Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength (Batch 12)

Batch 0012, bottled Feb 2020; 60.1%; 120.2 proof. N: Sugar cookie, vanilla frosting, sweet lemon cake. Cooked vegetables, cherry cola, cinnamon. Tropical notes of mango and a dash of pineapple. Earthy peat smoke with tar and fresh laid asphalt with some mint/menthol mixed in. Super balanced nose that gives you something new every time you dip into it. P: Rich and full vanilla cream, dark red fruit, spicy pepper and cinnamon. Bittersweet oak, which also adds some heat. More cooked vegetables. Sweet comes roaring back mid-palate with a rush of caramel, toffee, and cafe de olla (super sweet, spiced Mexican coffee). Finish brings the peat smoke with used tires, cigar ash, charred wood, burnt vegetables, and (finally) that classic Laphroaig medicine note (which is far more subdued here than in the standard 10 year). The sweet in the finish is straight up monkey bread (sticky brown sugar, cinnamon, biscuit dough). Good bit of oaky, cinnamon candy heat folds on top of that and closes it out. This is plain fantastic. I've shortchanged it, especially on the nose. This is relentless, just keeps coming. And it's delicious from start to finish. The medicine peat that Lap is so known for is milder here than in the standard 10 year - it's kinda perfect here, you get just enough to appreciate, but it's never overwhelming. Took me a while to find this - next time I see it, I buy two of them. Worth having this on hand at all times.

Everything you love about Laphroaig, but dialed up to 11. Smoke, peat, iodine, and seawater. Despite the intensity, it’s beautifully balanced and finishes like an inviting campfire. I plan to keep a bottle of this on my shelf whenever possible.

Nose: Lemon, honey, pepper, brine, beach fire, vanilla. Palate: Velvety, intense, complex, umami, vanilla, caramel, pepper, soot, tar, citrus fruits, beach fire, hint of fresh tennis balls, band-aids and burnt rubber, nice burn on the roof of my mouth and sides of my tongue. Finish: Long, very pleasant with smoke, brine and citrus notes. Empty glass smells of clambake on the beach with squeezed lemon. Excellent whiskey and the 120 proof is very enjoyable. I chose this whiskey for my 500th review because I think it symbolizes my journey over the last 2.5 years. Coming into this as a rum and coke guy with a serious sweet tooth, I thought what kind of freak would find fresh tennis balls, disinfectant, iodine, band-aids, burning rubber, tar, asphalt, chimney smoke, soot notes appealing? Yet here I am, a self described freak, I guess. Can’t wait for what the future of my whiskey journey will reveal.

If you want an all-out peat bomb, here it is. This is a big, burly bruiser replete with old-timey medicinal notes and powerful smoke, with a good bit of brine. It benefits from a little water to tone down the ethanol and really let the peat and smoke shine, and even give some malty sweetness its time on stage. Overall it's a full, rich, super-Laphroaig-y Laphroaig that's sure to satisfy the ardent peathead--and repel most everyone else. With no dilution, no chill-filtration, and (to the best of my knowledge) no added coloring, this expression of Laphroaig enhances everything I like about the standard 10 and fixes everything I don't. It's pure Laphroaig, for better or for worse. I say it's very much for the better.

Goes in barrel 63.5. Absolutely great great whisky. Highly affordable and smack you in the face peat. Will always have a place on my shelf!

93点。焚き火のようにスモーキーでいて、蜂蜜のように甘い。フルボディ。加水し過ぎると酸味が目立つので注意

Nose: Brilliant, metallic iodine and rubber, briney peat moss, dark sage, sweet fish oil, citrusy ethanol, and a cracked black pepper dusting. Taste: sweet-salty vanilla oil, sea salted rubber, iodine, earthy/salty peat. The first florish of oil is reminiscent of anchovies in olive oil, but then the vanilla suddenly takes over with slight flirtation of citrus. As the oil settles, the rubber and iodine push to the front of the palate with a fresh cracked pepper. It finishes with a lingering salted peat with nuances of sage and other herbs and a freshly cracked pepper coating. Final notes: simply another bold expression of the classic 10 year amped up to explore Laphroaig at some of its purest. I will say I am biased when it comes to Laphroaig as I am a massive fan of the flavor profile they generally deliver. Also for some reason, the nose always makes me think of bass fishing on an early spring morning during the fish spawn. This is also a very oily whisky, so everything lingers on the palate for quite some time. I equally enjoyed Batch 0011 and would need to compare to see how different they are (2% difference in abv). To put simply, if you are a fan of Laphroaig in general this is a bottle that would be very appropriate in your collection and I doubt you will be disappointed. Equally, if you are a fan of bold, Islay profile whiskies or peat in general, I would recommend exploring this bottle.