Colour: gold. Nose: yes. I’d say it’s rather less on tropical fruits than earlier bottlings, while being more medicinal than any officials I could try so far. It’s really all on bandages, embrocations, antiseptic, camphor, burning pinewood, Kools… Very spectacular, all you still need is a nurse ;-). Mouth: exceptionally brutal, once again it’s stronger than earlier bottlings, more austere, certainly smokier and vastly more medicinal. Peppery smoke, cough medicine, mercurochrome, acrid green apples, then indeed notes of grapefruits but I couldn’t find any hints of mangos or passion fruits, that was more in the 1960s and 1970s. Finish: very long, very smoky, rather rough. Saltier aftertaste. Reminds me of some smoked oysters. Comments: the kind of Laphroaig that explains why they used to use the ‘love it or hate it’ kind of line in their ads. Pretty extreme! Now, this sissy of a taster used to prefer the gentler, fruitier ones!
BOW (88)
Angus McRaild (92)
This one should take even less time, in theory… Colour: gold. Nose: same profile, but perhaps even fruitier! Slightly less of this creamy and fat impression, and more on brightness, sharp fruits, tropical notes, wee crisp peat smoke and crushed seashell impressions. Love it! Mouth: wonderful 'total engagement', which is to say a profile that satisfies every craving: salty, fruity, sweet, smoky and also texturally impressive. In short: dried exotic fruits, saline coastal freshness, rich peat smoke and many subtle umami complexities that involve green olive, capers in brine, anchovy paste, iodine, camphor and seawater. In truth, we could probably have cut and paste the above note for the Spirit Import 10 yo, but of course that would be outrageous cheating! And it would have deprived us of tasting this one too. Finish: even longer, but notably saltier and drier, salt cured fish, brine, bone-dry peat smoke, pink sea salt and grapefruit acidity. Comments: such deadly whiskies these old Laphroaigs, they should probably be illegal.
