Tastes

Nose: salted caramel covered pretzels, light fruit, mils salinity, Palate: lemon zest, sweet malt, light salinity, caramel. Theres a deep fruitiness here. Oak. Vanilla. Honey. Finish: cinnamon, leather, pepper

Nose: strong, dark and earthy sherry, sweet caramel, strong oak. Palate: strong sherry, dark stewed fruit. Plum. Candied walnut. Cinnamon and mild baking spice. Sticky, sweet, but not over the top for being exclusively aged in oloro Finish: drying and oaky, with a hint of dark fruit. Leather.

Last drops of the bottle. Nose: briny, caramel, butterscotch, a moderate peat thats more smoky and dry than vegetal/dank. Hints of honey and citrus, there's also definitely a sweet malt note too Palate: black pepper, maybe even some chili/cayenne here. Though it tastes like it may have lost some proof theres a robust ethanol warmth still. Strong salinity, definitely getting some of the recharred oak here in both wood tannin and some wood smoke. Malt, muted notes of citrus and pear. Theres a decent peat. Finish: relatively dry, peat phenols settle here. Woody. Its not as long or complex as I previously remember

Nose: really unique here compared to other ardbegs, getting a prominet bitter dark chocolate a nice classic ardbeg peat, caramel, charcoal. Sea spray. Palate: really unique aggressive bitter malt here like stout malt notes. Balanced well with some backend chocolate and some salinity. Peatiness is subdued but there. Mild caramel, mild vanilla. Sweet smoke throughout. Finish: dry, ashy, oaky tannin, some lingering black malt bitter and chocolate.

Sunset on the porch and a beautiful Laphroaig. Life is good. Nose: there is a prominent but more subdued peat, salt air, syrupy candied/dried fruit, getting dried cherry and plum. Some black pepper, also getting vanilla and baking spices, and some prominent oak Palate: sweet and syrupy, getting sticky dark fruit, with the background of traditional Laphroaig peat and salinity. Theres a strong dark chocolate note, some subtle vanilla crême. Almost like a chocolate covered cherry/raisin. Some zippy/sharp wood tones come in here as it transitions to the finish, tannin and aromatic baking spices. Finish: oak tannins, lingering earthy peat phenols, Ash, raisin/date. nb. A few drops of water tames the syrupy thickness a tad and brings out a little more wood elements from (I'm guessing) the quarter casks on palate. Vanilla gets elevated a notch. the oak tannins and barrel toast/char show up marginally on the finish

A—B with Laphroaig 10, thoughts a bit scattered as i try and compare. Nose: compared to the 10, there is a massive amount of wood on this nose. Sharp oak and vanilla balance well with a peaty, smokey element. There is a substantial brine as well, but the star of the show here is the wood. Peppery, baking spice, nutmeg. The 10 is much more phenolic, and rubbery, like fresh playdough. Coming back to the quarter cask after smelling the 10 brings out some tobacco, leather, and pine/cedar Palate: definitely getting more wood here too. Burnt sugar, warm toasty oak, cinnamon, sweet vanilla and caramel. The peat is here for sure but it comes in more on the transition to finish. Getting hints of green apple but I may be insane. Getting more peat throughout as I sit with it, but theres a hint of a light red fruit sweetness? Theres a little hint of a maritime breeze. A hint of burning wet tree moss as it moves to finish. The 10 has more fresh malt character, and medicinal peaty elements. The smoke is more prominent on the 10 as is the brine. Finish: rubbery phenols come out most here, oak tannins here are significantly more prominent than in the 10, as expected. Drying and tongue coating. 10 has more salinity. 10 gives more ash, phenols, and earthy peat fire on the finish.

Nose: phenloic peat and some moderate smoke. Creosote. Salt Air and a substantial malt note. There's some cinnamon, and salt water drenched oak. As it opens up there is a prominently bright vanilla cream/custard, almost a crême brulee note Palate: peat phenols hit hard, there's leather, rubber, creosote, Ash. There's a strong salinity, robust earthiness, malt sweetness initially comes out as it transitions to the finish but is more noticeable through as your palate acclimates. A moderate oak. Slight caramel and burnt sugar. Finish: seaweed, slight oak spice. Tongue coating and drying tannins. Resolves to an earthy and ashy note

Nose: some slight nuttiness, salt Air, some dark Sherry notes, slightly earthy and a bit sweet. Cinnamon, light black pepper, mild orchard fruit. Palate: smooth, sweet, and clean. Honey, cinnamon, warm baking spices and fresh bread. Warm, sweet oak and some mild vanilla cream. Dark candied cherry, a spicy and earthy sherry. Dried fig. An undergirding malt sweetness to balance. Salinity comes out as it transitions to the finish. Finish: tannic, mildly phenolic, warming and drying. Hints of berry.

Nose: light, floral, grain whiskey, almost some citrus/lemon zest and green apple, mild honey, Sherry. Some oak Palate: lots of Sherry here, getting a strong fruitiness that is not sticky or overpowering. Sweet vanilla cream, a mild grain sharpness/bite. Honey and slight malt elements (nuttiness, malt sweetness). A moderate warm oakiness comes in as it transitions to the finish. Definitely getting a bit of spiciness here too, my guess is thats the mizunara coming through. Finish: mildly drying oak tannin, hints of earthy sherry, warming.

Nose: still a strong, oily, phenolic peat but it has become slightly muted as this bottle has sat. Definitely peatier and smokier than the 10 which i am A-B'ing here. Smoke, vanilla, slightly herbaceous but in a decomposing way. Lightly earthy, Sharp. The slightest hint of lemon peel. After having a few sips, a sweeter note comes out slightly, the slightest hint of honeyed malt. The 10 in comparison has almost a plastic/Play-Doh note Palate: massive, pungent, oily peat hits big initially paired with a strong robust smoke. Gives way to a tarry flavor and thick mouth feel. A hint of honey, slight malty sweetness as it transitions to the finish. Theres certainly some seaweed/salnity here too. The 10 presents much sweeter than this with more prominent cereal/malt and vanilla flavors. Finish: oily, lengthy, strong peat fire ash. Phenolic. Mild to moderate oak tannin. The 10 gets more rubber on the finish. ------ Having a dilemma on whether to kill this quickly as its sat open at about 60% for about a year and the uniquely massive and oily peat is starting to wane a bit. Should I go for it and treat it with a little less reverence?