Laphroaig Lore

As a massive Islay fan Ive read reviews on this and its heralded as some amazing shit. Is it hype or warranted we shall see. Found it at specs for 83$(great price). Poured neat, the Lap heritage is evident on the nose with salt cured bacon roasting in a fire pit, bandaids, menthol and malt just leaping out of the glass supported by ocean driftwood and dense peat smoke. Let it sit a bit and you can pull some anise and clove like spice. Rich and pungent yet ethanol is ghosted. Mouthfeel is diesel thick with palate bursting at the seams. You cannot take it all in on initial taste too much going on. Have to parse it out over subsequent samplings. Deep rich smoky malt, bbq meats, mentholated pinewood, vanilla frosted donut with creamed dark roast coffee power through your senses. Im sure if I wait this out I can pick out much more but its so damn delicious I want to take another pull. Finish is long extension of palate never going dry or tannic just maintaining and sustaining your complete enjoyment of this dram. Salty smoked meats with malt and peat enduring along side aged timbers. The cooling menthol is amplified with a drop if you choose. I can break it down based on the Laphroaig ive had. The 10yr is great and value is very high. The quarter cask is better and worth the upcharge. This is on another level and worth the $$ imo if you want to get the best Laphroaig experience under $100. I fear Im falling into the trap of high cost scotch but the old adage is true here you get what you pay for.....96/100.......pure concentration of flavors and complete lack of off notes or ethanol issues is the difference in pricing levels. Not quite on Lag 16 complexity level imo and Oogie is still a tough out but this is most certainly a major contender with tremendous depth and power

A number of good recent Laphroaig reviews have reminded me that (a) I hadn't had Laphroaig in quite a while, and (b) I had two Laphroaig samples waiting to be consumed - Lore and An Cuan Mor.  I started with the Lore.   From the first nosing and sip, it both impressed me and surprised me.  It has a deep richness, a meat char peat, a nice fruity sweetness playing in the background, and the trademark medicinal notes at low volume.  Overall, it drifts a bit closer to Ardbeg than any other Laphroaig I've had.  In fact, if I had tasted this blind, I'm not entirely sure I would have correctly identified it as a Laphroaig.   I was surprised enough that I decided a reality check was in order, so I opened the An Cuan Mor.  I'll review that one separately, but the ashy peat and medicinal notes jumped out at me, confirming my initial impressions of the Lore - it's a Laphroaig, but a bit different. One caveat here is that I've never had any of the old Laphroaigs, and apparently the Lore has some has some old juice in it.  So perhaps it is a typical Laphroaig - a typical older Laphroaig.   Regardless, this is a very nice whiskey, and well worth the price.  At $100-120 its just a shade less expensive than some of the great "18s" - Highland Park, Talisker, and Caol Ila, but in my opinion it holds it's own in that league.

So, I gave this a 5.0. For me, 5.0s are whiskies that are so delicious that I will do whatever I can to maintain a bottle in my collection at all times. This is no exception. I truly believe this is the best expression that Laphroaig has to offer. On the nose it is slightly smokier than the 10 and offers more of a "something's on fire" smokiness as apposed to a char smokiness of the 10. The brine from the 10 is still very much there, but the medicinal notes are turned down by about half. I like the medicinal notes of the 10, but it's something I have to be in the mood for. This, however, offers such a perfect balance between the smokiness, medicinal notes, and the citrus notes that you just don't want to put the glass down. The mouthfeel is so smooth and so rich and so savory that I seriously could drink a few glasses and consider it a meal. This Scotch is seriously delicious and deserves the upmost respect. I don't care what you have to do, but make this Scotch a part of your life immediately.