Review #67: Laphroaig Distillery Exclusive (2005 Bourbon to PX Cask)
As mentioned in Review #56 (Laphroaig 2011 Oloroso Sherry Cask from the distillery), we are now siphoning off the distillery miniatures that we bottled at the end of our Distillers Wares tour. I’m not usually a souvenir type of person, but these 250 mL bottles are an exception. They really made the trip worth it – and now that we’re on the last drops, I guess it’s time to think about revisiting Islay. While the other younger Oloroso sherry cask 2011 miniature is sliiiiightly more of our favorite, this one is also equally phenomenal.
- Score - 9/109/10
Overall
Tasting Notes
Nose: Packet of raisins, sweet grapes, plum, light straw, hay bales, wooden dock, Laphroaig smoke and brine Palate: Dark heavy sugar, medjool dates, decadent Christmas baked goods, wet smoke, caramel, cream, sugar, milk, vanilla cheerios Mouthfeel: Oily and viscous Finish: Lingering perfumed hookah smoke and brine, salted fried grasshoppers Summary Overall: 9/10. Love. TLDR: Smoked sugared grasshoppers Bought for: A trip to Islay and to Laphroaig Distillers Wares (70 Euros)
Quick overview of our scoring system. Note that we try to give a “5” for an average whisky, which is lower than standard whisky scoring guides (typically around 80).
Additional Information
- Mashbill: Peated barley
- Age: 13 years (first filled in 2005 and bottled in 2018)
- Cask: Bourbon to PX sherry cask
- ABV: 54.1%
About Laphroaig
- 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!)
- 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
- 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)
- 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
- Review of our Laphroaig Triple Wood (7.5/10)
- Review of our Laphroaig 2011 Oloroso Sherry distillery cask (9/10)
What about Japanese scotches?