Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd. Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 18yo (50.0%): This is an all ex-bourbon aged Laphroaig single cask expression distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2011. Only 288 bottles are released. Color: Pale yellow with a warm summery glitter. The cask should be a 2nd or 3rd fill barrel. Nose: More like a fireplace smoke instead of peat. Parched, partially burned fresh firewood. Lemon zest and nose tingling peppery aromas at the background. Also maybe a little bit resin. Palate: It hit me with distinctive bitter wood at the palate a little overpowering everything else. Spicy fresh wood notes you would get from young bourbons. Also some pine nuts and whole black peppercorns covered with ash. Later some roasted unsalted almonds and peanuts pop up. Water didn't add anything but a few drops made it less peppery and more enjoyable to drink. Finish: Long with smoky bitter oak notes and salt. Overall: A balanced but totally one-dimensional dram. It didn't excite me too much. I missed the mellow moist peat and ocean breeze notes you would expect from a Laphroaig. I think the spirit spent a little too much time in the cask. The wood replaced peat and salt with it's own peppery, dry and charry notes. Not a bad whisky but also not one of the good independently bottled Laphroaig casks I tasted. A good everyday Islay whisky I would enjoy early summer evenings when firing up the barbecue...
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