Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I got some samples of the Laphroaig Lore and Triple Wood that I’ve been looking forward to, so I figured I’d pour them alongside some of the standard 10yr for comparison.
Tasted on 1/29/2020, neat in a Glencairn.
Laphroaig Lore, bottled in 2019 or 2020. Matured in five different types of casks, including some ex-sherry. They say this is “different aged liquids ranging from 7 to 21 years,” though it seems a bit strange to say that in the marketing but not at least put the 7yr on the bottle. Given the ABV I’d have hoped this was non-chill filtered, but it’s not stated on the bottle when they’re happy to state it on other expressions. This is from a sample, and somehow this is the first time I’ve actually had Lore!
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 48.0%
Age: NAS. Bottled circa 2019.
Cask type: VEO, FF Bourbon, Quarter, Oloroso-Sherry
Nose: mild wood smoke, ash. Peat. Vanilla. Classic medicinal notes from this one w/ iodine, bandaids, hospital. Soft citrus, somewhat tropical. Light pepper, allspice, oak. Some light sherry notes in there. Pencil shavings. With Water: erm, where did it all go? Pushed the smoke way back, it’s mostly medicinal now. I get much more spice now, and a bit more of the citrus.
Taste: big wood smoke, ash. Peat. A little medicinal. Salty. Medium mouthfeel. Spicy; pepper, oak. Some citrus. With Water: same.
Finish: lots of wood smoke, ashy. Peat. Medicinal w/ burning hospital, iodine, etc. Some rather brighter citrus. Woody. A touch of sherry coming through on the end perhaps. Medium length finish, with smoke, pepper, oak, and some medicinal notes remaining. With Water: same.
The finish is the best part of this. It’s a nice length, big and smoky, ashy, w/ some peat and nice medicinal notes. A bit of bright citrus, and a hint of some sherry casks in there. Nice. It is surprisingly subtle on the nose, even shy, and adding water does it no favors at all. There’s a gap between the nose and the rest of it. It’s fairly simple and poorly balanced, with smoke dominating the mouth and finish. No off-notes at all. If you like a big, smoky finish then you’ll like this. Skip the water.
BTW, does anyone else remember when they took away the 18yr and replaced it with Lore? I do, and I’m still salty about it.
Final Score: 77.
This is from a sample. From the website: “First maturing in ex-bourbon barrels, second maturation in quarter casks and then a third maturation in European oak casks previously used for Oloroso sherry.”
The last time I had this expression was in 2012 or so, and I remember I really liked it so I’m looking forward to tasting it again!
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 48.0%
Age: NAS. Bottled on 11/02/2020.
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon, Quarter Cask, European Oak
Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: a lot of spice; allspice, oak, pepper. Medicinal w/ iodine, bandaids. Soft smoke, wood ash. Peat. Light citrus. Caramel. Vanilla. Coconut. With Water: more smoke. Still spice-forward.
Taste: ashy. Vanilla. Thin. Medicinal w/ iodine. Pepper. Quite a lot of bitter oak. Burned rubber and toast builds over time. Mild citrus. Caramel. Somewhat hot. With Water: more smoke, ash. Nice. But then comes the oaky bitterness, burned rubber, etc. again. Still rather hot.
Finish: Medicinal. Mild smoke. Oak. Some tropical citrus followed by those bitter/sour off-notes. Fairly short finish, shortest of the three for sure. Tails off w/ the medicinal and ash notes, and something bitter/sour. With Water: more smoke, and as with the palate it’s still spice-forward for sure. I’m still getting those off notes and bitterness.
The finish is not good. It really makes you want to drink something else pretty quickly, and I keep washing it away with some of the 10. There are multiple off-notes which make the palate and finish eventually unpleasant. Surprisingly spicy for Laphroaig, with the medicinal and smoky notes taking a back seat. Poorly balanced. Overall, I’d rather have any other Laphroaig over this one.
I’m bummed about this, too. I know I used to really like this one, but that was 8 years ago. Has the flavor profile drifted? My tastes? I don’t know. I guess you really can’t go home again.
I don’t plan to finish the dram.
Final Score: 65.
Comparison
Order: 10 > Lore > Triple Wood
I poured some Laphroaig 10 for comparison. I previously reviewed this here. No new notes really. If anything, this tasting makes me think I may have under-rated the 10 a smidge.
This is an easy ordering for me. The 10 is more complex, more interesting, and gives you all of those classically Laphroaig notes on the nose. And that carries through the rest of it. The Lore is really subdued on the nose, then dominated by smoke for the rest of it. I dig the finish on the Lore, and that’s propping it’s score up a bit.
The TW has a number of off-notes, and it makes me a little sad.
And let’s be honest: the 10 CS is where it’s at…
Finally, I went to Laphroaig’s website to confirm a few things when writing this, and I was surprised to see 16 expressions. Ignoring some special bottlings, there’s about a dozen common expressions. The standard range is made up these days of, at least, the Select, TW, QC, Lore, Cairdeas, 10, 10CS, and 25. Honestly, I don’t know why Laphroaig bothers with most of it. They should focus up and stick with the 10, 10CS, a 16-18, a 25, and then put some more effort into their Cairdeas annual releases for variety. I bet we’d all be happy.
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.
Malt Runners 