Laphroaig 11 year old Duthies (WM Cadenhead)

So you think you know everything about Laphroaig, eh? I thought I knew a fair bit, but this one sent me back to school.

To start with I detected balsamic vinegar in the aroma and wondered if something was amiss, but it was the flavoury bits rather than ill-effects, and I soon picked up sherbet, and a sort of chalky or plasticeney scent as well. The combination of this with the fizzyness made me think of kaolin & morphine, but I don't really want to put anyone off. That's like telling someone their chocolate cake tastes of shoes, but in a good way.

Anyway, sipping and swirling I was taken and surprised by fruity flavours - I thought pears & melons, but was struggling to pin them down (as usual). My mouth was definitely watering, and with another sip I thought I tasted woody elements, and then it made me think of Night Nurse. The second swallow started to have an anaesthetic effect on the back of my throat, and with the next 2 sips the presence on my tongue crew increasingly bitter.

This is quite a rollercoaster of a whisky, which seems to change personality the further into it you get.

By the 4th sip I was tasting and smelling more of the Laphroaig characteristics (smoke & peat, perhaps not as oily) I was expecting, albeit with more bitterness.

The finish as well develops with successive sips, and I found to develop from a warm mellow throat presence to a near stifling back-of-throat experience - mixing with the anaesthetic feel to remind me of those sprays that you get from Boots to numb a sore throat.

Weird. Funky. Wouldn't buy a bottle, but I'd happily try some more of yours.

Find where to buy Laphroaig whisky