Bought: The Whisky Shop, 17th June 2015
Ratings:
94/100 – Whisky Bible 2015
85/100 – Ralfy – His review on You Tube here (April 2012)
87.98/100 – Whiskybase (average from 272 member votes)
94/100 from Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible classifies this single malt from Islay as a “superstar whisky that gives us all a reason to live”. That’s assuming you like throat sweets of course. In his review Mr Murray says of the taste “perhaps it’s the big leg-up from the rampant hickory, but the peat here offers a vague Fisherman’s Friend cough sweet quality far more usually associated with Bowmore, except here it comes in a milder, Demerara-sweetened form with a few strands of liquorice helping that hickory to a gentler level.” He summarises with “this is Laphroaig’s replacement for the woefully inadequate and gutless 15-year-old. And talk about taking a giant step in the right direction. Absolutely brimming with character and panache, from the first molecules escaping the bottle as you pour to the very final ember dying on the middle of your tongue.”
It’s interesting what Jim Murray has to say about the former 15yo because, whatever your opinion of it, bottles can make over £200 at auction. Now that the 18yo has been discontinued you have to wonder what it will be like as an investment. Perhaps bottles will be selling for £300+ in the not-to-distant future.
Watch out for that TCP taste, which is mentioned both on Whiskybase and by Ralfy. Unfortunately so is the presence of added colourant. Ralfy has a rant about this and in summary he says the whisky is “decent but not great”. Nevertheless 85/100 is an excellent mark from him. Nearly 88/100 on Whiskybase is very high with comments of “a strong showing by Laphroaig. I like this one much better than the new (and old) 15yo” and “very smooth and silky. Like it a lot! This is a very elegant expression with a nice strength!”
Whisky Den 