Islay Mist 8 yo (43%, OB Mario Rossi Import, 1970s)
The famous blended whisky brand that was renowned for containing a ‘heart’ of Laphroaig. There was also a version for Bonfanti as well which has quite a reputation. Colour: deep gold. Nose: it is indeed riddled with this old school Laphroaig character. That is to say embrocations, soot, some dried tropical fruits, old medicines, camphor, putty and a slightly acetic note of cider vinegar and green apple peelings, which probably comes from the grain component. Some sea salt crisps, a hint of bouillon and tar. Very good and with gentle and rather elegant OBE aspect. Mouth: big, fatty and oily. The malt - the Laphroaig in this case - is really what does the talking up front. Some notes of damp hay, olive oil mixed with brine, black olives, umami paste and cough medicines. Some old herbal liqueurs, grapefruit peel, anchovy butter and salted liquorice. Very good! More of these dried fruit notes such as banana chips and dried mango strips. Finish: good length, full of salt and pepper, Magi liquid seasoning, a little pine resin, pot pourri, more tarry and medicinal notes. Getting drying towards the end. Comments: an excellent old blend, full of Laphroaig character and extremely quaffable.
SGP: 463 - 89 points.

Laphroaig 21 yo 1996/2018 (48.9%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 29.258 ‘Remembrance of fruits past’, bourbon hogshead / oloroso hogshead, 231 bottles)
Suitably named for this wee session’s theme... Colour: gold. Nose: there is indeed a wee glimmer of fruitiness. Things like lemon peel, guava, wet rocks, sheep wool and canvas. Wee touches of iodine, sweet peat smoke, tar and shellfish. No real evidence of a finish so far, that is to say there’s no jarring sherry or new wood - instead it’s more a classical and pure style of Laphroaig. Which you’ll never hear me complaining about. In time it gets more leafy, more gently medicinal and with this really fresh and elegant coastal side. Really excellent. Mouth: soft and syrupy on arrival. Lots of hessian, a touch of wood spice, some treacle, tar, iodine, soot, mercurochrome and indeed a little hint of tropical fruit jelly and fruit salad syrups. Rather lemony and limey with children’s cough medicine and juicy fruit chewing gum. Some orange soda tablets, pine liqueur and various smoked teas and black pepper. Really very good stuff that straddles two different characters of Laphroaig with real aplomb. Finish: long, gently medicinal, sooty, olive oil, hints of brine, lemon peel, caraway, white pepper and gently wafting peat smoke. Comments: Quite simply, a very very good mid-aged Laphroaig. And a very good finish as well, in that it was pretty much invisible and left the distillery character beautifully intact.
SGP: 664 - 91 points.

Laphroaig 25 yo (52%, OB, 2018, bourbon casks)
The most recent release. Obviously, I suppose, given it’s only the start of January. The label describes it as ‘extremely rare and unique liquid’, isn’t everything becoming ‘unique’ and ‘rare’ these days? Perhaps the good folks at the dictionary will simply relent and change the meanings of those words. Colour: straw. Nose: sharp and briny peat. Lemon juice drizzled over concrete. Some bonfire ashes, tarpaulin, creel nets, grilled oysters - it’s rather hefty and even slightly austere. In time there’s a few glimmers of bandages and orange peel. With water: more smoky, towards smoked paprika, smouldering leaves, light tarriness and green pepper. More straightforward ashy and salty notes. Mouth: sweeter, straightforward peat, black pepper, cured meats, black olives, more brininess, antiseptic and a fug of cigar smoke. Clean but rather simplistic. With water: some putty and clay notes, salt water, anchovy, hot smoky notes, beach pebbles and more antiseptic notes. Finish: medium in length with a wink of lusher, fruitier character about it. But it’s kind of fleeting and more of a sensation than a palpable flavour. You can also add more cured meat and salted butter. Comments: All fine, but I think it’s a tad simple and bit tough at times. Many superior Laphroaigs to be found in my wee book.
SGP: 365 - 82 points.

Laphroaig 25 yo (48.9%, OB, 2017, bourbon & sherry)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: softer, gentler, a leafy smokiness that nods to pipe tobacco, dried herbs, various medicines, white pepper, mustard powder and wee hints of citrus pith. There’s also salted almonds, some dried lavender, iodine and some grilling shellfish. Mouth: again it’s a more suave and gentle Laphroaig. Notes of preserved lemon, aspirin, iodine, tiger balm, salted trail mix, bread and olive oil. Herb-flecked smoke, lemony brine, cough medicine and a slightly kippery note. Very nice but again perhaps it’s a little too simple? Finish: medium and rather salty, gritty, ashy and more towards white pepper and lemon juice. Comments: I like it a little more than the 2018 but it’s still a tad underwhelming all things considered.
SGP: 455 - 84 points.

Laphroaig 25 yo (46.8%, OB, 2015, bourbon & sherry)
Colour: gold. Nose: well, hang about! There does indeed seem to be an immediate and rather striking fruitiness about this one. It certainly feels like quite a big departure from the previous two. This one opens all on lemon peels, bandages, ointments, caraway, softer medicines, grapefruit and boiled lime sweets. It’s pretty reminiscent of the late 1980s 10 year olds such as the Cinzano and Genova import examples. Gets more coastal and develops notes of things such as squid ink, seashells and clay. A wee prickle of iodine underneath it all as well. Mouth: gentle bonfire smoke, seashore freshness, lemon infused olive oil, peppered mackerel, guava, melon, dried herbs such as tarragon, sage and thyme and a slight fisherman’s welly note. There’s also stuff like salty honey, wood resin, mustard seeds, pineapple jelly and coal smoke. Finish: medium in length but nervously tropical, salty, coastal and full of gentle, wisping kiln air and smoky barley notes. Comments: another league from the later batches. This one really sings with a Laphroaig accent and does indeed show off some delicate but very charming fruity sides.
SGP: 574 - 90 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo ‘Original Cask Strength’ (57.3%, OB, mid 1990s, litre)
Some of these early batches were more exotic than others, let’s check this one... Colour: gold. Nose: not a fruit bomb, rather a huge blast of sea air, wet rocks, oysters, Atlantic freshness, sandalwood, brine, sardines in oil and smoked mussels. Hugely salty, tarry, iodine droplets, mouthwash, gauze and a rather pure and precise peatiness. In time it begins to move more towards pink grapefruit, lemon pith and various citrus peels. Some crystalised orange as well perhaps. It’s one of these aromas that just seems to gain in complexity with time. Notes of lanoline and coal tar smoke along with some burning rosemary and limoncello. With water: saline, fresh linen, mineral, delicately ashy and with hints of ink and carbon paper. Mouth: superb power! Farmyard earthiness and smoke with encroaching tropical fruits in the background, seawater, grilling shellfish, brine, preserved lemons, tar liqueur, ointments, antiseptic, putty, germoline, lemon oil. Totally spectacular! There’re a few wee nods to the raw ingredients as well with these slightly punchy gristy notes. With water: more of these syrupy lemon notes, a more elevated tropical character and things like hay, grist, fresh barley, orange oils and dried herbs. Finish: long, wonderfully smoky, gently herbal, immense coastal freshness and wee lingering tropical and sandalwood notes in the aftertaste. Comments: I love that the fruitiness is more profound on the palate than the nose, it makes for a constantly compelling whisky that evolves beautifully and in unexpected ways that continually command your attention. A bottle that certainly deserves its reputation in my book.
SGP: 566 - 92 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (40%, OB, unblended, late 1980s)
What could go wrong here? Colour: deep gold. Nose: Wow! A superbly fruity one, straight away on pineapple, guava, passion fruit and mango mixed with tar liqueur and brine. Some sweet old herbal liqueurs, pomegranate molasses and a hint of grassy olive oil and various typical notes of mineral oil, cough medicine and softy sooty touches. Classical and brilliant. Mouth: this is really as good and as big as whisky can get at 40%. Tropical fruit salad mixed with soot, lemon infused olive oil, dried herbs, wet beach pebbles and seawater. This wonderfully meandering path that runs between fruits, coastal mineral inflections and hints of the farmyard. Finish: not the longest but full of lemon jelly, mineral salts, kipper smoke and hints of smoky bacon, passion fruit cordial and sheep wool. Comments: little wonder these bottles are so coveted these days, the phrase ‘pure class’ springs to mind.
SGP: 653 - 91 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (45%, OB, Buckhingham Wile Co NY NY, late 1980s)
Colour: gold. Nose: It’s funny how there are these very obvious strands of DNA linking this one and the 2015 edition 25yo above. Although it lacks the immediate exoticness of the previous 10yo, this is initially more a combination of coastal elements, iodine and things like sandalwood and beached seaweed. However, give it a little space to breathe and you get these wonderfully textured and layered tropical fruits. A syrupy embarrassment of guavas, pineapple, lemon jelly, mango and passion fruit. Beyond that you also get many other complexities such as chalk, clay, dried banana and a kind of heathery, fragrant peat smoke. This feels different from the more common European bottlings of the 10yo from the same era at 40% and 43%. The extra alcohol really does elevate the impression of texture, weight and the depth and concentration of aroma. Mouth: Pow! Totally superb! Crushed seashells, rowan jelly, iodine, ointments, medical tinctures, brine, sea air, lemon balm, pineapple syrup, orange bitters, cough medicine, lime zest, red chilli and a kind of earthy, sooty peat profile. Not as overtly tropical on the palate as on the nose but these kinds of fruit jelly textures and flavours remain and the overall punchiness, poise and power are quite immense. Finish: long and full of syrupy peat, salted liquorice, ointments, medicines, tar, herbal liqueurs, mouthwash and saline mineral aspects. Comments: When casual malt whisky drinkers joked about Laphroaig being ‘undrinkable’ in the 1990s and 1980s, this is probably exactly the sort of bottle that inspired such perspectives. I’m comfortably in the ‘Love It!’ category.
SGP: 675 - 93 points.

Laphroaig 15 yo (45%, OB, Buckingham Wile Co Lake Success NY, late 1980s)
Back to the late 80s for this one, although again the company info appears to be slightly different. Did it have ‘tax issues’ perhaps? Colour: gold. Nose: this one is curiously more towards smoked cereals. A very fragrant, seashore bonfire kind of smoke with kippery notes, wild flowers, kelp, oysters, hessian and lamp oil. There’s a dusting of fruit notes across the surface as well: lychee, passion fruit, melon, orange and mango. The 15s always seem to stand apart from the 10s and this one is no exception. Hints of mushroom, coal dust, wet leaves, white asparagus and then moving more towards ointments and medical embrocations. Mouth: big, bold and fruity but also sharper than the 10s. More lemony, more yeasty and more salty as well. Notes of lime, lemon rind, fresh oysters, mango puree, salted butter and chopped chives. A fug of blue peat smoke slowly drifts across the palate which is pure Laphroaig. A touch of barley sweetness, some menthol tobacco and finally more medical and hospital notes such as good old iodine and TCP. Finish: long, full of smoked lemon barley water, engine oils, mechanical notes, soot, earth, mushrooms, tobacco, lemons in brine and herbal toothpaste. Salty peat notes in the aftertaste. Comments: Not quite as totally spellbinding as the 10. But we’re still flying exceptionally high with all the glory of old school Laphroaig. And, once again, the higher ABV is really helping the whisky sing loud and clear.
SGP: 564 - 92 points.

Laphroaig 12 yo (91.4 US proof, Prime Malt, Carlton Import USA, 1980s)
A pretty scarce bottling these days, there was also a 15 year old Laphroaig and some Glen Grants in the same series. Colour: gold. Nose: emphatic, punchy, briny and coastal Laphroaig. Loads of salted almonds, antiseptic, mouthwash, peat embers, wee glimmers of tropical fruit syrups, tar and iodine. Bursting with vibrancy and purity. There’s also things like smoked seawater, turf, petrichor, lime zest, kumquat and earthen dunnage floors. Some crushed coriander seed, hospital corridor, gauze, mint and a scatter of smelling salts. Mouth: massive! A real mix of olive oil, seawater, lime juice, pineapple jelly and mustard powder. Raw peat smoke, antiseptic, lemon jelly, paraffin and tar. Resinous, salty, earthy, peaty and profoundly excellent! Finish: long, lightly ashy, rolling tobacco, black olive tapenade with chopped parsley, boot polish, soot and many wee tropical inflections. Mineral salts towards the aftertaste. Comments: Superbly powerful, precise and dazzling old school Laphroaig.
SGP: 575 - 93 points.

Laphroaig 15 yo (91.4 US proof / 45.7%, Prime Malt, Carlton Import USA, 1980s)
Speaking of the 15... Colour: gold. Nose: far more resinous and earthy than the 12. More towards crystalised fruits, citrus fruit peel, camphor, wood resins, lapsang souchong and blood orange. Some very light barley sugar sweetness, coal tar soap, greengages and salty mead. Mouth: Herbal notes, hints of meat broth, salted peanuts, olive oil, camphor, lemon rind, waxes, salty bacon frying in a pan and a little hessian. Full bodied but a striking lack of peat I find. Beautifully salty, muscular and oily distillate. Hints of gorse, coconut, chamomile, herbal liqueur and a few drops of ointment. Finish: long, salty, muscular, drying, the fruitiness remains resinous and vibrant while these earthy and herbal tones remain pretty lasting and intact. Comments: It’s extremely good, old school Islay whisky. But it feels strangely far from Laphroaig, or at the very least it’s a surprisingly light example of the make. Still, as I say, excellent all the same - just very curious.
SGP: 452 - 90 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (90 US proof / 45%, OB, Julius Wile Sons & Co New Hyde Park NY, circa 1980)
An even earlier example from the same importer as the previous 10 and 15 from the turn of the decade. Obviously a forerunner of the Buckingham Wile Corporation, or perhaps before a merger of some kind. I can find very little about it online. If any American friends know anything about the history and dates of this company please do get in touch with me. The label also states ‘Sole agents for the USA’. Colour: amber. Nose: we’re really going back in time here. This is every inch a 1960s, sherry-driven style of Laphroaig. It’s earthier, fatter, oilier and just deeper and heavier. Even though the peat itself is perhaps a little shier. Notes of fennel, strawberry tobacco, salted liquorice, old leather, furniture polish, walnuts, salted almonds and this fascination fusion of peat and rancio. A style that’s hypnotic and almost poetic. The fruits are kind of crystalised and resinous, although there’s still glimmers of tropical fruits they’re mixed in with raisins and sultanas from the sherry. Mouth: huge! Stupendous! But also broad, complex and teetering on perfection. These earthy medicinal tones mix with coffee, strawberry wine, dried cranberries, iodine, roasted nuts, charred hardwoods, ointments, mercurochrome and dried mango and papaya. Reminiscent of the Bonfanti to my mind. Now notes of polish, wax, leather, cranberry gravy, citronella candles, camphor and hessian. Please call a certain brigade! Finish: long, meaty, oily, mentholated, peaty, medical, coastal, lingering rancio. Just utterly beautiful! Comments: this really feels like proper 1960s Laphroaig, and that sherry influence running throughout is enough to raise goosebumps! A humbling and totally dazzling old Laphroaig.
SGP: 673 - 94 points.

Laphroaig ‘Non Peaty’ Old Liqueur Scotch Whisky (80 proof, OB, 1940s)
A bottle that’s been hovering at the top of my hit list for years now. A rather infamous old bottle that purports to be a ‘non peaty’ style of Laphroaig. Whether this was released due to an incidental batch of unpeated malt being used, or - as seems more likely - the owners recognised a commercial potential for a lighter style of Laphroaig, we’ll can’t be sure. But enough prevarication, let’s try this beauty! Colour: deep gold. Nose: I remember well the old Laphroaig 14 year old OB for America rotation 1953 that Serge recorded notes for here, this would have been distilled in a similar era (sometime in the 1930s) and there certainly is comparatively less peat in this one. Rather this is a stunning mix of herbal-infused waxes, hessian cloth, lamp oil, very old yellow Chartreuse, cough medicines and tiny hints of sea salt and brine. I find these wee notes of preserved lemon, iodine, vapour rubs and subtle hints of chamomile and lapsang souchong teas. A soft and gentle earthy side appears as well along with a touch of rancio and tar liqueur. Just beautiful! Whisky from another dimension that keeps aromatically evolving and unfolding in an almost poetic fashion. Mouth: it is indeed relatively light on the peat. However, it is still a big whisky. It also has some good OBE towards metal polish, furniture wax, soot and steel wool. Also hugely resinous and salty - we’re getting the bones and leathery sinew of very old style Laphroaig without its jacket of peat. Salted liquorice, brine, heather ale, many more soft waxy notes and things like paraffin wax and dried seaweed strips in miso broth. Some hints of sweetness akin to cola cubes and root beer emerge in the background. Some gentian root and medical throat syrups. Also rather peppery as well. Finish: long, leathery, salty and full of umami and black olive notes. Some more wispy smoky notes like burning heather and coal smoke. A slightly farmy and mechanical sensation in the aftertaste. Comments: The overall impression is that this is just such superb distillate. It doesn’t feel like and ‘old’ whisky in terms of years in cask (pffft, typical NAS!), rather you feel the weight and ‘fattiness’ of the spirit and the directness of many of the flavours. It still manages to give an impression of identity; of Laphroaigness; and an evocative sense of place. I was swithering around the 93 point level on the nose but the immensity and texture of the palate really propelled it a notch higher. Irrespective of the emotional aspect, this is thrilling and technically brilliant whisky.
SGP: 472 - 94 points.