Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
After my last review of the 29, 30, and 31 year old Thompson Bros. Laphroaigs it seemed only fitting to bookend them with another 28 IB and a 32 OB.
The 28 comes to us from Single Cask Nation as an “undisclosed islay distillery” with a plague of clues on the label.
The 32 is, finally, an actual distillery bottling from 2015 and should be a nice treat to compare all the others to.
I’ve poured a short dram of the other three and compared them all side-by-side after initially focusing on these two.
Tasted on 7/15/2022, neat in a Glencairn, water added later as appropriate.
“Laughing Frog” 28 Year Single Cask Nation
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Jewish Whisky Company (JWC)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 51.3%, cask strength
Age: 28 years old. Distilled in 06/1993. Bottled in 09/2021.
Cask type: 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 244 bottles, from a single cask #406858.
Nose: lemon, apple, a hint of tropical fruits. Dry grass. Subtle coal smoke. Black pepper, liquorice. Camphor. A wisp of sea air. Rather muted overall. Coming back to it, the first impression is bright fruit. With Water: same!
Taste: pepper, pepper, pepper. Fruit, sweet, more tropical. More smoke, but still mild. Hot. Brine. Camphor. A bit herbal. Oily. With Water: not as hot, but otherwise the same.
Finish: ashy smoke. Lots of pepper. Sweet, bright fruit, more tropical. Seawater. Iodine, camphor. Long on black pepper, seawater, and smoke. Some bitter rubber on the end. With Water: same.
Summary: quite nice, but a surprisingly shy nose then dominated by pepper in the mouth and finish. Fairly simple overall, balance is off for sure. Spiciest of the group, and shyest nose too. It’s a bit hot neat, some water helps that but does little else. Many, many better older expressions from all over Islay than this one.
Would I buy a bottle? nah.
Final Score: 83.
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 46.7%, cask strength
Age: 32 years old. Bottled in 05/2015.
Cask type: Sherry Casks
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 5,880 bottles.
Nose: raisins, dates, a hint of tropical fruits. Fig jam. Tea. Black rubber. Walnuts. Machine oil. Sea spray, warm sand. Eucalyptus, liquorice. Mixed peel. Old leather. With time, a hint of smoke, more medicinal. With Water: just a couple drops, maybe a bit more smoke, more tropical.
Taste: mild, earthy peat smoke. Raisins, dates, more tropical fruits now. Walnuts. A touch dry. Sea spray. Iodine and eucalyptus. Leather. A little black pepper. Somewhat thin mouthfeel, surprisingly. With Water: same.
Finish: very mild earthy peat smoke. Old leather. Dates, tropical fruits. Walnuts. A touch of seawater. A little medicinal. Mild black pepper. With Water: more tropical, much more medicinal. It’s all very subtle.
Summary: this is delicious, and has so many of those classic Laphroaig flavors, just turned down and wrapped up in an array of beautiful sherry notes. Hardly any smoke on the nose, it comes through balanced well with everything else on the palate and finish. Really nice complexity on this one. Warm, earthy, rich, lots of dark fruits, nuts, all balanced with some classic maritime and medicinal notes.
Would I buy a bottle? no. It’s going for ~$1300 these days, and there’s no way I could see spending that on this.
Final Score: 90.
Comparison
Order: 1991 > 1990 > 32 OB >> 1989 > 28 SCN
This is an easy ordering. I like the 32 quite a lot, and it feels a bit unique for Islay in this age range. But for me the 1991 and 1990 from Thompson Bros. are much more interesting and I would pick either over the 32 without hesitation.
The 28 SCN is my least favorite of the group. Dominated by pepper, the shyest nose, and quite simple overall. It’s good, but nowhere near my expectations.
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 