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Laphroaig Cask Strength 10 Year Old

Waiting...Waiting...

5 2195

@talexanderReview by @talexander

20th May 2017

1

Laphroaig Cask Strength 10 Year Old
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    24
  • Finish
    25
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    95

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

I'm sitting here waiting for my new BBQ to be delivered, so hey let's review Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength, and try it side-by-side with the standard 10 Year Old. This Cask Strength bottle is from Batch 007 and was bottled in January 2015. This bottle has been open probably for about a year.

The colour is a golden yellow. The nose has those classic Laphroaig elements: wet campfire, iodine, citrus and seaweed. Linoleum. Plastic-y vinyl. Only slightly herbaceous. Very briny. With a drop of water, the malt comes through, surrounded by lemon and raspberries. I love this.

On the palate we have lots of mouth-drying alcohol, with more citrus, toasted oak, sourdough and vanilla. Light caramel. Lots of prickly peat, obviously...but behind that is a lot of complexity and subtlety. Once you get past the alcohol there is a very creamy mouthfeel. Water increases the smoke, spice and creaminess. This is everything I love about scotch.

The wow finish has more peat smoke, lemon curd, smoked paprika and cayenne, followed by pine and prosciutto toward the end. Of course, we all understand that reviewing whisky (like anything) is completely subjective, and so your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for high ABV and shovelfuls of peat. But I adore this and wish I had a case (alas, this is the last dram from my bottle). The label says "We recommend that you add twice as much water as whisky to fully appreciate the taste characteristics...." Wow, that's a lot of water! That would bring the ABV down to 18.8% which, I'm sorry, I am not doing, no no no. Interestingly, the standard 10 Year Old (43% ABV) is slightly darker in colour (due to caramel colouring?); otherwise all the other notes are simply the same but dialled down a couple of notches - which makes sense as the CS is simply undiluted standard 10 Year Old. Anyway, I love them both so much. Also, my BBQ still hasn't arrived.

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21 comments

@Hewie
Hewie commented

A good substitute for a BBQ. I'm also surprised by how much water you say they suggest to add - each to their own. I hope you're grilling meat on your new barbie soon.

7 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@Hewie I hope so too, but the goddamn thing never showed up! Grrrrr!!!!

7 years ago 0

Taco commented

Good to hear the quality is still there. I still have a 2005 red stripe I need to open. With the Lagavulin 12, my favorite peaters, but the 10CS is $30 cheaper.

7 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

For those faithful readers who are holding their breath in suspense - the BBQ is now coming on Wed morning.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

For those who can't wait, an EPIC tasting report will be posted later today (that intersects very (VERY) peripherally with the BBQ story)...

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

The popular wisdom (i.e., unsubstantiated internet gossip) that I've always heard about the 10 CS is that it's not just the same as standard 10 without water, but that it's also made from the choice casks.

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

Is this the same popular wisdom that elected D....oh, that was close. No politics...

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

So... did the Weber arrive?

7 years ago 0

Taco commented

Several years back I compared the 10 to the CS (watered down) and found the CS was noticeably better, even diluted to about 40-45%. Best peater for the money out there.

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

@Taco , I agree. In fact, I'll go this far: All things considered—price not the least—Laphroaig 10 CS is the best damn whisky on the market.

I'm sure I'm repeating myself from earlier chats, but every time I consider shelling out for a new whisky, I ask myself, "Do you really want that more than another bottle of Laphroaig 10 CS?" Many potential purchases fail to clear that hurdle.

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Ol_Jas Variety is the spice of life...

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

@JasonHambrey
JasonHambrey commented

@Ol_Jas I've done side by sides with the Laphroaig 10 and the 10 CS, diluted to the same strength, and found the CS better even diluted down. Terrific whisky - one of the absolute best peaters, I agree.I have a bottle of batch 007 too and it is fabulous.

A fun ride with a cigar, too, if you roll that way.

7 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@JasonHambrey Generally I find a smoky whisky with a cigar just too much smoke in my mouth - no matter how great the whisky is. I prefer a cigar with a sherried dram, or even rum or port. But hey that's just me - many people I know love to pair smoke-with-smoke!

7 years ago 0

@JasonHambrey
JasonHambrey commented

I generally do too. However, I do like the absurd peatedness in this one which I find fits well with the added smoke and tobacco. I don't like Ardbegs with cigars, for instance, but laphroaigs work their way in there...

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@JasonHambrey @talexander

The doctor inside me has to mention that cigar smoke and alcohol are related to some of the same cancers....

The whisky aficionado in me would say that the smoking of tobacco impairs the tastebuds and nose from appreciating the more subtle flavours in whisky.

The democrat in me acknowledges that it's your whisky and you can enjoy it whatever way you like... and as someone who has never paired tobacco with anything (except for a waste bin), I'm not one to say...

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

@casualtorture
casualtorture commented

Cigar + black coffee equals YES. Cigar + whisky equals no for me. But to each his own. One of the nicest moments from back home was sitting on the back deck at my home in Alabama with a cup of black coffee on a cool summer night with a mild cigar looking at the night sky. The night sky without light pollution is the best compliment to whisky or a cigar or whatever you do to relax.

7 years ago 3Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander commented

@casualtorture YES! Good point. I love waking up Sunday mornings and sitting on my porch with a cigar and coffee...

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@talexander

Especially the day after your party, I would have preferred to wake up Sunday afternoons and sit on the porch with a coffee

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

so did the Weber arrive?

7 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@Nozinan It did! But I have to take off the back sliding doors to get it onto the back deck....

7 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

I never met a Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength which I didn't like. I think I have tasted all of them except for the first batch and the recent Batch # 008. So far, I like this Batch # 007 the best of all. I see that @MaltActivist likes Batch # 008 even better than Batch # 007. I'll believe that only when I have tasted it...but it is something to which to look forward!

My neighbour left out a bottle of Laphroaig 10 CS, 007 and a bottle of Ardbeg 10 for four of his old army buddies from Beijing to drink at his house at dinner. At the end of the meal the 10 CS was half gone, and the Ardbeg 10 was almost untouched.

7 years ago 2Who liked this?