Laphroaig 10-Year Cask Strength Batch 07
56.3% ABV - Islay, Scotland
Nose: High octane peat. Lots of tar, creosote, and burnt wood flavours. With the addition of water it is a whole new experience and touches on fruits and citrus with a very similar profile to the regular 10-Year.
Taste: Higher octane peat. The same flavours—still tarry, still burnt—are starting to be wrapped up in some orange citrus and lighter fruit notes. There is a delicious beach fire and earthy root that emerges with the addition of water.
Finish: Quite quick, peat and smoked with a spicy edge. Pouring water over the campfire at the end of the night.
Laphroaig 10-Year Cask Strength is definitely darker than the regular 10-Year—not surprising. What I do find interesting is the nose is so much more muted than the 10-Year. Maybe it’s that the flavours are locked up in the higher ABV? I’m not sure! Suffice to say that it was initially underwhelming. From some of the reviews I had read, this one is supposed to be "one of the better cask strength batch releases", so I likely had some bias or high expectations.
The label on the back of the bottle suggests adding twice as much water as there is whisky. I felt that after an initial nosing and taste that this dram really needed some water added—it is not as refined or (dare I say it) "smooth" as some other whiskies that hit above 100 proof. Nonetheless, start small with the water as I found it needed way less than suggested.
The Laphroaig 10-Year Cask Strength is a great value if you can find it on the shelf. I think that if these were regularly available in the Canadian market then I wouldn’t buy the regular 10-Year as much. However, since it isn’t, the price to get it on the secondary or grey market… probably not worth it!
Details: Bottled January 2015.
Tasted 12 June 2021. (Posted 17 October 2021.)
