Tastes

Managed to luck out and score a bottle of this recently. In terms of taste, 'exotic islay' seems appropriate here. I get smoke, a bit of peat and wood, and a HUGE hit of pear. It's almost like a smoked pear juice at times. It's a very nice whisky and honestly not like anything I've had before, but in a good way. If I had two complaints, it would be the oft mentioned bottle itself (who uses a screw cap for an aged whisky? honestly...) and the price. While I think it's an absolutely great whisky that appeals to me on multiple fronts, the price itself is seriously off-putting. I'm glad I tried it, but $100+ for a whisky is really asking a lot, especially with such a low age statement. This tastes like a fantastic 60-70 dollar whisky, and if were that price, I'd definitely always have a bottle on hand. As it stands, I would encourage you to pick it up if it sounds appealing to you to try it, then wait a few years for production to hopefully ramp back up and the price to lower to a more reasonable amount. Update: As it has oxidized, I believe the quality has gone down somewhat. I lost the pear note that made this so enjoyable for me. I'd drop this to a 3.5 in that case. This seems like a bottle you'd want to consume quickly after opening, which is a tough sell at the price. I think a 4.25/4.5 from a fresh neck pour, and a 3.5 post oxidization leads me to keep this rating where it is.

I'll start by saying I don't typically do whisky reviews, but here we go. The Laphroaig 10 cask strength sits at a positively blistering 60% abv. Even the most diehard of peat heads are going to want to add water to this one to open it up. After letting it sit for 10 minutes and adding a few teaspoons of water, the best way I can describe it is a coastal fire. Sea Air/Iodine, Smoke, Peat, and Wood. The finish in particular seems to leave almost a salty aftertaste, which is not something I've experienced before from a whisky. Overall, this is an excellent representation of Islay style whiskys. It's certainly not going to be for everyone, but for those who like peat and smoke I would encourage you to give it a try. Its very intense, but extremely complex and smokey, and can hold it's own against other greats like the Lagavulin 16.