Laphroaig 27 Year

Review by: The Muskox

This is a special one. For a completely unnecessary gesture of thanks for my help placing a giant online whisky order, my buddy Andrew came over with his bottle of Laphroaig 27. Much appreciated, my man!

Distillery: Laphroaig.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 41.7%. Cask strength.

Age: 27 years. Distilled in 1989. Bottled in 2017.

Cask type: Ex-bourbon barrels and refill quarter casks.

Price: Not sure what my buddy paid for this one.

Color: Probably colour added. Chill-filtered.

Nose: Very light and understated, reminiscent of Caol Ila. Soft lemon, grass, and apple. There’s some band-aid and bacon, but it’s clearly been diminished by all those years in the barrel. Distinct vanilla pastry.

After resting for 10 or so minutes, it got very floral! Jasmine tea and hibiscus.

After another 5 minutes, it turned into malty biscuits and honey.

Palate: Quite a delicate feel. Quite sweet. Leads with caramel and milk chocolate. Mellow smoke develops after a second or two. Herbs, green apple, nuts, toasted cream. Slight rubber on the back.

Finish: Light, but lingering. Salted caramel, barbeque and a touch of campfire. Walnuts.

Conclusion: Oh man. The intensity of Laphroaig has been taken down and transformed into something light and ethereal. I have no strong attachment to the ‘classic’ Laphroaig flavour profile, so it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything. Just different. There’s quite a lot buried in here. I love when a whisky’s flavour shifts on me. It was stupidly easy to drink. If it weren’t for me retroactively changing my ranking of Octomore 7.1 (I think I somehow underrated it initially), this would be my highest rated review ever. Sublime.

Final Score: 93.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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