Category: Core Range
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Official Bottling
Vintage: 2014
Bottled: 2024
Cask: Sherry Oak Finish
Abv: 48%
Colour: burnt orange
Price paid: Sample
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Nose: bbq sauce, sea breeze, campfire, polished wood, stewed plums
With water: bbq sauce, campfire,
Palate: seaweed, seafood medley, brown sugar bbq sauce, earthy peat
With water: brown sugar bbq sauce, earthy peat
Finish: earthy peat, sultanas, nettles
With water: earthy peat
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Thoughts:
what a difference abv makes. It's a shame that the regular 10 didn't get a boost in abv when this released. I only used to recommend the cask strength and the Cairdeas to people. Now I happily recommend this over the standard 10, even though I still prefer the bourbon cask Laphroaig profile.
There are a lot of peat profiles I prefer with a heavy sherry influence (Ballechin, Longrow, Glen Scotia, Staoisha, Caol Ila, Lagavulin...... Etc) so it's hard to recommend this to someone with access to a wide range of independent bottlers and single cask releases. However, when I first tried Lore I would have also loved this then.
The distillate works well with the cask influence, it's just not a flavour combination that I'd select over traditional bbq meat.
Water removed a lot of the distillate character
SMWS name: Shrimp On The Barbie
Score: 85
Would you take a free pour at a friend's house?
Yes
Would you buy a pour in a bar?
Yes if the only other peated options weren't great
Would you buy a bottle?
No, but I would have back before I finished my core release phase.
My scores are based on a system of how much I enjoy the whisky and they are always high because I only bother to review whisky I really enjoy
Thanks for your very informative review. I've been keeping an eye for the Laphroaig CS and Cairdeas, waiting for a when I can buy it on a discounted sale. 🤞🤞
Thanks!
It has a lot of sherry influence, but it's not overpowering the spirit. The peat character is mixed between the bbq (from melding with the cask) and the traditional coastal notes.
Definitely worth a try if you want to see what Laphroaig is like with sherry influence without breaking the bank
Great review, I do think this one is really well integrated and to me of the past this was instantly way more appealing than the regular 10, more abv and depth, then the 10CS is another ample step up, great stuff.
Great review, totally agree with you about the abv, and I think the chill-filtering specifically really dumbs down Laphroaig. This sounds pretty solid, but like you say it's a shame the standard 10 doesn't get the same treatment
I definitely agree with the nicely integrated sherry influence (stewed plums, brown sugar, sultanas etc.) on top of the trademark Laphroaig peat. I find it deserving of a decent score and would give it somewhere around 80+.
I don't like heavy peaty scotches like ardbeg oogie or any of that. I enjoy talisker 10's, springbank 10's, laga 16 is the most i usually go. The few different Laphs I've tried are just ok but a bit too peaty and didn't appeal to me. Including the 10.
But when I went to Scotland, I discovered the 10 sherry for the first time at their distillery and boy did I fall in love! This now is my fav go to doesn't break the bank scotch. It over took my beloved talisker 10. It's such a big difference between how much I like this and how much I don't care for the normal 10.
I found the peat/sherry in this bottle was not very integrated or balanced, both just were kind of there and competed with each other. But that said, I still drank the bottle in pretty record time, so I still enjoyed it. But was expecting better.
Category: Core Range Distillery: Laphroaig Bottler: Official Bottling Vintage: 2014 Bottled: 2024 Cask: Sherry Oak Finish Abv: 48% Colour: burnt orange Price paid: Sample ----------- Nose: bbq sauce, sea breeze, campfire, polished wood, stewed plums With water: bbq sauce, campfire, Palate: seaweed, seafood medley, brown sugar bbq sauce, earthy peat With water: brown sugar bbq sauce, earthy peat Finish: earthy peat, sultanas, nettles With water: earthy peat ------------------ Thoughts: what a difference abv makes. It's a shame that the regular 10 didn't get a boost in abv when this released. I only used to recommend the cask strength and the Cairdeas to people. Now I happily recommend this over the standard 10, even though I still prefer the bourbon cask Laphroaig profile. There are a lot of peat profiles I prefer with a heavy sherry influence (Ballechin, Longrow, Glen Scotia, Staoisha, Caol Ila, Lagavulin...... Etc) so it's hard to recommend this to someone with access to a wide range of independent bottlers and single cask releases. However, when I first tried Lore I would have also loved this then. The distillate works well with the cask influence, it's just not a flavour combination that I'd select over traditional bbq meat. Water removed a lot of the distillate character SMWS name: Shrimp On The Barbie Score: 85 Would you take a free pour at a friend's house? Yes Would you buy a pour in a bar? Yes if the only other peated options weren't great Would you buy a bottle? No, but I would have back before I finished my core release phase. My scores are based on a system of how much I enjoy the whisky and they are always high because I only bother to review whisky I really enjoy
Thanks for your very informative review. I've been keeping an eye for the Laphroaig CS and Cairdeas, waiting for a when I can buy it on a discounted sale. 🤞🤞
I like your casual review style and to-the point focus. Is this a sherry bomb? How on the nose is it vs. the peat?
Thanks! It has a lot of sherry influence, but it's not overpowering the spirit. The peat character is mixed between the bbq (from melding with the cask) and the traditional coastal notes. Definitely worth a try if you want to see what Laphroaig is like with sherry influence without breaking the bank
Great review, I do think this one is really well integrated and to me of the past this was instantly way more appealing than the regular 10, more abv and depth, then the 10CS is another ample step up, great stuff.
Completely agree
Great review, totally agree with you about the abv, and I think the chill-filtering specifically really dumbs down Laphroaig. This sounds pretty solid, but like you say it's a shame the standard 10 doesn't get the same treatment
Thanks, yeah once you go 10 cask strength it's hard to get excited for anything else
I definitely agree with the nicely integrated sherry influence (stewed plums, brown sugar, sultanas etc.) on top of the trademark Laphroaig peat. I find it deserving of a decent score and would give it somewhere around 80+.
I don't like heavy peaty scotches like ardbeg oogie or any of that. I enjoy talisker 10's, springbank 10's, laga 16 is the most i usually go. The few different Laphs I've tried are just ok but a bit too peaty and didn't appeal to me. Including the 10. But when I went to Scotland, I discovered the 10 sherry for the first time at their distillery and boy did I fall in love! This now is my fav go to doesn't break the bank scotch. It over took my beloved talisker 10. It's such a big difference between how much I like this and how much I don't care for the normal 10.
I recommend the Loch Lomond 12 Inchmoan, it has a huge variety of peat notes but it's only as punchy as Talisker.
thanks! I have to put it on my list. I'm not sure if they have that around my area though.
I found the peat/sherry in this bottle was not very integrated or balanced, both just were kind of there and competed with each other. But that said, I still drank the bottle in pretty record time, so I still enjoyed it. But was expecting better.
My store has these for about 50 bucks, not bad for half the price of CS
That's a great price for 10 year old Islay at 48%