Laphroaig 16 Year

Video review here: https://youtu.be/F2Np52Oi5Tk .

There’s an interesting twist to the latest limited-edition Laphroaig: nothing. No fancy finish, no complicated back story, just a traditional first-fill bourbon cask maturation with a sweet sixteen years in the wood. The last time we saw a 16-year-old from Laphroaig was a very limited half-bottle release for its 200th anniversary in 2015 and comparing my notes for the two suggests a similar recipe. The new version is still available from Amazon in the UK though I count myself lucky to have obtained one from the more limited US retail allocation. The nose is predominately sweet camphor with creamy undertones, though there’s a hint of lactic acid and lemon. Pine needles in a damp forest also come to mind. In the mouth, it starts sweet, then turns increasingly peppery. The aftertaste begins tangy, then veers into menthol with a hint of sweetness. It’s a straight-down-the-line Laphroaig, flawless in its representation of the distillery. As I wrote for the previous 16, it’s mellower than the 10 and less challenging than the 18. There are no waves of complexity to the palate nor any great surprises, but there’s nothing wrong with that when it comes to Laphroaig. Sometimes it’s hard to improve on the original.

Sweet, with vanilla notes. Smoky finish. Smoother than the 10 year, quite a bit sweeter. Perceptible bourbon influences present

So, so Smoky. And sweet. But not for me