Laphroaig 10 Year Old
An Old Friend
0 689
Review by @Victor
- Nose22
- Taste23
- Finish22
- Balance22
- Overall89
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Why another Laphroaig 10 review? There are some perspectives that I consider important, which are sometimes overlooked. Most reviews give a 'snapshot in time' look at a whisky, either from a new bottle, or from a bottle of indeterminate age of opening, as from a bar sample. There is much to point out about how a bottle changes over time, and also about how a different whisky strikes the reviewer at different points in her/his 'whisky journey'. The reviewed bottle of Laphroaig 10 has been open about 20 months, mostly because it was a gift when I already had another open bottle...that, plus the 150 other open bottles I have to distract me
Nose: lots of smoke at first, which dissipates greatly after the bottle has been open a month or two, lots of relatively aggressive peat, which tames a bit with long bottle opening, and a sweetness which just becomes sweeter still, with the bottle long-opened. There is the characteristic Laphroaig brine and medicinal quality, which gradually mellows with age
Taste: everything said of the nose is true of the mouth; the aggressive flavour thrust when the bottle is first opened tames down with time, but in a very pleasant way. This whisky just gets sweeter and sweeter the more time passes
Finish: true of nose and palate, true of finish--it stays strong, but somewhat mellowed out from a longer-opened bottle
Balance: when I first tasted Laphroaig 10 a few years ago I was shocked at its intensity, having not previously experienced those strong taste profiles. A few years later, Laphroaig 10 seems like a mellow old friend, rather than like a roaring lion. The beautiful sweetness that grows within the open bottle makes up for the loss of smoke from the early going after opening the bottle. Nowadays I think of Laphroaig 10 the way others think of, say, Compass Box Asyla, just a nice mellow friend to take along for a taste trip. It is actually one of my favourite SUMMER drams
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Nice review, I don't have many to compare to, I suspect my palate finds this pretty mellow, almost comforting, its got a sweetness but in its own way. I don't think ill ever get a bottle to last more than a few months though.