The end of the year brings two new Laphroaig bottlings – a 30-year-old and 25-year-old expression. Laphroaig 25 is a blend of whiskies matured in second-fill European Oak sherry casks and ex-bourbon casks bottled at cask strength, or 48.6% abv. Now we’re cooking! There’s something interesting about extra-aged Laphroaig. Sure, after a quarter century sitting in sherry and bourbon casks, the peaty bite that the distillery is so famous for starts to round out, but it still retains the distillery character.
How does it taste?
Lovely. Simply lovely.
The nose is bright, rich, and full of juicy seville orange, dark brown sugar, and smoked bacon. A touch of dried fruits and hay also appear. On entry, Laphroaig 25yr is more vibrant than expected for a whisky that is a quarter century old. Smoked fruits are tempered by freshly squeezed oranges. Waves of vanilla, toffee, and spiced cherries follow. Laphroaig’s signature ashy peat smoke more or less provides a soft bed, complimenting the rest of the flavors. On the back palate, tobacco and aged oak lead things into a long, slightly bitter and fruity finish, with a wisp of smoke.
Big question – is it worth the asking price of $500 a bottle? Short answer, yes. In fact I own a bottle from a couple of years ago. Long answer depends on how much you’re willing to pay for a bottle of whisky, but that’s a discussion for another time. Either way, make no mistake – this is a beautiful bottling of Laphroaig. 9/10
Thanks to Laphroaig for the sample! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
On the bicentennial of (legal) distilling at Lagavulin, the Islay distillery has released a sumptuous 25-year-old expression to celebrate. This one pays homage to its distillery managers, including current Distillery Manager Georgie Crawford. All who have proudly filled that position have their name and years served printed on the bottle. As for the whisky itself, it’s matured in sherry casks and bottled at cask strength (50.9% abv).
At 50.9% abv, Lagavulin 25 comes in surprisingly mellower than expected in the nose in that there is no alcohol vapor getting in the way of lucious aromas. Smoked pineapple & mango, slightly burnt toffee, some sherried fruit and a touch of Caribbean rum funk make up the majority of the nose. Those lovely peaty notes are also present, albeit in a more integrated manner and not as heavy as say the 8- or 12-year-old expressions. A little airtime also reveals Danish pastry, or some sort of sweet bread and spice. On the palate, Lagavulin 25 features sweet ripe mango, sherried malt, spice, freshly squeezed mandarin orange and a nice herbalness over a soft bed of wood smoke and cured meat. With a peated whisky of this age, the smoky characteristic has had time to mellow out. There’s a richness here not normally found in the standard 16-year-old expression. We can thank those sherry casks for that. The finish is long and a tad spicy, leaving behind a pleasant sweet & smoked malt note alongside a sprinkling of orange zest.
We have upon us what I describe as one of the greatest whiskies I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. Yes, it’s rare (8,000 bottles worldwide) and expensive ($1,200 a bottle) and most of us will never have the chance to try it. Nonetheless, Lagavulin 25 is a magnificently rich and well-aged expression of the Islay distillery that earns my highest mark to date on this blog. 9.75/10
Thanks to Diageo for the sample. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This year mark’s Lagavulin’s 200th anniversary. Recently at Tales of the Cocktail, I had a chance to chat with Dr. Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky Outreach, about the three special anniversary bottlings expected this year.
Ewan Morgan and Dr. Nick Morgan at Tales of the Cocktail
“Our intent was to have a special bottling. Special in terms of the liquid, special in terms of the pack, and special in terms of the story we can relate somehow to the anniversary,” Morgan said. “We wanted to make this accessible to as many people as possible.”
The first of the three bottlings is an 8-year-old whisky matured exclusively in ex-bourbon American hogsheads. “When we started looking at it, the obvious way to go would be to do a non-age bottling because that gives you lots of flexibility to produce something affordable and really nice using young casks and old casks. That’s what Diageo does. We know how to blend stuff. But then we felt that if did a non-age Lagavulin, we would upset the really vocal people in the internet whisky world. That means instead of them saying ‘this is great,’ they would complain,” Morgan explained.
So they started looking at an age-stated whisky. “One of our archivists said Alfred Barnard tasted an 8-year-old when he visited Lagavulin distillery. I said ‘great thinking. That’s the story. That’s the liquid.”
Though famed whisky writer Alfred Barnard sampled an 8-year-old whisky when he visited the Lagavulin distillery in the late 1800s, don’t expect the anniversary bottling to be the same. Morgan explained, “we are very clear this is not the whisky Sir Alfred Barnard would have tasted because he would have got it straight from the cask. It would probably be far more phenolic, and so on. So it’s not a recreation, but for the anniversary I suppose it’s an homage.”
Tasting the 8-, 12-, and 16-year expressions was a treat.
So how is the new 8-year old? Watch my video below where I compare the 8-, 12-, and 16-year expressions, or read on for my full tasting notes.
The nose comes across as bright, with sweet malt, peat and orange. There is a light touch of salted caramel. On entry, a blast of wood smoke hits the palate, followed by a pineapple, orange, tweeted malt and a tinge of vanilla. The finish is long, sweet and smoky. This whisky, though smokier than the 16-year, comes across as more vibrant, giving us more of the distillery character. It is very well made, extremely tasty, and should appeal to fans of Lagavulin. Pick up a bottle before it disappears from shelves for good. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. 8.5/10
Also expected this year is an already announced 25-year-old bottling, and an even rarer single cask bottling. Dr. Morgan said the latter release will most likely be sold by one retailer with “global reach.” The single cask is drawn from a sherry butt, and all proceeds will go to Islay-based charities. “Hopefully it’ll make a difference and leave something behind from the anniversary,” said Morgan. This bottling is expected to cost £1816.
Thanks to Dr. Morgan for sitting down to talk Lagavulin with me. Also thanks to Diageo for the samples of the 8- and 16-year old Lagavulin. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Adventures In Whiskey 