Alright now that the holidays are over, time to review my gifts. Specifically two very lovely bottles of Laphroaig, the Select this week and the Triple Wood next week (and some Oban the week after). This week we start with the lower cost scotch, but it is by no means a bad scotch in any right.
I mention this in the honesty portion, but because of this company I have a lease to a plot of land in Scotland, the first of what I hope will eventually be more upon my retirement. Oddly enough I realize even we haven’t reviewed the regular 10 year here despite being large fans of it. (A fact I will rectify in the future).
What they Say: “This special Laphroaig is created from carefully selected casks of each of our key styles, stretching back in time – with one notable addition. The heart of the spirit is drawn from a final maturation in new American Oak casks, rarely used for Scotch Whisky maturation. Six months of this maturation takes place in the highest, warmest reaches of the warehouses during the Scottish summer.
With spirit selected by the master distiller from Quarter Cask, PX Cask and Triple Wood (European Oak casks), it represents a subtle blending of peat, oak and sweetness.
Bottled at natural colour, the result is an exquisite Laphroaig with our trademark ‘peat reek’ matched by an additional layer of complexity and depth brought about by the fusion of the maturation styles and different oaks, which we hope will surprise and delight you”
Taste: 7.0 – It’s very light at first, and flavorful it could do for a more impactful first impression.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – Here is where the peat and smoke take off, and it is very much enjoyable.
Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – The smoke makes it burn a little, and the warmth is very small as well; however it is otherwise a very smooth whiskey.
Aroma: 8.0 – This just smells simply delicious, it is exactly what you want from a scotch smell. It doesn’t have a very complex or intoxicating smell, but damn is it great.
Honesty: 8.5 – It’s not terribly wanky, and even for Islay scotches Laphroaig is high-ranking. However this deserves special recognition because with this whisky came an offer, that by usage of a code and website gave me dominion over a square foot of scottish soil, and that does well to give it some points.
Mixability: 8.0
W/ Rocks: 8.0 – Ahh, see that is why I will continue to tell would-be-pontifious-jerks that with some whiskies you are supposed to add a small icecube or a few drops of water. The whisky is opened up and the tastes just lasts for a wonderfully long time.
Value: 6.0 – As you can tell by that picture it cost a bit more than that (12 dollars), but even for 70 dollars this is still a nice scotch and while it’s much nicer at 58 – it’s still an okay value.
Google Shop Average: $58
Website: http://www.laphroaig.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 7.0
Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.
Metric Score: 51.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 7.36 |+| Reviewer Average: 7.0
New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.
Final Thoughts: If I can find this at the price listed and not the one it was purchased for you can certainly bet I would do so again. It’s a delicious whisky and on the rocks it’s even better.
