

A little bird from Berner Oberland told me this was Laphroaig indeed. TWCC have also had some pretty stunning secret Bu… I mean, Irish. Colour: full gold. Nose: this one's wilder, sootier, more on old cellar, old garage, old tools, also mentholy herbs, chives, basil, seaweed, smoked meat (Grisons meat, there), some black earth, compost, garden peat… In short, it is different. With water: some coconut and oak shavings coming out, that's the cask, obviously. Mouth (neat): great fun here, once more it is very different, much fruitier than all the others, with some limoncello, Mandarine Napoléon, Cointreau… All that being duly smoked and salted. With water: very 'funny', sweeter and rounder, as if this lovely L. has been re-racked into… B. wood? Or was it C.? Or am I dreaming? What's sure is that it worked, making this Laphroaig gentler, fruitier, perhaps more approachable. Nah I'm sure I've been dreaming. Finish: pretty long, sweet, citrusy, tropical, with a feeling of readymade smoked daiquiri. That's right. Comments: 'intriguing' sure is another BS word in tastings, but indeed this was intriguing. Excellent and intriguing.
SGP:655 - 87 points.

Last one today, quickly, let's make it special…

Laphroaig 1970/1986 (54%, Duthie's for Samaroli, 75cl, 720 bottles)

This is called the 'distillery label'. Indeed, we've already tried it a few times but last time we wrote any proper tasting note, that was in 2007 (!), while this is from another bottle. So just to remain on the safe side over time… Colour: straw. Nose: it's rieslingesque! Petrol, rocks, flints, passion fruits, Meursault, paint, milk and sour cream, oysters, dried seaweed, floated wood, sauna oils… Oh well oh well oh well… Mouth: huge. Smoked gummi bears and marshmallows, late-harvest riesling, winkles and cockles, Sicilian lemons, etc, etc, etc… Finish: finishes as the greatest Meursault indeed. The problem with Meursault is that the best growers are having swollen heads these days. Now I agree some whisky makers are suffering from the same syndrome. Let's always remember that the price for barley is very roughly 300€ a ton. I believe you need a little less than one kilo of barley to produce one mature bottle of whisky, that's probably less than one tenth of the price you have to pay to buy some grapes in order to come up with one bottle of good wine, but I'm not sure what I'm writing here makes a lot of sense. Comments: score and impressions confirmed. The fruitiness is insane.
SGP:656 - 95 points.

(Thank you Boris, Hanpo, KC)

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