malt_muser
Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength (Batch 1)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
February 16, 2019 (edited November 24, 2019)
Batch 010
58% abv
Non-chill filtered
Color added
Nose: peat smoke! Also rich vanilla, iodine medicinal notes and lemon citrus.
Taste: full, velvety and rich, with a sweetness initially hitting the palate of lemon cream pie, vanilla, and creme brûlée, wrapped in a cloud of dense peat smoke, sea salt, and hot spice like jalapeño and cracked black pepper and a hint of nutmeg. Water tames the smoke and enhances the sweetness and ashiness.
Finish: long, with an amazing balance of sweet, sour and bitter. The smoke is still there but as it fades leaves orange rind, vegetal earthiness, cigar ash, barbecue, light vanilla and almond while your tongue still tingles from chili spice.
Value: $60-80. 100% worth it. Buy two, actually.
Final thoughts: you need this in your life. This is a cracking good Islay scotch, blowing the regular 10 year old and Quarter Cask Laphroaigs out of the water. In fact, this may be the best Laphroaig you can readily buy (sorry, Lore). If you see it, and you love smoky scotch, don’t hesitate.
Score: 5/5
Go out and buy it now!
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@SolanaRoots if you like regular Laphroaig 10 then this one will do you right and a bit of water added can control the smoke. Cheers!
@Soba45 you’ll love this one. Enjoy that sample.
Nice review. I've added a sample of this to my next order. Loved the 10 but at 40% its a bit mild these days so the extra abv should be great.
Top-shelf review! Have always thought this bottle would be too burly for me but obviously I need to reconsider that theory after reading your review