Laphroaig 16 Year

BLIND TASTING Nose: not surprised to detect peat on the nose. Hint of medicinal, but not so much to be offputting, a sweet element as well again, strikes me like an ardbeg. Spices and maybe licorice. Taste: peaty, spicy, hint of dried fruit. Cask strength. Aftertaste has laphroaig medicinal and iodine hints, which are usually offputting to me but this is more balanced. Would expect a bourbon cask. Cocoa notes emerge later, this opens up with some time. Notes: judging just by the color, which is very light and natural looking, I guess some thing like an ardbeg or peaty. But also could be young. The more I have this the more I lean to laphroaig but a “brighter” laphroaig Rating: 4.25 - not going to be competing for my super favorites but this is a nice, reasonably balanced peat, warm and spicy

I feel like one of the most exciting releases of this last year is this Laphroaig 16yo. I truly believe that this incredibly polarizing distillery wants to challenge the almighty Lagavulin 16 with this expression, the question that now rises is: Will Laphroaig achieve this goal? Lets review the whisky! Bottled at 48%abv, golden color. On the nose, your medicinal typical Laphroaig note right away. Tangerine, Povidyn tonic, and a wet/rainy feeling that transported me to 1998 when a climate phenomenon hit Ecuador, it is called "El niño". After a first sip, it gave me tea and scottish fudge.  It smells like a lotion for burnt skin, and rainforest. On the palate, it is quite good. Toffee and plastic. I can only describe the aroma as the furry cows in Scotland, if you ever get to experience that, you'll know i am speaking the truth here. Nerf toys. A second sip gave me this overall sensation of been at a pharmacy. Aftertaste is so artificial, like something made up in a factory. I really have a struggle to define things, because i am pretty sure this is like a synthetic chocolate. It is like a plastic bonfire.  Feels very artificial and mineral. Overall, i am truly amazed on how strange my review of this whisky might sound. But it is, what it is, and this one is a rollercoaster of some very interesting, well delivered flavors and aromas that happen to be a little crazy. It is no match for Laga's 16yo, it is like a completely different monster. My score for it is 90 over 100.

Herbal Medical taste Bitter aftertaste Unique taste for a Whisky

When I first opened the bottle, I got that great peat notes on the nose, with what I thought was bacon. I let it rest for about 20 minutes and the notes of meat/bacon disappear, and instead, I got some citrus and ash, but the ash note was not offensive. The palate gave me notes of smoked meat, iodine, ash, and a little saltiness. The finish is nice and long with the peat staying with you for the ride. A few drops of water toned down the peat notes on the nose and gave me a little pepper on the palate. I will have to come back to this in a few months to see how it develops.