"Hey, what's up?"

"Williamson."

"Williamson, who?"

"Fine, just call me Laphroaig."

And yes, Williamson's are Laphroaig's so named after Bessie Williamson, the once owner of the Laphroaig Distillery. Now, just because you buy a cask from a distillery don't mean you get to use their name - just another quirk of the esoteric world of cask buying.

Laphroaig Distillery.

And since we don't want to deal with all of that, we'll just have to count on independent bottlers such as Singapore's Malt, Grain & Cane (MGC) to do it for us - and this time they've gotten themselves a pair of Sherry cask aged Laphroaig's, sorry I meant Williamson's, with both identically produced at the same time, and then bottled on the same day, therefore 14 years old, most of which was spent in Refill Sherry Butts right next to one another, except that one's finished in Oloroso Sherry and the other in Cream Sherry. This should be a fun comparison! And also y'know what they say about Sherry aged Laphroaig's, they're amongst my favourite peated Sherried whiskies out there.

Tanaka Chisato.

Now this pair of whiskies also feature the art of Japanese artist Tanaka Chisato, taken from the series "Being Alive" - boy, tell me about it! Chisato is a highly regarded artist from Fukuoka, whose works typically come across surreal and yet often depict personal interpretations of her observations of reality, dreams and fairytales - they're often expressed as dreamscapes featuring young girls with the slightest yet most intriguing expressions, set on a stark black canvas which reflects the remoteness of the Fukuoka countryside. Her works are full of contrast, and often demonstrate how the smallest choice of facial expression or subject matter can create immense feelings in her viewers. These two Laphroaig's thus features what appears to be a girl and a boy smiling wryly at one another from across a field - I'll leave you to be the judge of what's going on!

So without further ado, let's get started! 

Whisky Review: Williamson #2263 (Laphroaig) 2010, 14 Years Old, 'Being Alive V' Tanaka Chisato, bottled by Malt, Grain & Cane, 62.4% ABV

First one up! This one's aged for 13 years in a Refill Sherry Butt and then finished in a Cream Sherry barrel for 14 months. Cream Sherry maturation is rather uncommon, and is actually a style of blended Sherry, typically one dry and the other sweeter, and so usually it's going to be Oloroso and Pedro Ximenex.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: It opens up floral and filled in with wild honey, meadow flowers in fields of dried grass, hay, along with a honeyed saltiness - candied almost. With time richer and sweeter stone fruits begin to emerge, fresh apricots, nectarines, overripe plums. It expands out to brighter scents with freshly sliced orange wedges and kumquats, balanced out against the denser, richer aromas. More on wood ash and burnt leaf that dots the aromas.

Taste: Bright, light, and lemony at first - it's refreshingly citrusy, giving lots of freshly peeled lemon zest and lemon spritz, which quickly follows up with a more cereal, wheaty, biscuit-y quality. Loads more of that wood ash here, it's smoky and much more intense, yet with time a more gentle, floral aspect develops - floral blossoms, chamomile, dried meadow grass, dried chrysanthemum blossoms. More of that fresh and raw honeyed sweetness. As time goes by, it only becomes sweeter and more honeyed and floral. 

Finish: Smokier flavours develop, more reminiscent of charcoal fire, burnt bread, and barbecue char. More of an oily, dense and heavy savouriness, along with charcuterie oils of jamon iberico and preserved mackerel - all delicately smoked. A very subtle sweetness of sliced apples lingers at the back. 

My Thoughts

A really complex and multi-faceted whisky - certainly far extending from what you'd typically find from the standard Laphroaig fare! This was particularly enjoyable on the nose where it's got this understated complexity that makes you picture both meadows in bloom and tar pits, all layered in by this ashy smokiness that gives it a sensuousness. This feels wild and untamed, and you never really know which way it's heady, always keeping a couple of surprises at the next turn. When you think ash, you're greeted with the most delicate chrysanthemum florals. It's fresh, rich and raw, with such an eclectic assembly of flavours. 

This is a whisky that you really ought to sit on, and with each passing sip, more is uncovered. It showcases a side to Laphroaig you don't often see - a more grassy, herbal, earthy, rustic aspect that spans an impressive array of multitudes. A most sophisticated whisky to close your eyes and think about. 

Whisky Review: Williamson #2262 (Laphroaig) 2010, 14 Years Old, 'Being Alive VII' Tanaka Chisato, bottled by Malt, Grain & Cane, 62.1% ABV

Next one up! This one's aged for 13 years in a Refill Sherry Butt and then finished in Oloroso Sherry for 16 months.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Bright and citrusy here, there's certainly a mix of sea spray and iodine that fills the backdrop with oyster shells and kelp. Bursts of freshly squeezed lemon and grapefruit, giving way to ashy, burnt aromas of charred lemons, charcoal fire and wood ash. With time, sour berries, red currants and cranberries show up, both fleshy yet tart, giving some acidity as well. More of grilled oyster shells, wet clay, and toasted oat biscuits, it's becoming more roasty and grainy, before making a trip back to freshly squeezed orange juice and frangipani blossoms.

Taste: Alot going on here. An initial hit of fleshy berries of fresh cranberries and gooseberries, and then on to tart green apples and pears, all of which brings acidity, greenness and some sweetness to the palate. Very juicy! It starts to show a more nutty side - salted macadamia nuts, roasted malt, it's both buttery and slightly bitter, it's malty yet charred. More on burnt toast, sprinkled in with spices of cloves. Some waxiness of dark chocolate that threads the palate.

Finish: More denseness, definitely more peaty, with subtle tones of wood ash, wet clay and grilled seaweed. More on charcoal, burnt toast and toasted oats. Little flecks of acidity - unsweetened lemonade - with also a rancio composed of the chalky savouriness of saucisson skins.

My Thoughts

A thoroughly impressive Laphroaig! On the nose, it was incredibly expressive, not just delivering such a spectrum of flavours, but it was such a cascade of hyper realistic imagery that it evoked, of sour cranberries and slurping on charcoal grilled oysters, topped off with seaweed salad and a spritz of lemon juice! They all play off one another, almost in crescendos. The Islay peat is also more prominent here, backed up by a superbly buttery maltiness that bolsters that ashy, roasted malt quality, balanced then against that coastal aspect. It's not overly sweet, yet neither is it overly bitter - it all centers around this mix of charred grains and oceanic sea spray which only gives way at times to a slight rancio quality.

It's remarkably complex and expression, at times even bright and summer-y. It leans more dry and is definitely one for the peat fans.

Compared to the Cream Sherry, this is sweeter, more bold and muscular, with a more approachable classic Laphroaig sensibility. The Cream Sherry is more elegant, understatedly complex, and definitely goes beyond what we typically know Laphroaig to be.