A few recent Laphroaigs including the lauded new 18


September 16, 2024

A few recent Laphroaigs
including the lauded new 18

Twilight at Laphroaig (WF Archive, 2015)

This time, we won’t have any ‘Secret Islay’, ‘Williamson’, ‘Leapfrog’ or ‘Bessie’s Best’... Unless we have an older one, just as an aperitif. Perhaps an old ‘Laudable’ from DL?

Laudable 1985/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 303 bottles)

One of the first OMCs, actually named ‘Director’s Laudable Selection’. This hails from the days when Laphroaig started getting a bit feisty with independents using their name, which is, after all, just the name of a place. But we won’t get into legalities, as that’s hardly our forte, and we wouldn’t do it for tuppence anyway. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: lovely, more crystalline than the OBs of the time, leaning towards lemon juice and green apple, with a more vegetal peat, though the medicinal elements catch up rather quickly, especially mercurochrome and iodine tincture… With water: some bitter smoked almonds, elderflower, and a hint of old paper… A bit of OBE may have started working its (very relative) magic here. Mouth (neat): oddly sweet this time, and we can’t help but use ‘limoncello’ as a descriptor. Sweet and slightly sour, with loads of ash and oysters. With water: barley syrup, brine, and lemon syrup. The brine and sweetness tussle a bit. Finish: rather long, becoming more taut, medicinal, very peaty, and quite sour. A syrupy aftertaste again. Comments: strange, it carried this surprising sweetness throughout the palate. Not the easiest of vintages.
SGP:676 - 86 points.

Let's jump ahead 25 years...

Laphroaig 18 yo (48%, OB, ex-bourbon, 2024)

Here we have the new Laphroaig 18-year-old, making a return after around a decade of absence. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly fond of the old version, which I found rather overly influenced by new American oak (WF 84) and notably inferior to the 15-year-old. It was often described as being ‘a bit plankish’. Colour: white wine. Hurray, as the previous 18 was more golden. Nose: straight to the hospital here. Bandages, camphor, a variety of balms, iodine, fresh plaster, followed by lemon and smoked oysters. It’s not an overly complex nose, but for me, it ticks all the boxes. More importantly, it buries our aperitif six feet under – or rather, under the beach! Mouth: perfect, powerful, sharp, saline, lemony, and intensely smoky. There are some small berries, a hint of rubber, a touch of tar, and a very persistent smoky, maritime character. It gradually becomes creamier, but never excessively so; the white oak behaves admirably. Finish: long, with a lovely bitterness that’s ever so slightly syrupy. The citrus pushes through in the aftertaste, joined by fresh bitter almonds. Comments: absolutely to my taste, closer to the distillate than some of the more recent official Laphroaigs, and clearly superior to the old 18.
SGP:457 - 89 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo 'Original Cask Strength Batch 16' (58.5%, OB, Dec 22)

We’re constantly behind with these 10 C/S batches, and frankly, we’re rather ashamed. That said, they’ve become quite different from the older versions. Colour: full gold. Nose: richer than the 18, oilier, but with lovely notes of yellow pepper atop the peat and candied oranges. With water: I really like this. Chalk, plaster, shoe polish, peppers, tar, fresh paint, putty, carbolineum, and a touch of barley sugar... So far, nothing to complain about. Mouth (neat): extremely zesty. Lemon juice, ashes, green pepper, sea water, chillies, and truffled olive oil. As they say, it packs quite a punch. With water: it swims beautifully, though it does become, once again, a bit liqueur-like, a touch sweeter. We’ll mention limoncello once more. Other than that, it’s pretty much spot on. Finish: very long, with smoky, sweet, and salty citrus notes. Quite the profile. Comments: I think this is – or rather, was – an excellent batch. We might have to skip two or three to catch up over the next few months or years.
SGP:557 - 88 points.

Laphroaig 36 yo (40.2%, OB, The Archive Collection, second-fill oloroso finish, 400 bottles, 2024)

It seems this one’s a 1985 vintage, much like our early Laudable. Giving a finishing touch to an old legend like this malt feels a bit like the cosmetic surgery some ageing actresses undergo. Naturally, one thinks of dear Nicole K… or perhaps Ardbeg 1965. But who are we to judge, after all? Colour: gold, no darker than that. Nose: the sherry remains delightfully subtle, while the hallmark passion fruit and mango of old Laphroaigs are very much present. There’s also yellow peach, followed by old fabrics, a touch of beeswax polish, some cough drops, and a drop of gentian liqueur (Avèze, Suze). I find this much nicer than I’d feared, and in the end, it reminds me a little of the Ardbeg 30 ‘Very Old’. Indeed. Or even, in some ways, the Laphroaig 40/1960. Mouth: as expected, it’s more tired on the palate, though the initial attack is still decent – this is very much a whisky for the nose. A bit of old wood, herbal teas, orange and cinnamon biscuits, and some old walnuts, probably from the oloroso. After that magnificent nose, the palate is almost anecdotal. Finish: short, dry, with a hint of lightly brewed lapsang souchong tea. Comments: it’s charming. It’s a bit like an old black-and-white film or a 78rpm jazz record, something like vintage Ellington. But really, it’s a Laphroaig for the nose. I believe the resemblance to that superb 40-year-old stops there.
SGP:464 - 85 points.

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