Laphroaig 15 Year Old / 200th Anniversary
Subdued and subtle
5 983
Review by @Pierre_W
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall83
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This is the 15-year old bottling that Laphroaig released in 2015 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the distillery.
The nose starts with bonfire smoke and smoked ham, followed by notes of lemons, seaweed and a hint of chocolate. Later on there is some vanilla, too. This certainly is sweeter and less peaty than I expected.
The palate is medium-bodied and quite “rounded” (I trust you know what I mean). It kicks off with a small dose of wood spice, followed by plenty of grapefruit flavours. There are less lemon flavours than on the nose; instead, there is more smoke and some medicinal notes, albeit somewhat subdued.
The finish is of medium length and big on grapefruit and lemon flavours, while the smoke has now turned into soot.
This is well balanced and comes with a wide range of different flavours, but I would not call it a stunner - a comment that might actually say more about myself than the whisky. I prefer my Laphroaigs to be big, heavily peaty and smoky, and this bottling is more for the subtle connoisseur. In addition I have always been very fond of the former 15-year old bottling and do not feel that this version is an adequate replacement.
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The 10yo cask strength is my favourite Laphroaig expression too!
Thanks for the review. I sampled the “old” 15 year at a friend’s place and I loved it. It’s probably my second favourite Laphroaig, after the 10 Year Cask Strength. Your notes to this one do sound pretty good though...