Laphroaig 18 Year Old Review + Tasting Notes
I love the Laphroaig 18 Year Old. I'm a Laphroaig fan through and through, but there's something truly captivating about older Islay expressions that just sets every sense alight with intrigue.
All of the classic Laphroaig power with an additional 8 years maturation in ex-bourbon casks for extra balance from its infamous peated style. Older examples of Islay whisky allow for the cask to dominate the final flavour, pushing the intensity of the peated spirit further down the chain of flavour. Laphroaig 18 Year Old of years gone by was an incredible example of sweet, creamy, gently smoky single malt. Now that it is back on shelves, we have the ability to relish in these very refined, complex flavour profiles that Islay whisky can offer and a lot of the whiskies can’t.
A classic waft of Laphroaig peat and medicinal punch, followed by witch hazel, lime juice, hazelnut cream, white chocolate, petrichor, wet grass, vanilla cream, mint, raspberry and even a touch of cherry drop boiled sweets!
This things takes you on a serious journey via the nose. Considering it’s such a famous brand for intense and over the top nosing, this example is extremely layered and complex with sweetness and savoury notes.
The initial taste is classic Laphroaig again. It gives this smoky, peat driven, burnt herb profile that screams of such distinct Islay character. Thee sweetness is much more pulled back compared to the nose. It still has some hazelnut, walnut, and almond earthiness with a little bit of sweetness pushing in.
More of that grassiness from the nose and again, some lime juice making its way through the mix. That note is highly unusual for me in single malt Scottish whisky, but pulls together these burnt notes, sweet notes and earthy sweetness. It just adds a little tang of sourness to the mix. Amazingly put together but not as sweet as the nose would suggest.
Creamy vanilla macarons and a burnt grass/burnt thyme and sage note to it. An incredible mix of nutty, sweet, sour, creamy and savoury that really unites loads of profile across the palate in one sip. Charred wood, herby, grassy, gently drying with a profile of white vermouth.
I love this bottle. I’m a Laphroaig fan through and through, but there’s something truly captivating about older Islay expressions that just sets every sense alight with intrigue.
It does come with a hefty price tag, that’s hard to ignore and is somewhat of the elephant in the room. What I will say is that if you are after a bottling of older Islay whisky that is quite consistent, bottled at a very decent strength and will always deliver on flavour, Laphroaig is very hard to beat in that realm.
Port Charlotte 18 year old is freshly on the market, but also has as hefty a price tag. No doubt the liquid is wonderful, but I feel like I’d take this every time.
Laphroaig has always been set apart by the way we all react to the first smell and taste of their 10 year old expression. It’s almost a caricature and comical in how dry, stinky and overly potent it is. Why would you ever want to drink something that smells like a diesel soaked ashtray that was cleaned with bleach? Not me originally, but now it’s the brand of whisky I own the most from.
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