Nose: Sweet oily smoke with complex and alluring iodine and guaiacol aromas, all wrapped in a delicate lace of dry sherry. Resinous and tarry, there are supporting carbolic, iodine, camphorwood and brine notes and an almost creamy warm earth quality with traces of vanilla and soft fruit. Very satisfying and complete for a smoky nose. [The dry glass aroma is full-on smoky bonfire]. Palate: The arrival is well balanced and initially sweet, then turning dry and crisp, with good texture. The flavour is a warming combination of smoke, iodine, licorice, chloroform, creosote, aniseed, mint and menthol. As the development unfolds some vanilla makes its way to the front. There is spiciness but it's mainly dry, dusty and aromatic spices - tumeric, cardamom, fenugreek, coriander, and linseed. Finish: Long, slightly sweet with a tarry and lingering licorice note. I've waited a long time and gone through two bottles of this before setting down my thoughts, as I changed my mind about it several times over the months. The initial impression was very positive but with familiarity I lost the taste only to revise that position later back to my original view. The nose is similar to how I remember Laphroaig 10 year from about a decade ago when it was receiving better wood treatment, but Triple Wood has more sweetness and a strong licorice note. The antiseptic / iodine presence is more defined than in most modern Laphroaig whilst the peat-reek has been sublimated, which is a very good thing. It gives the nose density and texture and the character of an older malt, rather than that of a young NAS. Adding water softens and broadens the nose but does not change its character - it just makes what is there more accessible by removing any trace of ethanol, but on the other hand it does also lose some presence. The palate is a pleasant combination of sweet and dry, with a very strong thread of anise and licorice sewing it all together. This works very well, as the flavour morphs seamlessly from sweet licorice allsorts through to dubbel zoute drop and back again throughout the tasting. Many reviews comment on fruity or berry flavours in this whisky, but I noticed little of that. For me this expression is firmly maritime and dry at its core, with the sherry casks contributing fragrance and a sweet spiciness to the underlying bourbon character. Adding water brings out even more sweetness on the palate, modulates the smoky character into a slightly more fragrant form, and softens the profile. It does, however, mute the licorice presence which I consider a loss. On the whole it's very enjoyable either neat or watered. Whilst Triple Wood is not the most characterful or powerful of the Laphroaig lineup, and some might find the sherry cask finish an intrusion, after considerable tasting I've come to regard this as the best value of the current expressions. It's by no means the "best" Laphroaig per se, but if a whisky novice was to ask me for my recommendation from the core range I'd suggest this, even over the current 10 year old. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)