Tonight we settle down with one of my most favourite whiskies – Laphroaig 10 Years Old. If you are fortunate enough to have a bottle of Laphroaig 10 Years Old gracing your whisky collection or liquor cabinet, please pour yourself a dram and join me as we indulge in one of the great whisky experiences. Established in 1815, Laphroaig has a lot of history behind it. The bottle stakes a claim to “the most richly flavoured of all Scotch whiskies”. One of the ‘big three’ Islay whiskies, along with Lagavulin and Ardbeg, this is a powerful, yet elegant, beast of a whisky. Powerful in flavour, yet elegant in balance and structure. This whisky has a lot to say.
As we would expect from an Islay king, clouds of smoke and huge peat are at the fore.
As you gain more experience drinking heavily peated whiskies you will be able to explore the flavours behind the billowing wall of peat smoke. Phenolic, bitter, medicinal (think antiseptic and band-aids). Probably the most heavily peated of the peated whiskies.
The nose is huge smoke and deep peat bog. The unique medicinal note lays atop the smoke – you won’t miss it. Just behind is seaweed, salt and sour green apples. Huge, pungent aromas. A few drops of water cuts through the smoke. Full bodied palate – as subtle as a mule kick to the teeth. Massive peat. Deep, earthy, phenolic. Thick tar, wet moss and a dry minerality harmonises with vanilla and fruit sweetness. The finish is dry and very long. I love this whisky.
Appearance: Pale Gold.
Nose: Smoke, seaweed, medicinal.
Palate: Huge peat, tar, mineral, salty, sweet.
Finish: Very long. Dry and slightly oaky.
Written by Jared Brown
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