I've recently been on a tear in the peated Islay scotch world, and just cracked open this bottle. It compares well to the delicious Ardbeg 10 (with which it shares a lot of similarities), and Kilchoman Machir Bay (which is a bit sweeter and fruitier). It is surprising to me how much a small additional amount of aging has mellowed out this Laphroaig. Based on a distillery video featuring John Campbell, this scotch was aged 11 years and 9 months, give or take a little bit of time, so this is about the closest thing you can get to Laphroaig 12 (outside of going to the UK and ordering a bottle of Highgrove, which I intend to do in September!). The extra time balances out some of the harsher notes of Laphroaig 10, transforming it from James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause to Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. It's masculine and substantial, but with the edges of its wild youth rounded off into the confidence that comes in one's prime. To me, 12-15 years is the sweet spot for the Laphroaig lineup. The other interesting feature of this scotch is that it's made only from Laphroaig's own floor maltings, and aged in the warehouse closest to the sea, so it's about as pure an expression of the distillery's character as you're likely to find. At over 50% ABV, this scotch hits the perfect sweet spot, with strong, full flavors in all three phases, but with no unpleasant ethanol characteristics, even in the warm finish. The nose is classic Laphroaig--peat, a bit of oats or dried cereal grain, a mellow, light smoke, and some seaside air. The palate has more sweetness, particularly a lemon characteristic, that melds well with the smoke, which takes on a cigarillo characteristic. The finish is smoky, salty, and again that oat-y or cereal note peaks through. It's just a lovely scotch.