Tennis balls. Rubber. Iodine. Seaweed. These are all words used to describe the iconic Islay malt produced by Laphroaig. These are also the words that kept me away from trying this classic single malt until now. After taking the plunge with Arbeg Corryvreckan I decided to immerse myself in the Islay experience. And what better place to start than Laphroaig? Laphroaig 10 yr is a nice medium gold color in the glass. It produces average legs when swirled and is bottled at 43% ABV. And no, I did not smell tennis balls when I opened the bottle! Just lots of smoke. The nose is dominated by the smoke. There is also peat, rubber, and medicinal notes. Maybe iodine? But mostly smoke. Not BBQ smoke. Hard to put a label on it, just a general ashy smoke tone. Water tames the smoke and brings out a richer tone, almost vanilla in character. The palate is: you guessed it, more smoke! An ashy, dry smoke. Also picked up salt. No noticeable sweetness to my taste, the first whisky I've had that I couldn't pick up any real sweetness. Although water enhanced the nose, it did nothing for the palate. The finish is medium, smoky, and dry. Laphroaig claims to be the "most richly flavored" whisky. I don't know about that, but I was pleasantly surprised with this dram. This will save back for a cold winter night sometime in the not too distant future when all that smoke and warmth will be more welcome. An excellent malt for $40. Solid 4.0. Cheers!