In anticipation of a typical Laphroaig I hang my nose in the glass. In addition to the typical Laphroaig character with a decent dose of peat, iodine and the maritime sea flavor is waiting for a true fruit bomb. Tropical fruits like pineapple, sweet mangoes & juicy honeydew melon make up a unit with smoke. Likewise, I get a slightly fresh feeling in the nose, something like mint or even anise. I feel moved back to Islay, to the magical place where I tried this great malt for the first time. After some time in the glass and with the resignation of the smoke, the sea flavors and associations typical of me, which accompany every malt of this distillery, come to the fore. The longer I devote myself to this malt the more detailed the picture becomes in my head. Memories reminiscing, I can quite a bit of leather and also suspect oak. It's like sitting back in Laphroaig, in one of the comfy armchairs, in the Visitor Center, looking out the window at one of the windows.

At the first sip, my mouth is watering. It is unmistakably a Laphroaig, but different. He is tamed, mature and knows a complexity that I do not know so from Laphroaig yet. First of all, the powerful smoke greets me, but this quickly escapes and lets through the wonderful potpourri of fruits. I think the already smelled mangoes and the pineapple again. Added to this, along with a malty sweetness, a decent portion of oak. The oak leaves me pretty quickly, but from far away, there is a hint of smoke.

I really do not want to let go of this dram. For a very long time, the malt keeps on the tongue. A slight dryness and a touch of bitter it sticks to the palate. The fruitiness continues here, so I have a fruit compote of mango, pineapple and a wonderful malt sweetness in the mouth for a very long time. With this malt I feel like the island, he just does not want to let me go. He holds on tight and makes you want more.

First, it begins with strong phenolic, but steamed smoke and clear citrus notes. After that, a strong sunstroke note develops, which develops into a strongly acidic Camphernote, and dominates everything for a while. Only then do you get some salt, vanilla and caramel, as well as leather. The sour notes vanish completely except for the still extremely strong citrus notes. He needs an awful lot of time in the glass. Then warms up very minerally, moist rock and iodine. Incredibly hard to get access to the flavors. It really has to flow over the palate, and then suddenly they are there, dark notes, caramelized red fruits, furniture polish, ripe oranges, caramel sweets, Ricola Swiss herbal sugar, the nose is now in constant change.

After the closed nose, a bit of disappointment spreads first, and the expectation is very muted. Far from it: ripe smoke, toffee, some salt and a fabulous note of sweet, liquid block malt, in addition wonderfully citrusy notes and a tart sweetness, which climbs up on the palate and settles in the upper oral cavity. Wow, I did not expect that anymore. This sweetness is for me then the best thing about the malt. Unfortunately, I do not have a taste definition for it, it does not remind me of anything, it's just good. Laphroaig 21 FoL maybe? ;-)

Dark malty it sounds, the oak is well integrated. The finish is ultra-long even for Laphroaig. The sweet malt still swings on the ashes for a while, before it glows slightly salty on the tongue for ever.

Smoked mango comes right away, mingling with shoe polish, paprika ... a fruity, bourbony Laphroaig indeed. Smoked pulco, pineapple, brine and acidic berries aplenty, integrated smoke. Fresh yet quite masculine : the typical band-aid comes later on. Smoked grapefruit peel, guimauve, then becomes more and more vegetal on nettle, various fruits vinegars (it's very vinegary in a good way, very close to the 15yo 200th anniversary in that regard, only fruitier and more spontaneous). Burning some wet green wood. Great, easy to understand, yet not terrificaly complex either. 

The arrival is quite brilliant I admit : the proof is just ok and the bright, juicy fruity profile when it hits the tongue is just adorable. Pineapple and mango shine for a second, redcurrant (or any acidic berry actually, can't really point it out), soon to be replaced by an extremely saline smokiness. Settles on salty soot, bitter oranges and various vegetal notes again, while the salty-fruity background remains.

On a bitter and vegetal fruitiness again, with that same smoke of wet green wood as before, but it seems to have grown oakier here : plum stone, ginger, thuja ... yep, a bit woodier indeed. But some typical Laphroaiginess remains : soot, smoked salt, even touches of mustard. Not especially long, it doesn't bring anything significant to the table.

Wow, that's a nice aroma! I am very excited and could probably keep my nose in the glass for hours. The unmistakable Laphroaig character is immediately there: peat, iodine and maritime notes full. In addition, subtle leather, a hint of tobacco and a fresh minty herbal note. At the back of my mind is a not very accessible, light fruit mix that I really want to spend a lot of time exploring, because new nuances are always coming to light: grapefruit, orange, pear, cantaloupe and sweet green apple. Simply great: Laphroaig-typical, surprisingly fresh & fruity and wonderfully complex.

A fat, sweet and greasy peat smoke that instantly evokes campfire connotations. The taste is Laphroaig-typical medical: phenol, iodine and a touch of furniture polish. For a short time, the taste rears up very spicy-intensive (ginger?). After that come increasingly leather, tobacco and bright, exotic fruits. The salty-maritime undertone is consistently present in all of this.

The finish is very long and warm. The entire mouth is full of sweet malt, medical peat smoke. Ash and the taste of the sea. In addition a really beautiful oak, which becomes ever drier, leaves an increasingly strong almond taste and accompanies with a touch of espresso. As bitter I do not feel the resonance and the pleasant smoke is still present after more than 20 minutes.

Sweet and fresh with peat & smoke, lemons and zesty aromas at first nosing. Lots of sweet and ripe citrus fruits ... lemons and oranges.

Surprisingly powerful considering the 48.4%, very juicy and tasty. Lots of peat of course with pepper, sweet lemons and oranges. Decent notes of liquorice and oak n the background.

Very long and peaty with a delicate spicyness.

First a bit closed, but opens up beautifully

Very mild peat, some salt and sea, vanilla sweetness, spices like cinamon and ginger.

I can't find any trace of the distinct medicinal caracter of Laphroaig

Warm honey sweetness, initial short shot of pepper, peat is about as the nose indicated, fat roasted walnuts, orange citrus freshness, also some darker fruit and blackcurrant

Sweet with gentle smoke and a light return of the pepper.

Long and very well ballanced.

Smoke that gets milder surprisingly fast. From the beginning, tropical fruits (pomelo? Mango?). The more the smoke fades into the background, the more present the fruits become. Slightly maritime salinity.

The start is strong: peat fire, kelp (no longer fresh, but already a little exposed to the sun), sea salt. Next to it very strong tropical fruits. Some pipe tobacco flavor. Old leather as from an old armchair. Oak comes to the fore and disappears again.

Medium. On the tongue is a tasty peaty salt film, mixed with fruit sweetness. Maltiness comes up. Drying towards the end.