Laphroaig 16 Year Old 1996 Malts of Scotland

Another day, another Laphroaig, why not? The German Malts of Scotland has bottled yet another one. This 16 Year Old is already their 19th cask bottled by Thomas. How many Laffie casks do they have in Paderborn? For me, it is the 6th that I try from MoS. It was distilled in June 1996 and bottled in April 2013.

Ah, great nose. Sweet on yellow fruit, supported by the typical peat and iodine and other maritime elements. But what jumps out is a creamy touch of – do not laugh – gruyere cheese. That’s a first! Some pepper and salt, obviously. Becomes sweeter all the time. Make that sweet and sour. Apple sauce and lemon drops. Almonds. Delicious.

It is very oily to creamy on the palate. Surprisingly soft, actually. Does not need water. Much sweeter and more fruity than anticipated from the nose, with a truckload of vanilla and even some toffee. Marzipan, too. The salt kicks in midpalate, followed closely with some peat smoke and a wonderful trace of oak.

The spicy finish is sweeter still, while the spices gently fade. But the smoke is omnipresent.

Complex and sweet Laffie, that presses all the right buttons. Around 109 EUR.

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