Laphroaig 10 years, Original Cask Strength, Red Stripe Label, 55.7% abv.

This bottling seems to be the pre-cursor to now CS product line that is released in annual batches. Not sure why Laphroaig went from this version to a batch version, but the most likely rumor is that Laphroaig couldn't force all "original cask strength" to have 55.7% abv without cutting it. Seems kind of obvious though. This bottle was supposedly released in 2007.

Nose: peaty, wood, some vanilla.

Palate: sweet, smoke, wood. Nuts and vanilla come later. Straightforward and does it well.

Finish: long, drying, major smoke, major coal and wood.

Wow.... its pretty concentrated peat smoke in the juice and that finish, super long, peaty, and smokey; it just dominates. This is one intense peated whisky... so needed in an environment of underwhelming peats and smokes out there. Although fruitier than most Laphroaigs I've had, the small amounts of fruit I sensed when nosing just disappeared once I tasted the juice. I really like this one.

Grade: B+

Whiskyfun, Serge, 89 or 92 points
Dramming, Oliver Klimek, 91/100
Malt maniacs, 91 points on 3 reviews
Whiskynotes, Ruben Luyten, 89/100
LA whisk(e) society, B+ from 3 reviews on pre-2009 bottlings

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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