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Laphroaig 25 Year Old

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@OnibubbaReview by @Onibubba

16th Sep 2013

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Laphroaig 25 Year Old
  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    94

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The 2nd Nashville Whisky Festival began promptly at 6PM. I was first through the door, and eagerly sought out my first dram. The first table I encountered was Laphroaig, and that's where I found my "date" for the evening - Laphroaig 25, 2011. This is a bottle that I have been lusting after for some time, and I did indulge.

Nose is unmistakeably Laphroaig. It is briney and medicinal - not as intense as the younger whiskies, but moreso than the 18. Taste has some vanilla sweetness, but little wood. Very bright and vibrant. Zesty. Very full and rich in the mouth. Not drying in the least.

This was a very rich and comforting whisky, one that I kept coming back to through out the night.

Laphroaig 25 is great, but would I buy a bottle? I tasted this side by side with the 18. The 25 surpassed it in every way. BUT, both tasted like Laphroaig. Does that make sense? The 25 was easily the better whisky, but it was just a tuned up version of the 18. If it was 50-100 dollars more, I might feel like grabbing a bottle. But it is not. It is 350.00 more than the 18.

I cannot justify paying that much more money for something I would only rate a few points higher than the other. I am glad I had the experience to sample these whiskies side by side.

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7 comments

Rigmorole commented

Great review. Very interesting experience you had at the festival. I must say, the whisky festivals here in Portland never offer such useful opportunties with such rare scotch.

10 years ago 0

Rigmorole commented

@Onibubba: Went on sale in Oregon for only $140 on Monday. I would have had to drive to the beach (about 1.5 hours away) so I passed. What a deal though! I had gone to the beach a week earlier. Had I known the OLCC was going to put that bottle on sale, I would have planned my vacation around it! Of course, instead, I stocked up on even older bottles. Check out my collection. It's getting sick! The Lonachs are old, but the ABV's are too low. Still, they are fun to own. Hope you are happy and well these days, Onibubba. Take care, Rig.

10 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@Victor, 10 years in new American Oak - a blend of pot and column distilled rye and corn whiskies, a little barley as well - about 1/3 rye. The Red Letter being 13 years in new American Oak with considerably less (if any) pot still rye.

I haven't sampled every batch yet, but I'm certainly making an effort to do so - seven different batches to date and haven't met one that was less than spectacular.

This whisky is an adventure. For those who are curious about Wiser's Legacy, keep an eye open for Dr. Don Livermore, his tasting sessions are an incredible source of education and enjoyment.

9 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@paddockjudge, thanks for the excellent information! You have explained a lot, there. Both Wiser's Legacy and Wiser's Red Letter are aged long periods in new oak. That says most of what needs to be said in my opinion. The new oak flavours are to me even more obvious in Legacy than in the 2007 Red Letter.

One question: is some or all of the rye in Legacy and Red Letter malted?

My thanks to @whiskyjoe for having recently given me a new bottle of Wiser's Legacy. This is a whisky I hope to always have on hand.

9 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

Wow, I posted on my Wiser's Legacy review and then see that the public posting went to @Onibubba's Laphroaig 25 review. Connosr wires are crossed, here!

9 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

Wiser's Legacy 25 years not.

9 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@Victor, to the best of my knowledge, Wiser's Legacy contains column and pot still rye - the pot still rye is basically Corby's Lot No. 40 which is made with malted rye. Wiser's Red Letter is made only with column distilled whisky and therefore will not likely contain malted rye whisky.

All three of the expressions mentioned by name are in fact excellent examples of Canadian whisky and each are so very different from each other.

9 years ago 0

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