07/01/11 Laphroaig SMWS 29.76
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the SMWS and their sometimes, erm, flowery tasting notes.
Tonight we have an 18yo single cask Laphroaig. Bourbon matured with a remarkably small outturn of 306 bottles.
For anyone not familiar with the Scotch Malt Whisky Soceity, they are a company that buy individual casks and bottle them with their own label. The number you see on the bottle denotes that Laphroaig is the the 29th distillery they bought a cask from and this particular cask is the 76th from that distillery.
Quite amazing variety of flavours: hugely smoky; salty bacon; kippers; diesel fumes; sea air; tar; burnt oak.
Pine, rosemary and lavender? Maybe not.
Barley and beach barbie embers? Oh yes.
Honey roast ham, blackcurrant and liquorice? Hmm, the ham yes but not the fruit.
When I first tasted this I was really reminded of a young-ish Ardbeg, such is it’s intensity.
Absolutely superb, a wonderful example of a single-cask Islay dram.
5/5. All day long.
Skål!
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