ScotchingHard
Laphroaig 18 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
November 10, 2021 (edited November 28, 2023)
I’m playing with some new black opaque Glencairns that I bought by doing some crazy blind tastings; and I’ve found that without any visual clues, I am completely hopeless in trying to guess a whisky and am forced to just pick preferences based solely on smell and taste. By far the craziest result so far came from this line-up:
Brora 37 year old (2015 official bottling at 50.4%)
Caol Ila 31 year old (2015 Signatory bottling at 47.0%)
Laphroaig 18 year old (2016 official bottling at 48.0%)
Laphroaig 19 year old (2015 Cadenhead bottling at 54.0%)
Laphroaig 32 year old (2015 official bottling at 46.7%)
Talisker 1985 Maritime Edition (2013 official bottling at 56.1%)
So, the top 5 in this line up were very close. My clearcut least favorite was… the humble Laphroaig 32 year old. And my favorite sip from the line up, more enjoyable than the $1500 Brora, was… Laphroaig 18 year old.
What!?
I don’t know what to make of these blind tastings. On the one hand, it is evidence that, based on smell and taste alone, very expensive whiskies may not be superior to more affordable ones. On the other hand, without a blindfold, I would rather have Laphroaig 32. I mean, just unlatching that copper latch gives me all types of prejizz feelings.
But I have to give credit to Laphroaig 18. If the distillery put this shit in a giant wooden box with a copper latch and copper lettering, and then lied and said it was 38 years old, I would probably have been happy paying a thousand dollars or more.
This might be the perfectly balanced Laphroaig. It is just old enough to get some crazy tropical fruit flavors from the bourbon cask, and it is just young enough to still retain that medicinal, iodine character of Laphroaig. It is just old enough and proofed high enough to be oily, savory, and lingering in the finish; it is just young enough to be bold and explosive when it first hits your palate.
For beating 5 other more expensive whiskies, Laphroaig 18 must get 3 stars.
Score: *** (I am not worthy)
How much does a bottle cost?: This was $80-120. Secondary market pricing now ranges $300-800
How much do I think a bottle is worth?: $350
110.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@ScotchingHard @Anthology yeah me too… I don’t give wine any more as gifts. It’s whiskey. I just gave a cousin a bottle of GlenDronach 8 Heilen went we went over for dinner.
@Anthology no, no—-don’t do attic or garage. From personal experience, I can tell you the attic heats up a LOT over summer—early on i stored a few bottles there and they were ruined. And garage…optics aren’t good.
@ScotchingHard Wtf! I’m so envious of your coworkers. Those are GREAT drams…at least on specs. I hope they know and can appreciate what you’re bestowing them with!
@Anthology @PBMichiganWolverine I’m gearing down. I started just opening all my bottles, except Macallans, which I fully expect to recoop the cost of every bottle I’ve purchased plus my house in 30 years. I am literally giving anyone with a little bit of whisky knowledge at my workplace samples of Boss Hogs, Octomores, and single cask Glendronachs.
@PBMichiganWolverine Haha fair enough. Btw any suggestions on bottle space saving? I’m not quite at 800 but I’ve run out of closet space and almost out of attic space with my bottles. I would go to my garage but don’t want my family members to know about my collection “problem” lol. Going the sample route might help but that’s that’s a Pandora’s box I don’t want to open, even as I acknowledge that continuing to buy full bottles in not sustainable longer term. 🤔🤷🏾♂️ I should talk to my therapist about this 😂
< me looking at my 800 unopened bottles, and only 1 pour a week> @Anthology …Too late…I slid way too deep into slippery slope long time ago…;-)
@PBMichiganWolverine Feels like you’re going down a slippery slope with a “best range” gauntlet. Different folks swear by different ranges. I’ve heard scotch (single malt) typically peaks between 25 & 30 yrs or that grain has to be at least 30 yrs to be great. Clearly, folks have had amazing experiences on either side of these ranges. I guess it depends.
@ScotchingHard validates that Scottish is optimal at 18-21 and American bourbon at 8-10
@PBMichiganWolverine I’ve been finding that my oldest whiskies are losing to middle aged whiskies. I think without all the lore and fancy boxes, a perfect balance between spirit and wood is what we all want at the end of the day.
@cascode me too…years ago, bought this for < $100…didnt even realize it’s not available , or rare, nowadays
@ScotchingHard that is some lineup , and interesting to see the 18 come out ahead of those others. But on the downside, gives credence to marketing to charge $$$ if they can dress up a good whiskey with fancy boxes and toppers
@cascode I think I know where I can get a 27 at retail. I might gift myself for Christmas.
Nice. I polished off my last bottle of this a couple of years ago. I paid the equivalent of US$250 for three bottles in 2015 and it's twice that now for one bottle at auction. I'd rate this one and the 27 year old released in 2017 as my equal favourite Laphroaigs.
Wow, to think that this used to be attainable for in the ballpark of $100...