Tastes

Laphroaig's familiar briny seaweed note remains well supported by a substantial, medicinal peat smoke, albeit much less intensely than in the 10-year. Sweet (very sweet) barbecue and bacon notes on the nose and palate are accompanied by a rather pleasant peppermint aroma. The Laphroaig 18 will be discontinued at year's end 2016.

The bottling in the U.S. market benefits from a higher 43% abv. The Orkney peat makes a comparatively bold showing relative to nearly all of HP's other bottlings, accompanied by notes of honey, a fair bit of spice/oak influence, and a feint hint of young spirit. All in all, this is an excellent buy for the money. Fans of this should also have a look at the Benromach 10.

Dried apricots, apples and honey predominate on the nose and palate, though these notes are overwhelmed by bitter wood spice in the finish.

Not a bad blend, but 94? For serious, y'all.

I'm with palerider on this one. Westland shows potential, but its bottlings need quite a bit more time before they might qualify for this sort of mark. Expect metallic notes o' plenty. Frankly, Lance's credibility has taken a serious beating with this review.

A fine whisky, but I couldn't taste 21 years of maturation. It would seem the casks were pretty inactive.

My review four years ago was as follows: ‘This 'gentle dram' is pretty anodyne.’ I gave it two stars. After having tasted many more whiskies since, and at a credible friend’s recommendation, I gave this one another shot. Turns out, it’s a pretty impressive value for its age and has notable nuance that either was lacking from the earlier batching or was simply too subtle for me at the time.