Laphroaig Cask Strength 10 Year Old

Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength 57.8% batch 001 Feb.09 OB

I opened this bottle on 11/24/2010. I eventually decanted it in to a 200mL bottle on 4/6/2012. That 200mL bottle has been half full for 6 months now. Looking back at my notes for this bottle it was extremely powerful when it was first opened. It was all about intense smoke and peat fire. Then on one tasting session it was very soapy and bitter. After I decanted it the whisky seemed to calm down and regain some of its balance.

What I have come to realize about all high ABV peat monsters is that I like them best in the first week and month that they are opened. After a month or so some of the intensity and vitality go out of the bottle. That said, I also believe that true test of a bottle is judged over the lifespan of the bottle. In this case the bottle has been open for over 3 years now, and I have scored it on 5 occasions: 95 (fresh bottle), 91, 92, 92, and 93. The average is 92.6. I am going to round it up given how much I like the freshly opened bottle (and wish I had done a better job of decanting this particular one).

I recently did two head-to-head tasting sessions with the Laphroaig 10yo CS batches 1, 2, 4, and 5 (sadly I missed picking up 003 when I could). In the last tasting session I accidentally mistook batch 002 for 001 for half of the tasting session. After I realized my mistake I went back and made corrections. It only confirmed my previous tastings of these two bottles. . . I like 001 better. In fact, it might be my favorite “when freshly opened.” That said here are the results from these two recent-head-to head tastings.

Nose: The peat here is deep and mossy. It is a deep, rich, dry peat. It has that lovely bitter peat or bitter tree bark thing from the standard Laphroaig 10yo. There is much more earth, moss, and dirt in 001 then the iodine and smoke I found in the 002. Still, 001 has more iodine and smoke then either the 004 or the 005. It has a nice little peat bonfire going on. However, 001 also has the most vanilla on the nose of any of the CS batches. With time that bitter note is all gone. More and more batch 002 seems like a lighter version of batch 001 to me. This really is a lovely nose. I liked it better then the 002 (even when I mixed them up and thought I like the “002” better). Can’t lie to myself - 001 and the 004 are tied for favorite noses of the night.

Taste: Sweet on the front in a nice balanced “peaty” way. The dominant tones are vanilla, peat, and oak. That said you still find tons of salt, ocean, iodine, and medicine (think band-aids). This batch is much more drying then the 002.

Finish: Huge tidal wave of sea salt, iodine, and peat . . . the sea salt is astounding. Salt covers everything. Scalding sea salt and peat fire overwhelm the senses. Huge wall of peat fire crescendos into a tsunami of sweet peat fire, charred wood, citrus, vanilla and sea salt. Here vanilla and peat smoke are wrapped in a struggle for world domination. It is almost more then the mouth can handle. The fire goes on for an age as does the salt . . . is that bacon? No intake of breath before the peat explosion like an Ardbeg; just a huge explosion of peaty smoky Laphroaig. Truly amazing and long. This is one huge tidal wave from the ocean along with moss, seaweed, and other “green” algae . . . that then carries on for a long time. However, the peat and vanilla are really the stars in this malt while the smoke only comes to the fore at the end.

Balance, Complexity: More complex then the 10yo for certain. Only balanced if you count a tsunami as being balanced (which I do). This has a depth and richness I look for in the Laphroaig Cask Strength. It isn’t the most balanced or complex tonight . . . but it is a close second in both categories (and this from a long opened bottle). The balance of peat smoke and vanilla sweetness is quite good.

Aesthetic experience: I actually really like this bottle. It is very special because 1.) it is the first release and 2.) it is my sister’s birthday (although I know Feb. 09 really means Feb. of 2009). Still, there is something about the first 001 batch number. I really wish I had bought a reserve bottle (at the time I was mourning the loss of the Red Stripe version). Love the Laphroaig bottle mainly because of the crest of the Prince of Wales. The White on green bottle is my least favorite of the Big 3. However, big points for the look to the Cask Strength bottle with the stamp. It looks like the 10yo but with a stamp in “just the right place.” The only thing I wish it had was the 1815 sticker like the 10yo and ¼ Cask.

Conclusion: Plain and simple I like this batch better then batch 002. This is my second favorite behind 004. Of the batches this has the most vanilla, the most salt, and is the most mossy.

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