The very first impression of the nose takes me straight back to my childhood growing up on a farm, specifically burning trash and manure (in the best possible way). Add to that salt water, smoked Gouda, and the greenest, most bitter apple you can imagine. You realize that you are now on a cruise ship, and catch a whiff of smoked paprika and turmeric from the kitchen. After breakfast, you head below deck to disembark for an excursion. On the way out, as the sunlight first hits you, you smell the first aid kits in nearby medical tent on the shoreline... This is the nose of Laphroaig. On your way to the beach, a wave swells and devours you, before you even know what happened. You taste salt, and then another wave hits you. Black pepper, charred lime, and fresh bell pepper mingling with a charred, salted green apple. You come up for air, gasping for breath, the sighs of relief cooling your mouth as the flavors reverberate and then eventually fade into memory like the wave returning to sea. You see the sun and the pulsing waves around you, and know that you just felt...something. You get it. It's not about the flavors themselves sometimes, but the ride they take you on, and no amount of tasting notes can replace the actual experience. You are a little afraid that you'll never be the same again after this sudden and violent baptism. As you regain your bearings, you discover that you can still taste the cheese from breakfast.