Laphroaig 10 Year Old

A nice review of one of my "go to" drams. Well written and insightful. I will raise a glass with you and your dad to toast people trying to make the world a better place even in places where hope left town long ago.

Some whiskies carry a different "high." I thought your review would be about that. They can also affect dreams if consumed before bedtime. I find single malt scotch whisky to be psychoactive in some cases (varieties, that is).

Laphroaig and Ardbeg fit into this category. I sometimes wonder about the paint cleaner taste. When I was starting my scotch hobby, years ago, I was concerned that the solvents used to clean casks might actually contain TSP and that is what people were tasting/smelling. Phenols contain toxins that will affect your "high." Smoke from burning peat can affect your "trip" as it were. I would like to see film footage of a member of the "royal" family actually consuming a glass of Laphroaig that has definitely come out of a bottle. Prince Charles always gives away the casks for charity. I would like to see proof that he, and other royals, drink Laphroaig for certain.

This said, I just purchased a bottle of Laphroaig 18 today. It is nice and light in color with a charming ABV. I still cannot make heads nor tails of the stamp date on the backside of the front label. It would be nice to know what the heck it means. Here is the date stamp code on my bottle: L229657A. Unfortunately, one needs a cypher to decode it, or even a "Louis Cyphre."

Anyone catch this pun/film reference? It's quite obscure. Hint: Robert Deniro mispronounced the name (from the novel upon which the film was based). He pronounced the name of his character "Cyphier," as if it were French. This might have worked for "Louis" pronounced in the French way, but not Cyphre.

@rigmarole Not obscure if you consider that film to be Mickey Rourke's best, as his most informed fans do.

"I would like to see film footage of a member of the "royal" family actually consuming a glass of Laphroaig that has definitely come out of a bottle. Prince Charles always gives away the casks for charity. I would like to see proof that he, and other royals, drink Laphroaig for certain."

I chuckled at this (no pun). Why do you doubt the manly good taste of the Prince of Wales? One look at the cut of his suits will tell you he's a Laphroaig man.

laphroaig.com/images/distillery/…

Nice pic of the kilt-wearin' sire himself. We've all heard the hype, but I have yet to see a pic of HRH actually sipping a glass of Laphroaig. Yes, he's posed by bottles, casks, etc., but actually sipping the stuff? Seeing's believing.

@rigmorole Are you serious about Prince Charles? You sound like a paranoid suggesting he doesn't drink the stuff. I don't know him personally and don't claim to socialise with him but he lives about 10 miles from me and is far more normal than you seem to think. You might be right and the whole thing is a giant conspiracy to pretend to drink a product laced with TSP but to what end? Charles is a "royal" and has responsibilities and duties accordingly but to suggest he only pretends to drink a product he says he enjoys AND endorses with a Royal warrant AND has bottled for him AND that he sells through his Highgrove brand is simply ridiculous. Maybe I misread or misinterpreted your post and if so apologise but either way you have put a smile on my face.

Dear tjb: I'm glad my comment put a smile on your face, and I thank you for your kind reply to my comments. "Naturally occurring" TSP is present in some Laphroaigs, at least according to Ralfie. Not sure if he's right! The smell is there, at least to my nose. I have used TSP on more than one occasion to clean walls in my home before painting, and I must say that I detect a similarity, in terms of scent, in Laphroaig 10.

At any rate, I was just having a bit of light hearted fun. It's whisky, after all, that we are discussing, not something gravely serious, such as badminton or croquet. This said, I still have yet to see a pic of Charles actually drinking Laphroaig. It would be a jolly good thing to see, don't you agree? No offense is meant in this observation, nor am I insinuating anything at all.

I plan on opening my bottle of Laphroaig 18 quite soon, even though I did just purchase it only today. When I do open the bottle, I shall toast both Charles' and your continued good health.

@rigmorole Phew, I thought Connosr had gone all "National Enquirer" for a minute. Sometimes reading text can make it hard to detect tone, etc. As to the TSP you are probably right. I think Gravely Serious Croquet could be a new sport used to decide the fate of nations replacing wars, etc.

Back to the ever interesting topic of Whisky I have had the Laphroaig 18 on my wish list since day 1. I would love to hear your thoughts on it when you do open it. It is one of few recent releases I haven't bought yet.

Yes, quite. Farbeit from me to raise spurious and unfounded conspiracies, such as the alleged "fact" that Winston Churchill is the illegitimate son of Edward the Seventh, that Hitler was a top secret British agent, that the Royal family are a front corporation for the Rothschilds (as well as being related to the Rothschilds), that the Royal Family have covert holdings in corporations engaged in eugenics practices, such as ADM and Monsanto, or that assets from the Crown lands of Scotland should have undergone devolution to Scotland and the Scottish people. Such outlandish theories are no doubt rubbish of the most smelly variety. Anyone who says that the Crown Estate is engaged in corporate subterfuge (like a very complex shell game) in order to hide vast holdings and assets should have his head examined. Such wildly unfounded theories do not even have a right to be printed in the "National Enquirer." Next thing you know, somebody will make some preposterous and utterly fallacious observation that certain key stories are leaked through tabloids such as the Enquirer to create cognitive dissonance in such a way that the general public associates them with tall tales, gossip, and other pop culture falderol, thereby letting the air out of the whoopee cushion, so to speak. I find such conspiracy theories to be not only silly and nonsensical, but also a bit offensive in nature. It's hard to believe that some people actually entertain such theories as being possible, if not probable.

Exactly! I think we have hijacked what was a good review so let's get back to talking about Whisky.

Abso-frickin-lutely. Can't wait to taste my bottle of Laphroaig 18! I will be sure to write a review when I do.

Mr. Rigmorole, I have not experienced any great psychotropic effects from whisky except the typical alcohol-induced muscular relaxation and perhaps rational breakdown after imbibing too much. If you want to dream very wild dreams, try sushi, or even better, sashimi.

The stamp on the backside of your label looks like a batch code. I work in manufacturing, and if they do it in Scotland like they do it in the U.S.A., that's a vendor lot and it represents the label itself, not the whisky in the bottle.

But I could be completely wrong.

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I do eat sashimi fairly often, at least I did before Fukushima. I still ate it until about a year ago when my doctor told me to stop due to complications that could be related to nuclear radiation sickness possibly. I can't recall having vivid dreams after eating it but it's very possible that I just never made the connection before. Sashimi and saki is a very very nice combination, especially with a few Japanese beers. I really do like Japanese beers quite a lot. Nice to hear from you. I still can't make heads or tails of my Laphroaig bottles. If I could read the dates, I would probably buy more of them. For me, bottling dates are an important aspect of why I buy. Leaving off bottling dates and the age of a whisky is unprofessional to me. It's amateurish. I'm glad that my 18 is clearly labeled as to its age.