Review #49: Laphroaig Triple Wood

Laphroaig was my gateway whisky – and also the way I discovered that I unequivocably love peat. We have been nursing this bottle steadily and the other night, we finally laid the bottle to rest.

The Triple Wood is a NAS that was originally released for the duty-free market, and comprises whisky from ex-bourbon, a quarter cask, and European sherry oak butts. It’s not a married whisky, but instead a whisky that travels from ex-bourbon to quarter cask then to sherry butts. So… essentially they took their Quarter Cask (which provides more surface area for faster ageing) release and finished it in sherry. That may not sound particularly exciting, but it’s a very solid dram, particularly for the price!

Quick overview of our scoring system

Additional Information

• Mashbill: 100% malted barley
• ABV: 48%
• No Age Statement (NAS)
• Casks: Ex-bourbon, quarter cask, and European sherry oak butts
• Gold at San Francisco World Spirits 2013

About

• Read our review of the Laphroaig distillery (an excellent place to visit, especially because you get to bottle some exclusive single casks that you would never be able to buy!)
• Their whisky is almost all aged partially in bourbon casks – and specifically casks from Maker’s Mark
• Had an infamous legal dispute with Lagavulin when their water was diverted the Kilbride dam (the peated water of the dam was suspected to be behind the brand’s success)
• Was sold to America during the Prohibition because Ian Hunter was able to successfully convince the government that the “iodine character” of the whisky was a sign of its medicinal properties
• Famously has a Friends of Laphroaig program in which a bottle of Laphroaig gives you a square foot of land on their distillery that you can then claim and visit when you go to the distillery