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)

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

Laphroaig 10YO for Bonfanti Milano

Since 2007, Laphroaig Live has been to London, Islay, Kentucky, and Jerez. It is a live tasting event 'beamed globally' (pun) via www.laphroaig.com/live and this year, they jet off from Scotland to Sydney!

On 6 Oct, the distillery manager, John Campbell will open a very special bottle of Laphroaig. It is a 10 years old bottled in the 1970s for Italy's sole agent and importer, Bonfanti - Milano. This bottle for the Live Tasting was supplied by my dutch friend. I like the appearance of old bottles. For me, I also like to unscrew a bottle cap each time I pour the whisky into a glass.

The current 10 years old are matured in ex-bourbon barrels. But decades ago, they were aged in ex-sherry barrels too and I think there was no caramel colouring either. Hence the whiskies will taste significantly different. This evening I poured a dram of Bonfanti to do a preview tasting of the legendary Laphroaig.

Colour: Bullion gold.
Aroma: Orange peel. Peppermint. A breeze of sea-salt. Some poached pears in syrup. And Vicks vaporub!
Taste: Rose hips and hibiscus. Cinnamon sticks from Sumatra and lemongrass. Some hints of raw green chillies. Some iodine. Quite close to the discontinued Laphroaig 30 years old which were also matured in ex-sherry barrels. But this is so much better! Do the mambo italiano.
Rating: 94/100

Older style Laphroaig like this are just superb! Isn't it amazing that this whisky is only 10 years old. My dutch friend informed me that the whisky inside the Bonfanti is much older. The youngest is 10 years old. Laphroaig had much more old stock at the time. Hence the complexity and depth of this whisky. Sydney is in for a nice surprise!