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Laphroaig @ MindSay

culdeedeacon

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Whisky Tasting Notes

These next few single malt whiskies are from Islay which is pronounced, "eye-la". Islay is one of the islands off the west coast of Scotland. Islay has basically three different regions, which I call the "North Shore", "The West", and "The South Shore". Each of these have different distilleries and each produce a distinctly different character of whisky but all also share certain characteristics as well. Of these areas, the South Shore distilleries are in my opinion the most distinctive and I believe the best. These whiskies are characterized by a strong nose of Islay peat which has a distinctly seaweed character. One can smell the sea air, smell and taste sea salt, iodine...etc. This comes from the peat used in the malting process, the water which comes from various sources including coastal lochs, streams, etc, and from the proximity to the sea.

 

Islay malts are my favorites and in particular I enjoy the "South Shore" malts the best. There are three distilleries which make up the South Shore and these are Laphroaig, Lagavulin & Ardbeg.

 

Here are some of my recent tastings of Islay malts:

 

Laphroaig 10 Year Old
ABV -- 43%
Glass - White wine w/stem
Color - Gold Gold Gold - Liquid Fort Knox!!!
Nose -- Islay peat smoke, apples, Apple cider, juicy, Beach & Ocean smells...
Flavor - Smoke from a peat fire, apples, Big Sweetness, Salty
Sometimes I forget how good this one really is!
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Laphroaig 15 Year Old (tasted blind)
ABV -- 43%
Color - Amber
Nose -- Reminds me of Highland Park 12 - smoke peat but not distinctly Islay but clearly Maritime/Scottish Isles. Salt spray - the Ocean.
Flavor - This is the giveaway! Clearly Islay! Also, clearly Southshore Islay! Peat, seaweed, sweet malt, Sherry(?), Salt.
The nose on this threw me at first but the tasting cleared it up. I just love these big Islay malts!
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Laphroaig Quarter Cask
ABV -- 48% (note that this is non-chill filtered.)
Glass - Medium Brandy Balloon
Color - Dark Gold
Nose - closed at first but opens with water with lots of Islay peat smoke - much like Ardbeg. Alcohol burn...
Flavor - dry peat smoke, dry peat smoke, dry peat smoke...
Typey Islay South Shore -- needs a revisit
Revisit x 2
This time in a stemless white wine
Nose - no water this time, opens with time - huge peat smoke, sweet malt, vanilla oak... Alcohol burn, oatcakes!
Flavor -- Sweet malt, more pronounced - then dry peat smoke, apples, phenolic, seaweed/iodine.
Very South shore Islay! This is fast becoming a favorite!
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Lagavulin 16 Year old
AVB - 43%
Glass - Whisky Tumbler
Color - Dark Gold/Amber
Nose - peat fire, phenol, sherry, sweetness
Flavor -- Sweet then dry as a bone finish! Salty, Peat.
Revisit
Glass - stemless white wine
Color - Dark Amber
Nose - smoke, Peat, sweet malt, vanilla, oak, licorice(ish)?
Flavor - Salt!, vanilla, big oak, malt sweetness, Sherry, smooth as a baby’s butt, chocolate...
This whisky has as long a finish as I have ever experienced! Memories!
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Ardbeg 10 Year Old
ABV 46%
Glass - Stemless White Wine
Color - very light gold
Nose - beautiful! Islay peat! Smoke, Phenolic, very complex, beach smells, can one really get beyond the nose???
Flavor - like no other! This still remains the taste of Scotland! Can anything be this smooth?
Revisit - added more water as this is nonchill filtered it goes cloudy which is not a pretty sight.
Nose - citrus notes - lime juice?
Flavor - toasted corn taco shells, dry peat smoke with lime juice
Revisit - No water this time! This malt is wonderful WITHOUT water! Water ruins it! This is the equal to Lagavulin 16 as long as no water is added.
CuldeeDeacon †

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