Laphroaig 10yo...

Laphroaig 10yo (43.0%): For me it is the "Bullitt" of the whisky world. A classic movie which makes you hypnotized every time you see it on the screen. Old enough to be a classic but not jaded. On the contrary it is a little uneasy and restless. Masculine, cool and also sexy... Actually there is no need of an introduction for the bottle I have on my desk tonight. It is one of the first whiskies which started the whisky obsession in me. Thank you very much to my good friend A. J. Weissbard for the bottle after an exhausting but incredibly rewarding six weeks of hard work we did this summer together. Slainte A. J. ..! Color: Gold amber with visible legs on the glass. Nose: Stepping into a steel factory with all of its ovens fired up: Oily, sweaty and filled with diesel fuel fume. Burnt seaweed and salty sea spray filling your nostrils while taking a walk at the beach during sunset. Salted kipper, malt vinegar on your fish and chips, burning and crackling pine wood and iodine tincture. Oily hemp ropes coiled on the deck of a cargo ship. With water juicy lemon wedges and green asparagus added into the mix. Palate: Grassy and earthy. Almost like chewing a piece of moist peat dug freshly from the ground. Chili peppers on barbecue, heavily salted butter and crispy barley cookies. After adding water it gets greener like it did on the nose: fresh parsley, sage and bitter greens. Finish: A long fade starting with black pepper and then leaving peat and ashes lingering on your tongue. Overall: Like I said in the beginning: a classic. When you start to nose this dram there is no way you can put that glass down. I like the new expressions of Laphroaig as well but I have to say ten year old is the flagship of the line-up. Solid Islay whisky. No surprises there but also all the expectations fulfilled...

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