Laphroaig 14 yo 2006/2020 'Fairy Tales' (40.5%, Club Qing 'The Little Mermaid, bourbon barrel, 120 bottles)
Curious about the low ABV on this one. But then, when you are 'under the sea', there tends to be a lot of water about the place. Colour: straw. Nose: reminds me of some of the best old official 10 year olds from the 1990s. Pure, clean, fresh and gently fruity Laphroaig with these notes of bandages, iodine, wet rocks, seashore, grapefruit and a few other crystallised fruits. Extremely inviting and charming. Some medical notes of bandages too - very classical style. Mouth: you feel the softness, but there's an earthy and rustic peat note, more iodine, black pepper, seaweed crackers and miso. Nicely savour and salty, if a little soft. Finish: medium, rather medicinal, lightly sooty, peaty and peppery. Still coastal and fresh. Comments: there's a simplicity and a purity of character here that I find very reminiscent of the older official bottlings composed of 80s distillate. Clever and very good selection.
SGP: 556 - 88 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo 'Sherry Oak Finish' (48%, OB, 2021) 
This one seems to have arrived somewhat under the radar, but I must confess to being more than a little excited. Colour: coppery amber. Nose: it's true that modern sherry and peat can be a tricky thing to get right but I think this is smart. Oily phenolics, natural tar, syrupy sweet peat smoke, black pepper, game meats, Maggi seasoning, umami paste - even a little camphor and iodine. It feels well integrated and concentrated so far. Mouth: there's a little nibble of spicy oak, but then cigars, game meats, BBQ smoke, wood embers and lots of charred and spiced meaty notes. Globally though it remains clean with a firm and peppery peat flavour. The ABV is pretty spot on in terms of mouthfeel I think. Big, boisterous modern stuff, but very good. Finish: good length, on dry earthiness, black pepper, more charred and smoked meats, tar and chunky phenolics. Comments: We're a far cry from the sherried Laphroaigs of old, but this is quite a smart drop and I think the balance has been well struck. The price is also fair as well I think. Quaffing juice for the ferry to Islay, beachside bonfires, highballs etc… Now, can we please have the standard 10yo at this strength?
SGP: 466 - 86 points.

Laphroaig 15 yo 2005/2020 'Lp11' (52.2%, Elixir Distillers 'Elements of Islay', bourbon barrels, 496 bottles)
I know not all the above info is on the label, but it's on the website, so why not… Colour: white wine. Nose: a gentle and wonderfully subtle and aromatic example. Lots of sandalwood, wet rope, hessian, beach foam, pebbles, chalk and more gentle medical notes such as bandages, gauze and ointments. Lightly herbal too with muddled green herbs. Still very much 'Laphroaig' but very elegantly so. I love this nose. With water: carbolic, smoked cereals, plaster board, wet linens, white flowers and dusty smoky malt bins with a light fug of kiln air. Mouth: clean, salty and sharp. On seawater mixed with lemon juice, TCP, light iodine, pickling juices and hessian. Rather more simple than the nose was suggesting but the purity is lovely. With water: deeper, smokier and sootier. More classical plain peat smoke, seawater, smoked sea salt, some cooking oils. Very good. Finish: long, bone dry, ashy peat, sooty, herbal and with more ointments and a heavier medicinal side now. Comments: really very good, not sure everything matched the initial nose, but globally there's loads to enjoy here. Quite a dry one overall.
SGP: 356 - 87 points.

Grace Ile 25 Year Old (48%, The Character Of Islay Whisky Company, bottled 2020)
The label for this one mentions 'hook-nosed sea pigs' - not sure if that's a tasting note or not. Colour: straw. Nose: it does indeed nose a little like a Laphroaig. All these wet rocks, lemon peels, hints of metal and shoe polishes, iodine, medical tinctures and a sense of peppery peat. Mind you, there's also a tarry rope vibe that I'd have said was more Ardbeggian. Probably more of these ex-Allied blending stocks which we will likely never know the true origin/story behind. Mouth: lovely! Soft citrus fruits with gentle medicines, oily peat smoke, seawater, grapefruit, dried herbs and sandalwood. Elegant, simple and superbly fresh, mature and easy. Finish: long, lemony, citric, perfectly saline, coastal, fresh and with a nicely tangy peat in the aftertaste. Comments: extremely pleasurable, perfectly mature 'Islay' malt.
SGP: 456 - 89 points.  

Laphroaig 24 yo 1996/2020 (51.8%, Elixir Distillers 'The Single Malts Of Scotland', bourbon barrel, 217 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: these vintages are becoming totally gorgeous now. Silky soft peat smoke with wee pin holes of exotic fruits peeping through. Camphor, seawater, grapefruit, smoked olive oil, touches of mango, hessian and heather flower. A really beautiful nose. With water: some kind of peated pina colada! Pineapple, coconut, mango, gorse flower, kiln air, natural tar and a stray kumquat. Mouth: yes! Superb concentration, this syrupy effect that time has on peat and fruit flavours, simultaneously elevating and concentrating both. Sandalwood, dried coastal flowers, hessian, myrtle, dried herbs, olive oil, more camphor notes, smoked teas and crystallised exotic fruits. With water: smokier, peatier, more peppery, more leathery and oily textures, more camphor, putty, preserved lemons and exotic fruit teas. Finish: long, heathery, tarry, peppery, herbal and peaty with some resinous, slightly bitter fruits. Comments: Pristine, totally super old 90s Laphroaig captured at a perfect age. I adore this kind of concentrated profile.
SGP: 566 - 91 points.

Islay Single Malt 30 yo 1990/2021 (48.8%, Thompson Brothers, refill barrel, 273 bottles)
Another 'mystery Islay'. Colour: straw. Nose: coal smoke, kiln air, coastal freshness, wet rocks, linens, canvass, white flowers, chalk, lemony brine and this overarching, wonderfully ethereal smokiness. Simple in its directness and open-ness, but also extremely pleasurable, 'obvious' and satisfying. Mouth: big, deep, lustrous smokiness. Bags of coal smoke, kiln air, natural tar, green pepper, capers in brine, waxy lemon peel and smoked mineral oils. It really feels like Laphroaig of this vintage just with a dialled back fruitiness. In place there's myriad smoky, seawater and coal ember notes going on. The peat is rawer, plainer and more organic too as a result. Finish: long, oily, lightly tarry, peppery, warming with a kind of glowing peat in the aftertaste. Also some citrus fruits at the end too. Comments: Unlike other 'Islay malt' stocks I've tried, this one leaves little doubt as to origin. It's also totally brilliant juice.
SGP: 466 - 90 points.