Favored Islay whisky distillery Laphroaig is bringing to market a new Scotch which may excite its followers, but at the same time may turn them off a bit as well. It is a kind of “everything but the kitchen sink” bottling which is a little of this and a little of that, and which also has a bit of a hefty price tag for being a non-age statement expression.The new Laphroaig Lore is so named because it is seen as an expression that’s “a complex marriage of both classical Laphroaig styles and many ages of Laphroaig.” To that end what is in the bottle goes back a short bit in the aging stock of their whisky, drawing from vintage 1993 going forward to consist of a mix of Scotch ranging from 7 to 21 years old.
Brown spirit pulled from barrel for this whisky comes from across a range of cask types, being described as drawing upon, in that “everything but the kitchen sink” style,
the peaty power of Laphroaig in the same vein as Quarter Cask but with the smoothness of double matured stock finished in European oak hogsheads. To add even further depth and complexity we used our most heavily peated whisky matured in ex-Laphroaig barrels along with some fully sherry matured casks.
As if this wasn’t enough, this 48% ABV Scotch is “simply barrier filtered” before being bottled. All of this whisky wizardry does come at a bit of a price, with the retail cost for Lore being set to start at around £77, or about $110 USD. That may be a bit of a stretch for some Laphroaig fans interested in this, but not comfortable paying so much for a NAS offering.
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In terms of taste, this “richest of the rich” Laphroaig ever created has official tasting notes outlined below for your consideration.
Color: Deep Mahogony.
Nose: Rich and smoky with seaside minerals with a hint of ash and bitter chocolate drops. Vanilla follows with oily unroasted chestnuts and a hint of fudge with a malty sweetness. A drop of water adds a creamy clotted cream note with fruit appearing in the form of unripe citrus in a flan glaze.
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READ THE STORYPalate: Richly peaty with a spicy chilli bite.
Finish: Short dry finish and a long sweet aftertaste.
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