One Springbank and One Longrow

Let's have two malt whiskies bottled by the Springbank distillery from Campbeltown. Today there are only three active whisky distilleries in Campbeltown. At one point, it had 34 distilleries.

Springbank 21 years old (bottled in the early 2000s, 46%)
Colour: Old gold.
Aroma: Butterscotch sauce. Toffee. A lot of Werther's Original sweets. Some smoke behind all these caramel action. It is fabulous! Nothing complex but still very good. Then some dried fruits, those that you find in cereals like apricots and peaches. Belgium waffles with maple syrup.
Taste: Now it is Werther's Original sweets with peppers! Some oak and some dryness. Something orangey. Vanilla ice cream with crushed mint leaves. This is a very good quality malt whisky that was aged in ex-sherry casks. Rating: 90/100

Longrow 18 years old (bottled in 2008, 48%)

Colour: Straw:
Aroma: Instantly and unmistakably chinese rice wine! No, in fact more like a sack full of rice grains. Then briny and coastal. Some smoke. Later it becomes quite like a Tie Guan Yin tea. Vanilla notes too.
Taste: First impressions are spicy and more spiciness. Then salty. Very straightforward highlighted by white peppers and chillies blended with garlic. Now some pandan leaf syrup or extract. Medium to long finish with a dryness like some white wines. My nose prefers this peated malt whisky much more than the palate did. Rating: 88/100

Laphroaig Tastings (Part II)

We shall quickly finish up the other 3 Laphroaig whiskies in Part II.

Laphroaig 10 Years Old "Unblended" (bottled in the 1980s, 43%)
Colour: Gold.
Aroma: First impression is ashy. Some grapefruits in the background. Sea salt. Then some peat and lemons. Cigarette ash returning. A lit kerosene lamp now. This is really smoke on the water! Really good on the nose.
Taste: Fisherman's friend, lemon flavour. Salted nuts. And peaty. Then bitter with a dry finish. Quite excellent in fact but isn't near to the ones bottled in the 1970s like the famous Bonfanti imports. Rating: 89/100


Laphroaig bottled by Berry Brothers (1964-1981, 43%)
Colour: Dark copper.
Aroma: Burnt palm sugar aka 'gula melaka'. Extra rich and buttery. Barnyard notes like a burgundy wine. Not excessive but just the right balance. This is how it is like when you combine laphroaig distillate with sherry and peat perfectly. Then mushrooms and red fruits like durian. Tobacco - I swear there is even a Partagas Serie D No. 4!
Taste: Demerara rum. Whole raw spring onions, both the whites and the greens. Cherries. Some sweetness and spiciness. Then a bit of pineapple jam. Medium finish with a seafood soy sauce aftertaste. Great whisky! Rating: 94/100



Laphroaig bottled by Glenscoma (1979-1996, 53.5%)
Colour: Straw.
Aroma: Every tropical fruits you can imagine - grapefruit, pink guava, passionfruit and pomelo! Now there is even some fresh strawberries. Then bubblegum and unripe pineapple too. This is simply superb! In fact, it reminds me very much of the Bowmore "Deluxe" brown dumpy bottle from the 1970s. Taste: Pink guava again. Ashy and tarry also. Some peat. This is really really good with tropical fruits character and so beautifully balanced at cask strength. It is one of the few malt whiskies that I have had which actually tastes just like it smells. No multiple personality disorder at all! Rating: 95/100

Laphroaig Tastings (Part I)

With a little help from my dutch friend, it was possible for me to partake in a whisky tasting event that took place in Belgium on 10 and 11 November. This festival was called 'Spirits in the Sky'. There were several masterclasses. But "The Laphroaig Experience" by Marcel van Gils has to be the key highlight, for me at least.

My Laphroaig samples were couriered from the Netherlands and arrived on 1 December. In the line-up, there were six drams distilled from different times at the distillery. There is a huge backlog in my whisky tastings. Now is the time for these liquid gold...

Laphroaig Cairdeas Feis Ile 2009 (12 years old, 57.5%)
Colour: Straw colour. Aroma: Immediately I recognise the modern-day Laphroaig profile. Lots of medicinal smoke. Lemony. Taste: Fisherman's Friend lozenges, cherry flavour. Citrus fruits. Olive oil. Peat. Pencil shavings. Chilli powder. Medium and bitter finish. Rating: 85/100

Laphroaig Feis Ile 2007 (distilled 1989, 17 years old, 50.3%)
Colour: Gold.
Aroma: This one is less smoky. Still lemony but very briny. Much better. There are honey notes, actually some maple syrup too. Very good and balanced on the nose. Also many more things going on here.
Taste: I get some salted almond nuts. Cherry flavour fisherman's friend again. You get some of those tequila with salt and a slice of lemon. WHAM! It reminds me of the SMWS #29.66, 'Maritime and sweet' Laphroaig. Wait a second, wasn't that distilled in 1989 too and bottled at 18 years old?? I feel that there are some clear similarities between them. Rating: 90/100

Laphroiag bottled by Sestante "Ship Label" (distilled 1969, 19years old, 40%)
Colour: Yellow gold.
Aroma: Diesel fuel. Grapefruit. It has a resemblance to the fantastic Bonfanti imports. Not too medicinal or peaty at all. So different from modern Laphroaigs. Then it goes like motor oil from a small boat out at sea. Some pink guava now. Very complex on the nose. So much better.
Taste: White pepper. Olive oil. Medium and subtle finish. Not as great as the experience with the nose. Wait... after a few minutes, the next few sips starts to improve a bit. Lemon drops with a white wine sensation. It does taste quite like a Caol Ila 18 years old. Rating: 90/100 (Mind you, the nose was a fabulous 92 points)

Lagavulin 16 Years Old from White Horse Distillers

Back in 2008, I tasted my first Islay single-malt whisky. It was a Lagavulin 16 years old bottled by Port Ellen distillers (post-2000). Here today is a cold and grey Christmas morning, I poured the dram from a White Horse 1 litre bottle version, which is one of the earliest batches.

Colour: Amber gold
Aroma: Cured ham. Smoked bacon. Peat smoke. Some honey sweetness. I detected iodine too. The smell on the ground you get when a tropical rain is approaching. Intoxicating nose. I think it is more sophisticated (I won't say complex) than the dram I had 5 years ago. Less peat attack than the ‘Port Ellen’ version.
Taste: Immediately I get the peat and bacon coating my tongue. Carbon from charred wood. Dark chocolate but not-too-high cacao content. Some bitterness. Some white peppers but less spicier if I compare it to the 12 years old special releases. Less sweetness than the ‘Port Ellen’ version. Not so salty like how I remembered with the one bottled by Port Ellen distillers. This one has more balance and elegance, like a very good lapsang souchong tea! I think it is perfect with prosciutto! Everyone who enjoys a dram should try Lagavulin 16 years old at least once in their lifetime. Rating: 92/100

Ardbegeddon!!

Ardbeg 25 Years Old, 'Lord of the Isles' bottled in 2005, 46%
This is a vatting of bourbon and sherry casks distilled in the excellent 1970s.
Colour: Gold (same like the 'Provenance')
Aroma: Whiffs of cocoa. Then a Cohiba cigar. Some smoke. Not peaty like the Ardbeg 'Ten'. Then herrings rolled with mustard sauce.
Taste: Peat. White fruits like cooked apples and cooked pears. White pepper seeds. Capsicums. Lemon cough drops. A very good and balance Ardbeg with a long finish.
Rating: 92/100

Ardbeg 1977 bottled in 2002, 46%
Colour: Light gold
Aroma: White wine. Smoke from burning wood. Pepper seeds. Wood charcoal. With more time, it gets sweeter.
Taste: White peppers. Less peat than expected. Then it becomes fruity. White peach, lime and passion fruit. Like good sauvignon blancs.
Rating: 91/100

Ardbeg 1974 'Provenance' bottled in 2000, 55%
This one is the same 'Provenance' bottled for Asia, except it says bottled for the USA. Otherwise the dates and ABV are identical.
Colour: Gold (same like the 'LOTI')
Aroma: Some berries. Bubblegum. So there must be some fruits here. Then cocoa, some wood glue. Smoke from burnt wood, not burning. Seasoning salt. Simply amazing.
Taste: Peat. Chocolate. White fruits like cooked apples. Lemon and menthol. Peppery. Believe it or not, there is some 'Brand's chicken essence' which has a salty taste that I liked! A masterpiece.
Rating: 94/100

Ardbeg 1976, Single Cask #2397, 52.4% bottled in 2008
Colour: Gold (deepest amongst the four)
Aroma: Oh... my favourite maple syrup. (How can it be!?! I was not expecting this.)Toffee. Cocoa powder. Dried raisins. Some peat smoke. Chinese plum sauce. Rice grains. Then charred beef. So good.
Taste: Cherry cough drops, followed by peat. Then dark chocolates. No lemon in this Ardbeg. Some black coffee. Herbal drops. Clear tomato soup. So if you've tried 'Uigeadail' and liked it, this will be mind blowing! 1 extra point than the 'Provenance' for the magnificent nose.
Rating: 95/100

The Ileach

Laphroaig Cairdeas 'Ileach Edition'', 50.5%, bottled for Feis Isle 2011

This youthful single malt is exactly what Laphroaig means when they said in a punchy slogan from the 1980s, "love it or loathe it". My friends from the office totally loathed it, describing it like a disinfectant and antiseptic. Well... I enjoy it very much and happen to think it is quite aromatic.

There is no age statement on this one from a bourbon barrel but I have heard it is about 8 years old. I also found out that the distillery produced a large batch of spirit in the traditional way, using only the Laphroaig floor malted barley and the original three small stills. This was all put into first fill Maker's Mark casks and stored at the distillery warehouses.

Colour: Light gold.
Aroma: Aggressive "In-your-face" type of whisky. Sweet and peaty smoke. Poached pear with vanilla syrup. Then sea breeze throughout! Opening a bottle can fill up the room with the ocean at your doorstep without getting wet.
Taste: Butterscotch salty and lemon to me. No oysters in this one. Despite the young age, it was quite good and fantastic. Long finish with peaty and tarry notes on the palate. Better than the 10 years old standard release at 40% or 43%! But still youngish to be a complex malt whisky. Let us wait patiently now and see if the rest of the casks might produce an improved whisky given more time.
Rating: 86/100

Two independent Laphroaig from 1989

Let's try two middle-aged Laphroaig from 1989. Both were matured in ex-sherry single casks. The first is by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The other is by an independent bottler, Douglas Laing and this one earned a silver at the Malt Maniacs Awards in 2009.

Laphroaig 1989/2008 (53.7%, SMWS #29.66, 'Maritime and sweet')
Colour: Orange gold
Aroma: Indian mango chutney (sweet and tangy). Hints of maple syrup. Some wood glue. Then braided sea ropes. Whiffs of peat. Some iodine. So much going on here!
Taste: Some resemblance to the uber-famous vintage 1974! So this is a very nice Laphroaig. Cured ham, cocoa and orange jam. Some ripe durian fruit aftertaste. The finish is long and peaty. So much balance and enjoyment! For me, this has to be one of the best Laphroaig from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Rating: 92/100

Laphroaig 1989/2009 (57.1%, Douglas Laing for La Maison du Whisky, #5220)
Colour: Dark orange gold
Aroma: Immediately briny. Wood shavings. Some iodine now. Fresh cut wood again.
Taste: Chinese chilli pork floss. Red spiciness and hot. Some sweetness. And chocolaty too. Raw scallop sashimi with lemon juice. The sherry effect comes through quite strongly and dry. Long, peaty and ashy finish.
Rating: 90/100