Laphroaig 25

Review by: The Muskox

Is it insane that my local liquor monopoly has a $600 Laphroaig available on their tasting bar for $8 for a pour? Yes, yes it is. The clerk said they went through 4 bottles this past week.

I’d tried a 27-year-old Laphroaig for a review ages ago. I gave it a rather staggering score, which I’m not sure give it if I were to try it again today. Let’s see how this slightly younger but way higher-proof one compares!

Distillery: Laphroaig.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 52%. Cask strength.

Age: 25 years. Bottled in 2018.

Cask type: Ex-bourbon.

Price: $640 CAD.

Color: Pale gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Mellow, but certainly Laphroaig. Bandages and iodine hit, but without the sharp bonfire punch that usually follows. Instead, there’s hay, distant burning grass, tobacco smoke, and lots of savoury-sweet notes. Takoyaki with a sweet sauce, as well as fatty pork belly. There’s fruit too: green apples, pears, lime, pineapple, and ginger. Some black pepper, chipotle, thyme, smoked honey, seaweed, and driftwood.

A drop of water brought out an earthy cumin note.

Palate: Medium-weight, oily texture. Soft arrival, with light nuts, buttered popcorn, pear, and juicy orange, then a big hit of green tea. Some tropical fruit flavours of pineapple, passionfruit, and lime. The green tea develops into sweet, heathery peat notes. There’s pine, grass, bacon, sea salt, and tar. There’s some oak, black pepper, and leather on the back, but it’s not really tannic at all.

A drop of water helped! There’s a thicker tobacco and leather note on the back end, as well as some more juicy pineapple.

Finish: Mellow and fairly sweet. Slightly burnt rubber, pine forest, green peppers, jalapenos, lime, apple, pear, lemongrass, and salt. More lightly-buttered popcorn.

Water amped up the floral elements here, bring dried flower petals and dried apple slices.

Conclusion: Yeah, it’s great. The combination of tropical fruit, green tea, sweet-savoury, and pepper is awesome, with just enough iodine to remind you you’re drinking a Laphroaig. The nose was bringing Brora to mind.

I don’t think it’s quite as good as that Caol Ila 31 I tried, but it’s certainly delicious. Maybe a bit too mellow for peatheads, but perfectly fine for me.

Final Score: 88.

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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