Review #127: Sovereign Laphroaig Single Cask Whisky Review

The Sovereign is a sub-brand of the venerable Hunter Liang. I think they originally set it up to start bottling single grain whiskies, but then expanded it to use for some older single malts as well. We tried a few of their single grain line, and I found it best summed up that age and price don’t make a whisky great. If you’re going to age something for 3, 4, or 5 decades, losing a few percent every year, and sell it at the end for several hundred (or thousand) dollars, do yourself a favor and start with malt instead of grain whisky!

Anywho, we’re hear today to talk about Laphroaig which is of course a single malt whisky. This one was aged for 20 years in a refill hogshead, and bottled at cask strength (52.5%) with natural color, and no chill filtration (hats off fine gentlemen).

Quick overview of our scoring system

Additional Information

• ABV: 52.5%
• Non chill filtered
• Natural color.
• Distilled October 1997, bottled May 2018.

About Laphroaig

• Originally established in 1815, but there was illicit distilling onsite before.
• Laphroaig is famous (and some say infamous) for their seaweed, hospital-on-fire, hyper-iodine flavors.
• Laphroaig is as much defined by the place as any French wine; the distillery sits meters away from sea, and the iodine rich seaweed coats the narrow beach adjoining the warehouse.
• What to make with Laphroaig.
• Distillery tour and reviews.