ABV: 44.4 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet fruits and mild peat. At first there’s a gentle campfire smoke floating on top of a sweet center which consists of vanilla, oak, honey and assorted dried fruits. Underneath there are notes of lemon and fresh herbs. There’s a coastal side to it with a whiff of salty ocean air. A smidge of iodine is detectable but the age really shows through, especially in the mellowing of the peatiness and the rowdy Laphroaig character. There’s also a mix of pipe tobacco and sweet liquorice found within the center part. The fruitiness grows darker with time in the glass. This is an amazing nose, both for exploration and just being a pleasant experience.

Mouth: It starts out very mild with a nice ripe, red berry fruitiness. After a second or two, the whole grows exponentially and delivers vanilla, mild smoke and a complex age note with dusty bookshelves and leather. Then it slightly shifts and delivers a fresh tropical fruitiness, lemon, liquorice and a small black coffee bitterness in the back. It really shows its age in taste and it has a very nice, yet mild, character. In the back there are notes of peat with a mix of tobacco, smoke and coastal notes. The iodine is gone and it comes through as very poised and distinguished through and through.

Finish: The dusty bookshelf note increases in intensity through the transition and a very mild black pepper spicyness gently rolls out over the palate. First out in the center part are the fruit notes. The darker ripe berries seem to have merged with the tropical fruitiness. Vanilla, coconut and oak are mixed in with the fruits and the first half of the finish is pure magic. There’s still a fresh lemon note in the back and the peatiness covers the outside of the palate. The complexity of the whole continues throughout but the finish feels a bit fresher and younger. When everything starts to fade the oakiness reveals itself and it’s a nice oakiness with a mix of oak spices, vanilla and coconut. It still has some old grey and old oak planks within though. In the late finish a chocolate note appears. This is a fantastic whisky which balances all the sensations and complexity throughout the experience.

Additional information
This limited release was aged in a mix of quarter casks and ex-bourbon barrels and then finished for 12 months in sherry butts. It was released in 2018.

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