We'll start with the review, and then get personal...The nose is cleanly medicinal, with peat, brine and iodine masking just the faintest hint of soft apples. The palate is fairly smooth (especially so for a Laphroaig), and the peat mixes nicely with the brine, smoke, and iodine. After a few seconds resting on the tongue I can discern the band-aids and just a hint of the rubber that are both common to almost every Laphroaig. Finish is opened with peat and closed by smoke, which lasts a good two minutes before it's completely gone. All in all, a very, very good whisky. So why only 4 starts? Time to get personal; Laphroaig 15 was my first single-malt over $40 (it was 2004 or 2005 I think, give me a little grace here) and it absolutely floored me. I could not fathom the smells and flavors that were coming out of the bottle and glass. My last original-edition 15 Yr was purchased in 2009, and I actually took tasting notes. The original smelled of creosote, tar and smoldering grass. The palate was rich, very oily, and tasted of smoked meats, charred bacon, pine tar, band-aides, iodine and peat, all cloaked in a heavy smoke that is almost, but not quite, overbearing. The finish was all smoke; thick, heavy, and lasted seemingly forever. Laphroaig can say they made the new identical to to the old, but the resulting product is little more than a shadow of the former's greatness. I guess I can close by saying: If you've never before had Laphroaig 15, you should try this. It's excellent in every way a good Scotch should be. It's balanced, nuanced, displays hints of fruit with iodine, brine and peat, and the finish is very typical of Islay. Unfortunately for those that were lucky enough to have the original, you know it was none of those...there was no fruit, no balance, no gentle smoke...it was in your face, overwhelming your senses, demanding every ounce of your attention and alternating between punishing and rewarding you for daring to open the bottle. And it was extraordinary.