Laphroaig Feis Ile 2007

Thanks to my good friend Chris Lauriers – whisky ambassador for Belgium – I have the opportunity to try no less than 10 – ten! – Feis Ile bottlings from Laphroaig in a row from 2007 until 2016. This is going to be a trip to remember.

This is the release of 2007, a 17 Year Old Laphroaig from 1989, bottled in honor of the opening of the new Friends’ Lounge at the distillery.

The nose is surprisingly soft and needs a bit of time to open up. Once that has happened, this is a party. It is very mineral with wet rocks, dried gras, limestone…Ooh, there comes the fruit! Think gooseberry, banana and pomegranate. A hint of citrus. Nice! But were are not done yet. A lovely medicinal side appears with iodine and band aid. Some oysters and smoked fish complete the picture. This is a very complex animal on the nose!

On the nose it is equally soft, but immediately quite peaty, leaving no room for the fruit to show itself. That is made up for by flavors or iodine, ginger, sea salt, sweet smoke… it even turns a bit umami. Beef jerky? Some citrus eventually appears on the horizon. The spices and smoke become louder all the time.

The finish is very long, the smoke very sweet and at the death some bitterness appears from the oak as well as some nuts and maybe even some mint.

This is a grand Laffie! And actually already a bit of liquid history, no? A bottle has become quite expensive (between 500 and 900 EUR!).

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