Review by: The Muskox

Though technically from an undisclosed distillery, it’s an open secret that it’s from a south-shore distillery that’s not Port Ellen, Lagavulin, or Ardbeg.

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Distillery: Laphroaig.

Bottler: Thompson Bros.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 50.8%. Cask strength.

Age: 29 years. Distilled in 1991. Bottled in 2019.

Cask type: “Oak cask”.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 0.9, Amontillado sherry. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: It’s sweet! Huge concentrated tropical and floral sweetness – fruit flavours of pineapple, coconut crème, honeydew and lime, and syrupy floral notes of St. Germain and mirin. There’s smoke, but subtle: a touch of bacon, a little iodine, subtle earth, even some sweet barbeque sauce. Fresh thyme, lemongrass, fresh spicy ginger, and black pepper. There’s a creamy and tangy character here – buffalo mozzarella. Could that be… some paraffin?

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives sweet and fresh – salt-sprayed beach grass, coconut, and mango sticky rice. Develops slowly to rich and savoury peat – bonito flakes, machine shop, crushed basalt, and tobacco smoke. The sweetness comes back in towards the end – shortbread, puffed rice, orange peel, and fresh flowers.

Finish: Long and sweet, with a mineral edge. Milky oolong tea. Coconut, lime candies, piles of pineapple. Overgrown old slate quarry. Subtle coastal peat stank.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Misty morning jungle bowl”

Conclusion: That’s the best Laphroaig I’ve ever had. I *love* when old Laphroaig gets scented and floral and tropical like this. That usually comes at the expense of peat… which is still the case here, but an industrial mineral character and a beautiful savouriness has stuck around through all the years. Beyond the flavours, the structure of the dram works very well, too: excellent complexity, great palate development, and the finish is long and powerful.

Final Score: 93.

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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.