Review by: The Auditor

This bottle comes to us from Laphroaig, that famous distillery located on Islay in Scotland. This single barrel was selected by t8ke of Whiskeyraiders, r/bourbon, and the various other projects. This cask of peated single malt was put into a Virgin Oak cask and aged for 8 years before being bottled at cask strength with no additives and was non chill filtered.

---

Distillery: Laphroaig

Bottler: Laphroaig

Region: Islay

ABV: 57.9%. Cask strength.

Age: 8 years. Distilled in 2014. Bottled in 2022.

Cask type: Heavy Toast Virgin Oak

Price: $249.99

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

---

Nose: Classic peat, fall vegetation, Vanilla, espresso, Black Pepper, Lemon Zest

Palate: Medium oily mouthfeel, fall vegetation, espresso, Black Pepper, Black Tea, Lemon Zest

Finish: Long finish, fall vegetation, iodine, espresso, black pepper, black tea, pop of vanilla

---

Conclusion: 

Color me shocked. I came into this sample expecting to hate this. Virgin Oak and single malt has not been a combo I have enjoyed so far. Well the powerful peat flavor that Laphroaig is known for and that I love slammed that virgin oak into submission. The oak brings a nice bit of light sweetness from vanilla and spice that compliments the heavy peat and iodine flavors quite well.

However, I feel as though the pricing for these new releases needs to be mentioned. As good as this is to me, Laphroaig asking $250 for an 8 year old single malt is a non-starter for me. I know these spirits tend to be expensive (which among the reasons I drink more rum nowadays) but man, that is a tough price to swallow.

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.