Carn Mor Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Williamson 2010 (7 year old) 46%

Sherry Butt/ Dist: 2007 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Jul 2018

A raw and cereally nose with unrefined , but slightly sweet peat. Young and a bit feinty with manure and a smoky, pulped agave-esque fruit character, which has a slightly acetic edge and a vague touch of sherried dried fruit.

The palate is raw. Just this side of being too raw with sooty and dusty peat. Again, it has that smoky agave-like character and not a huge amount of depth or sherry character. Intense, almost perfumed finish with peppery nuances. This must be the weirdest Laphroaig I’ve ever tasted and I’m not sure that this is really worth the £50 price tag!

Gleann Mor Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Gleann Mor ‘A Rare Find’ Laphroaig 2004 (12 year old?) 53%

Bourbon Barrel 6012

Dist: Sept 2004 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Feb 2017

The nose is surprisingly youthful and a little feinty with hints of rose petal marc, coffee, subtle medicinal notes and orange. There’s a pleasant malty and salty core. In fact it’s very malty for a ‘phroaig. The peat is fairly subtle and slightly dry and gritty in character.

The palate is very oily and malty with subtle dusty coffee’d and earthy peat. Gently salted with sweet rose petal. Slightly heathery with some Ben Nevis-esque bready notes. The finish is a little masked.

Water freshens the nose and emphasises the medicinal notes. The peat is however still pretty light. The palate now displays loads of sweet barley, straw and earth. Still very malty and pleasantly full. Good length with lingering oily malt, heather and sweet barley. It comes across like a vatting of Ben Nevis and Glen Garioch.

Mackillop’s Choice Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Mackillop’s Choice Laphroaig 1990 (22 year old) 52.1%

Bourbon Cask 11731/ Dist: Oct 1990 Btl: Mar 2013/ Tasted: Apr 2013

The nose opens with a gentle ashy brininess and a huge chunk of shimmering vanilla oak. That oak is incredibly chunk and adds a delicious vanilla weight and it is pretty oaky by ‘phroaig standards but there is plenty of balancing exotic fruit – greengage, kiwi, green pineapple, green banana and a touch of barley. With time some smoked meat becomes evident along with a light medicinal, tcp note and a touch of iodine. Finally the oak pushes through and dominates the nose, but it’s just so evocative and sweet, even the bog myrtle and peat smells sweet!

Soft, ash infused banana, macerated apricot and greengage open the proceedings. Quite herbal with some resolute oak vanillins. Like the nose it is quite sweet and full with the vanilla oils tempering the light ashy/ woody-peat, charcoal and wood spices. However finally the peat breaks free of the oak shackles on the finish, but the barley-vanilla sweetness hangs in there. Vanilla oils coat the mouth and some feather like wisps of smoke mingle with hints of chocolate and earthy peat on the finish. Wow! Breathtaking!

Mackillop’s Choice Laphroaig 1990 (25 year old) 48.5%

Bourbon Cask 11729/ Dist: Oct 1990 Btl: Jan 2016/ Tasted: Nov 2016

The nose is mellow and richly honeyed with spicy wood tannins, camphor and very subtle medicinal peat. Quite malty with a touch of Bowmore-esque violets and Ardbeggy burnt driftwood. With time the beautifully sweet barely emerges along with bbq smoke infused orange, iodine, soot and earth.

The palate is full and mellow. Malty and dense with baked fruit, tar, bonfire ash, peat smoke, dark honey along with subtle medicinal and iodine notes. A touch of lightly oiled Guyana-esque dried fruit comes through on the middle and the finish is intensely citric and salty with a tongue tingling vibrancy and lingering coffee, salt, seaweed and camphor. Lovely sooty after-taste. A stunning old ‘phroaig, mind for £450, you would hope so!

Edition Spirits Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Laphroaig 2005 (13 year old) 52.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: EDI0413/ HL15534

Dist: Dec 2008 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Dec 2018

Rich, full and barley’d on the nose with vanilla, oily/ tarry peat, salt, white pepper, bog myrtle, iodine and faintly medicinal peat. The peat gets quite dusty with time and hints of apricot, tangerine and rubber appear.

The palate opens with rich barley, peat dust, earth, tar, pepper and vanilla. Beautifully balanced with some juicy, mouth-filling barley and a touch of honey. It moves into bog myrtle and medicinal peat on the middle and finishes with a coastal/ salty astringency with the rich, oily spirit character balancing. Stunning complexity and lightly coffee’d after-taste.

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Laphroaig 2001 (15 year old) 56.2%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: EDI0187/ HL12787

Dist: Feb 2001 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Dec 2016

A full and robust nose with earthy peat, coffee, natural caramel, butterscotch and vanilla. The barley has a lovely sweetness, but there isn’t much in the way of coastal character. With time a touch of iodine, herbs and sweet heather appear.

The palate is full and very sooty with gritty peat dust, honey and chunky oak. Quite dense and vanilla’d with seaweed, charcoal, and dark honey on the middle. Long with iodine and a touch of salt, citrus and medicinal peat in the finish. Lovely oily peat and tarry after-taste. Seriously impressive, but is it worth £170?

Edition Spirits ‘The First Edition’ Laphroaig 2002 (16 year old) 59.5%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: EDI0356/ HL15101

Dist: Apr 2002 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Jun 2018

A dense nose of treacle, peat smoke and sherried dried fruit. It kicks off quite leafy and nettly with bog myrtle and menthol, but it soon develops notes of medicinal peat, leather, tar and manure.

The palate opens with tarry dried fruit, earthy peat, tobacco smoke and more tar for good measure! Dense and spicy middle with subtle medicinal and herbal notes. Long, tongue tingling and tarry finish with lingering dried fruit, pepper, creosote, manure and peat.

Water brings out a touch of oxidised grape on the nose along with an almost Marsala-like winey character. Still quite herbal and manure. The palate is simpler, with the emphasis shifted towards the peat smoke and gritty smoke particles. A little tannic now and only subtly tarry and manurey.

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Laphroaig 2000 (16 year old) 58.1%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: EDI0214/ HL13277

Dist: Apr 2000 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2017

A dense, rich and malty nose with coffee, earthy peat, smoke and subtle medicinal notes. It becomes  quite herbal and seaweedy with time and a touch of iodine, barley and honey appears.

The palate opens with loads of burnt wood, soot, tar and creosote. The peat is heavy, earthy, oily and dense with a touch of malt and treacle coming through. Quite astringent on the middle. Long and remaining malty and tarry. Wow! That’s a thick and chewy ‘phroaig!

Water makes the nose crisper and fresher, brining out some coastal and lemon notes. The palate is still pretty malty, treacly and tarry with the oily peat lingering.

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Laphroaig 2000 (18 year old) 48.8%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: EDI0414/ HL15530

Dist: Jun 2000 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Dec 2018

A mature, dense and oily nose with mentholated honey and subtle earthy and sweet peat. Hints of green banana, violets, coffee, salt, cinnamon and wood smoke appear, all set against a salty/ briny/ coastal backdrop.

The palate is elegant, mellow and full with dusty peat, wood smoke, honey, menthol, coffee, greengage, lime, salt and a touch of seaweed. Stunning depth with the salt. seaweed and oily barley building to a crescendo on the middle. Long and fishy with hints of cinnamon, pepper, molasses, dry peat, dark chocolate and gritty peat smoke in the finish.

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Laphroaig 2001 (18 year old) 55.7%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0511/ Dist: Jan 2001 Btl: 2019/ Tasted: Oct 2019

An exceedingly medicinal and phenolic nose with band aid, plasters, iodine, tar and hints of sweet vanilla, barley, bog myrtle and sweet peat. Ooooh, that’s intense!

The palate is phenolic and tarry with more up front oak. Quite malty with bog myrtle, iodine and tarry peat. Definitely not one dimensional as beneath all the peat is a lovely layer of barley and citrus. Good mouth-filling richness and a long, lightly salted and coastal finish with lingering medicinal, camphor, green pepper and iodine notes. It’s a bit of a wild finish!

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Laphroaig 1996 (19 year old) 56.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: 2015/ Code: EDI0118/ HL11784

Tasted: Nov 2015

Full, sweetly oaked with sweet but dusty peat, violets and sweet, medicinal herbs. Wow! This is quite a sweetie! With time it becomes quite barley’d with hints of iodine and salt.

The palate is like the nose – full and sweetly oaked with hints of salt, medicinal herbs, tar and gentle, phenolic peat. The lovely saltiness offsets the oak well and the finish is long and spicy with a dusty peat finish.

Highland Laird Whisky Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Highland Laird Williamson 2006 (8 year old) 46%

Bottled for the Antwerp Festival 2015

Bourbon/ Dist: 2006 Btl: 2015

Named after a remarkable woman called Bessie Williamson, who became the manager of a certain Islay distillery when it was un-mothballed after the end of WWII.

The nose is very buttery and oaky with plenty of sweet and herbal peat. The oak calms down with time and an almost Tequila-esque pulped white fruit note becomes apparent along with hints of rhubarb, manure, cut grass and a faint whiff of aniseed and biscuity spirit notes.

The palate is full and biscuity with malt and plenty of oak. Subtly peated with a little background salty notes and again some Tequila-esque fruit. The earthy and sooty peat and iodine builds on the middle and explodes onto the finish along with salt and medicinal notes. Now, that is a lovely Islay finale!

Highland Laird Williamson 2006 (8 year old) 46%

Re-Tasted: Apr 2016

Briny and medicinal aromas with earthy peat and chunky, sweet barley. Wonderfully fresh with manure, creosote, tar and hints of oak and biscuits.

The palate is quite full, barley’d and biscuit with drying, mouth-coating sooty peat and medicinal notes. Lovely intensity with a touch of citrus, salt and iodine. Long and wonderfully crisp and salty with a mouth-watering medicinal finish with lingering oak notes. A classic Islay.

Speciality Drinks Ltd Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Elements of Islay LP1 58.8%

Bourbon/ Tasted: Sept 2014

A fresh, pungent and medicinal nose with hints of Islay vegetation, fleshy apricot and tobacco. Superb intensity with Laphroaig at it’s stinkiest and manuriest! 

The palate is intense, smoky and medicinal. There is plenty of soft apricot and citrus to balance. Long, with a mouth-watering, grassy, reedy finish. 

With water the nose becomes a little soapy and it emphasises the ferny herbs and manure. On the palate it brings out the citrus fruit rather well. The smoke has become gentler and it allows the gorgeous, slightly sweet barley to put in an appearance. 

Elements of Islay LP5 52.4%

Bourbon/ Tasted: Sept 2014

The nose is fuller than LP1 and showing a lot more oak. Milky and barley sweet with a touch of smoke and medicinal notes.

The palate is smokier than the nose suggests and again it has a liberal dollop of creamy oak and sweet barley. Good length with a biting salty finish and lingering medicinal notes.

Hunter Laing Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2002 (11 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: HL10026

Dist: Apr 2002 Btl: Sept 2013/ Tasted: Mar 2014

A soft, rich and slightly coffee’d nose of macerated dried fruit with hints of medicinal peat, sooty peat, smoke, tar, salt and iodine. Lovely balance between the cask and the fresh spirit, which becomes more dominant with time.

The palate mirrors the nose, opening with the lightly coffee’d sherry with hints of dark chocolate, tar and malt. Intensely herbal peat follows on the middle and it becomes drier towards the finish. Good salty finish with hints of sweet violet in the after-taste.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2002 (12 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2476/ HL11511

Dist: June 2002 Btl: Apr 2015/ Tasted: May 2015

Very citric and lightly oiled aromas with a lovely, fresh brininess. Hints of menthol and camphor appear along with some Agricole rum-like herbs. Lightly peated, in fact the aromas are more ashy in character. With time some seaweed, barley and subtle stewed fruits emerge.

Soft and a little subdued with barley, iodine, menthol and sweet peat. Medium length with lingering iodine, light coffee, tar and sweet herbal peat.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2004 (12 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2637/ HL13433

Dist: Sept 2004 Btl: Feb 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2017

Lovely, dusty peat aromas with hints of seaweed and medicinal peat. Quite pungent with barley, coffee and a touch of oak.

The palate is full and milky, opening with a subtle saltiness. Gentle peat and coal dust follow and the coastal astringency builds well on the middle. Quite citric and salty on the finish with lingering coffee, seaweed and dry peat.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2004 (12 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2702/ HL14099

Dist: Sept 2004 Btl: Aug 2017/ Tasted: Sept 2017

Earthy, loamy and gently peated aromas with hints of tar and sweet barley. Slightly coffee’d with developing camphor and bog myrtle notes.

The palate is soft and sooty with fresh vanilla, citrus, apricot, barley and earthy-peat. Subtle coastal middle which builds through the finish. Long with citrus, earthy-peat, camphor and gentle spice lingering. It starts quite slowly but shapes up rather well.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2371/ HL10432

Dist: Apr 2000 Btl: Apr 2014/ Tasted: May 2014

A big, herbal, leafy Oloroso nose. Lightly blemished with a struck match note and hints of treacle, creosote and fairly buried earthy-peat. With time hints of violet, baked fruit and bleached wood appears.

The palate opens with liquorice coated dried fruit and again a struck match note. Full and herbal middle with hard-ish barley, light brine, iodine and medicinal notes. Some dusty peat and drying dusty tannins come through on the finish adding a little dark chocolate. If it wasn’t for the blemish.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2440/ HL10741

Dist: Jun 2000 Btl: Jul 2014/ Tasted: Nov 2014

The nose is quite full, sweet-ish, oily and nutty with hints of bog myrtle and brine. Gently, sweetly peated with hints of manure, wet tar and robust barley.

Soft and oily on the palate with a light marzipan oak and subtle sweet peat beginning. Again quite full with plenty of barley and hints of herbs and brine. It becomes fresher as the saltiness develops along with some citrus notes on the middle. Long, sweet barley and sweet parma violet finish and a lightly smoked after-taste.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2411/ HL10809

Dist: Jul 2000 Btl: Aug 2014/ Tasted: Sept 2014

A fragrant nose of bog myrtle, seaweed and herbs. Lavishly honeyed (by ‘phroaig standards) but the honey is relatively unsweetened. Fairly gently peated – more smoke than peat and that smoke has a lovely, slightly sweet fragrance.

The palate displays some sweet-ish barley, seaweed, iodine and chocolaty-tar. Building herbal notes and herbal-peat come through on the middle with some unsweetened honey. Long, peat and wood smoke finish. The after-taste is very dusty with hints of violets and lingering herbal notes.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Barrel/ Code: OMC2450/ HL11151

Dist: Jun 2000 Btl: Dec 2014/ Tasted: Feb 2015

Lightly medicinal aromas with iodine, herbal peat, coffee, manure, seaweed and salt. Quite full with barley and a light honey note underpinning.

The palate is pleasantly soft and quite honeyed with building salt, peat and seaweed. Quite barley’d and robust with a touch of oily vanilla. Good length with a lovely dry peat, bog myrtle and coastal finish. A real salt encrusted after-taste!

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (14 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2456/ HL11209

Dist: Jun 2000 Btl: Jan 2015/ Tasted: Jun 2015

Quite toffee’d aromas with vanilla ice-cream, barley, seaweed, medicinal peat, iodine and astringent herbs.

The palate displays as much oak as the nose would suggest, opening with vanilla and toffee. Hints of honey and dry, dusty peat and medicinal notes battle against the oak. Finally the spirit wins and the finish is long, slightly sugared with juicy Seville orange, peat smoke and astringent coastal notes all being released. Now that has some lovely progression.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1999 (15 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2385/ HL10167

Dist: Mar 1999 Btl: Jun 2014/ Tasted: July 2014

A fresh and very phenolic nose with dusty peat and medicinal peat mingling with a touch of iodine. Pleasantly astringent coastal notes appear along with a touch of barley and dusty, sweet parma violets.

The palate is fuller as the oak has a greater input. The natural caramels dampen a little but it’s still lightly phenolic with hints of earth and salt. The spirit freshens towards the finish as the salt and citrus get going. Lightly oiled and tarry finish with finally some medicinal peat emerging.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (15 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2494/ HL11642

Dist: Apr 2000 Btl: Jun 2015/ Tasted: Sept 2015

Oily, tarry and phenolic on the nose. Pretty heavily peated and coastal fresh with earth and medicinal notes. Still there is plenty of barley and oak beneath with a touch of sweet, heathery peat and mocha emerging.

The palate is very oily and salty, but the oils and the oak arrive fairly quickly. The phenolics are gentler and the peat has a lovely chocolaty character. Lightly medicinal with iodine and a fair amount of wood on the middle. Long, chocolaty with the peat becoming more astringent but the nutty oak lingers and balances. A lovely ‘phroaig!

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (15 year old) 50%

Bourbon/ Code: OMC2496/ HL11708

Dist: Apr 2000 Btl: Jul 2015/ Tasted: Feb 2016

A fresh, briny and phenolic nose with menthol, camphor, honey and manurey peat. With time a touch of vanilla and lightly toffee’d oak appears.

The palate is quite barley’d but still pleasantly fresh and citric. Sooty peat, vanilla and drying wood spices follow. Long with lingering peat and a touch of spice and cocoa powder in the finish.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2001 (15 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2561/ HL12357

Dist: Feb 2001 Btl: Apr 2016/ Tasted: May 2016

A nose of chunky sherry and tar with earthy, primal peat and yet more tar! Intense and complex with hints of sweet blood orange, bog myrtle, camphor and iodine. With time a touch of seaweed, medicinal peat and a lovely mingling of raw sherry smoke and peat reek.

The palate is more polished with old oak and leather. The sherry gently creeps in along with hints of earthy peat and dry wood smoke. Quite ashy on the middle, all set against a tarry, sherried backdrop. Long and peaty with seaweed, smoked bacon, medicinal herbs, orange marmalade, salt and lingering tarred rope and peat. Lovely chewy after-taste. Now that is damn good!

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2001 (15 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2586/ HL12774

Dist: Feb 2001 Btl: Aug 2016/ Tasted: Oct 2016

Intense peat reek on the nose with a slight, non sherried sulphur note. In fact that sulphur note becomes rather dominant. I’m quite surprised by that as I would have though that 15 years in oak would have been plenty of time to remove those compounds. Hints of barley, white fruit and petrol follow.

The palate is full of sweet barley and a fair amount of oak. The peat is subtler and smokier with hints of seaweed, coffee and salt. Quite a bracing, citrus middle leads into a long and slightly sulphured, dry peat and tannic finish. Not the greatest cask of ‘phroaig I have ever tasted.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1996 (16 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2276/ HL9736

Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: May 2013/ Tasted: June 2013

Quite a big, rich, malty and coffee’d nose. Substantial slabs of iodine laced thick peat overwhelm the senses. Seriously deep and dense with a lovely maturity and finally a touch of sweet barley, smoke, creosote and tar.

The palate is densely fruity and honeyed, showing more fruit than peat – lightly baked apple and apricot. The peat hovers in a delightfully dusty, earthy, sooty form. Exquisitely mature with a gentle coastal nuance. Long smoky, violet tinged creosote, tar and duty, crumbly spice finish.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1997 (16 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2347/ HL10260

Dist: Oct 1997 Btl: Dec 2013/ Tasted: Feb 2014

The nose is extremely sweet and estery. I know ‘phroaig can be a bit of a sweetie art times but I’ve never come across so much squashed pineapple, apricot and banana before. Lightly medicinal, lightly smoked and lightly peated with just a touch of coastal astringency. A lovely rounded nose with the peat locked inside the sweet malt.

The palate is a little shy to begin with, opening with some sweet barley and subtler fruit. It starts to get into its stride as the light medicinal peat and coastal notes arrive. Lovely length with a sweet fruit and barley fade accented with camphor and bog myrtle. It may take a little while to get going but when it does it becomes beautifully rounded.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 2000 (16 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2650/ HL13276

Dist: Apr 2000 Btl: Feb 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2017

A seriously astringent and costal nose with a lovely freshness. Crisp and salty with barley and salt infused medicinal peat. With time there’s a subtle sweetness from the cask.

The palate is a little fuller but still very fresh. There is a little more oak and medicinal peat with a touch of earth and dried peat developing. Pleasantly salty middle, with maybe a little less astringency, but the finish is long with the dusty peat lingering and being joined by a touch of coffee and chocolate.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1996 (17 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2333/ HL10125

Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: Oct 2013/ Tasted: Nov 2013

A lovely robust nose with a touch of honey and plenty of oily peat, malt, iodine and developing medicinal notes. The toffee’d oak becomes quite prominent but it’s balanced by the fresh herbalness.

The palate is quite fresh and herbal with the citrus notes up first before the toffee’d oak intrudes. Malty and sweetly peated with a touch of salt and smoke. Very long with the light tar and creosote adding to the maltiness. Quite smoky with a grassy, bog myrtle laced finish with the sweet oak notes returning and the sweet peat lingering.

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Laphroaig 2007 (6 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: HEP0039/ Dist: 2007 Btl: 2014/ Tasted: July 2014

A sweet and violety nose with plenty of creamy oak and edgy but sweet peat smoke. Mellow, rounded and sweet with no shortage of oak character.

The palate is ashy and dusty to begin with. Lightly oiled with some dense oak. Very ashy on the middle. Good length with lingering tart citrus and guess what? Yes, ash!

Mackillop’s Choice Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Mackillop’s Choice Laphroaig 1990 (22 year old) 52.1%

Bourbon Cask 11731/ Dist: Oct 1990 Btl: Mar 2013/ Tasted: Apr 2013

The nose opens with a gentle ashy brininess and a huge chunk of shimmering vanilla oak. That oak is incredibly chunk and adds a delicious vanilla weight and it is pretty oaky by ‘phroaig standards but there is plenty of balancing exotic fruit – greengage, kiwi, green pineapple, green banana and a touch of barley. With time some smoked meat becomes evident along with a light medicinal, tcp note and a touch of iodine. Finally the oak pushes through and dominates the nose, but it’s just so evocative and sweet, even the bog myrtle and peat smells sweet! 

Soft, ash infused banana, macerated apricot and greengage open the proceedings. Quite herbal with some resolute oak vanillins. Like the nose it is quite sweet and full with the vanilla oils tempering the light ashy/ woody-peat, charcoal and wood spices. However finally the peat breaks free of the oak shackles on the finish, but the barley-vanilla sweetness hangs in there. Vanilla oils coat the mouth and some feather like wisps of smoke mingle with hints of chocolate and earthy peat on the finish. Wow! Breathtaking!

Milroy’s of Soho Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Milroy’s of Soho Laphroaig 1996 (12 year old) 46%

Bourbon Cask 7289/ Dist Oct 1996 Btl: May 2009/ Tasted: May 2012

A gently phenolic nose of sweet cereal and bog myrtle-peat. Quite milky and soft with some late rubber and burnt coffee. A very fresh, textbook nose. 

The palate is quite milky and soft with a gentle bog myrtle-peat character. Quite complex with hints of rubber and fisherman’s friends along with plenty of sweet-ish cereal on the middle. Good intensity, very coastal with a long smoky finish. Unpretentious and classic!

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Laphroaig Tasting Notes

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 29.67 1991 (16 year old) ‘Siren in a wetsuit’ 53.5%

Sherry Cask/ Dist: Oct 1991 Btl: Apr 2008/ Tasted: Sept 2008

One sniff confirms it is a first fill sherry monster. Redolent of coffee, dried nuts. Faintly sulphured with a suggestion of Islay underneath but frankly it’s swamped. Water just brings out the sulphur!

The palate is pure sulphurous sherry. Overwhelmingly sweet with alcohol and wood tannins. Water makes it a bit waxy and oily, but definitely doesn’t save it. The finish is intense, smoky, sweet, sugary and tannic. Water like the nose makes it sulphury and messy!