After overwhelming demand in the comments of my last video, I have set the Springbank reviews aside to tackle something you all clearly wanted answered. The Willem Dafoe Laphroaig 14 is, at least on paper, an attainable bottle of whisky. Yet it arrives carrying a few problems that I feel obliged to unpack.
Let me deal with the liquid first, because there is genuinely so much to admire here. At 53.7% ABV, matured predominantly in ex-bourbon casks with a two-year Oloroso finish, this is classic Laphroaig with real depth.
The nose delivers that dirty, damp, phenolic wet peat we all know, wrapped in smoked sea salt, seaweed butter, and a remarkable wave of maple syrup that reminds me of the maple candies people bring back from Canada.
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On the palate, it opens sweet, all syrupy cherry and creamy milk chocolate, before the West Coast oiliness rolls in with smoked fish, roasted nuts, and that unmistakable wet ashtray note. The cherry dries right down to something almost bone dry, closer to a fino than an Oloroso.
The finish is where this whisky truly shines. Dark chocolate, Manchego cheese, rye spice, and a savoury depth of Worcestershire sauce and garlic granules. It is an extraordinary flavour journey, and no one could deny it tastes good.
The trouble begins with the price. Depending on your retailer, this sits between £135 and £140, which is a lot for a 14-year-old whisky. Yes, the higher strength justifies a portion of that, but Laphroaig Cask Strength is currently being flash sold around £50 a bottle, which rather wipes out that argument. This feels like the tail end of the premiumisation trend, and I suspect the elevated price is simply the name on the front. Tellingly, the age statement lives on the back. Is that because 14 years reads as a slight embarrassment against the asking price? Possibly.
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READ THE STORYThe real elephant in the room is the Laphroaig 10 Sherry, a whisky I gave my whisky of the year back in 2022. It offers a very similar profile at roughly half the price. So my verdict stands at a fair 8 out of 10 for the liquid alone, but the value simply is not there. My honest advice is to split a bottle between a few friends. That way you experience something genuinely special without swallowing the premium for a signature on the label.
Of all the celebrity drinks I have tried, this tastes the best by some distance. But would you pay the extra just to have Dafoe’s name on your shelf?
To see my full tasting, check out my YouTube video.
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