Laphroaig The 1815 Legacy Edition
48% ABV - Islay, Scotland
Nose: Peat smoke, charred plant material (wood, bark), and a slight background sweetness that gets stronger over time – perhaps some plum/raisin ex-Sherry notes. It’s all served on a plank of wood. (And a slightly sulphurous note lingers in the background…)
Taste: Remarkably sweet, smoked red fruits. Lightly saline with cooked fruit (plum, red apple, currant).
Finish: Barbecue chips, roasted nuts, toffee, and thick peat smoke. Small amounts of baked/dried fruits, with a smokehouse pepper kick.
So. Much. Wood. I proudly state that Laphroaig is one of my favourite distilleries – currently, the top favourite! That tends to imply that I’ve tried a lot of different expressions. The count is now up to 25, and the Laphroaig The 1815 Legacy Edition must be the woodiest Laphroaig of them all! That is not to say you are going to encounter an oak-bomb like some of the bourbons out there, or an over-aged single malt... it just has that particular characteristic turned up.
I came about this bottle by way of a whisky club member (from the Companions of the Quaich). He had some bottles that he was trying to "rid of" (you never get rid of whisky, right?) and that is how I picked it up. You would normally expect that this was purchased at a duty free location because this is a Travel Retail Exclusive bottling. I think that I may have only seen it once in the wild, but I ended up buying the (much cheaper) Laphroaig PX Cask instead.
I have yet to dive into Laphroaig Lore, but I did taste it before and, from what I can remember, The 1815 Legacy Edition has some similarities. It’s a shame we do not know more about what barrel types and maturations were blended together for this expression. It’s a really good whisky, but, in terms of value, I’m not sure that the asking price is justified (~$150-200CAD) – however, if you have fear-of-missing-out on Laphroaig then it’s worth it. Oh, and can we all give praise to the 48% ABV bottling strength?
Tasting Notes (Official): Savour the notes of soft oak and rich, dried fruits complementing our signature peat-smoke and salty wash.
Tasted 30 June, 05 July 2020. (Posted 05 July 2020.)
