This Laphroaig 1991 is part of the recent series by Liquid Sun. It was matured in a sherry hogshead, which is always an eye-opener. The distillery itself never uses sherry wood to mature its normal production, but independent sherried Laphroaig can be really good.
Laphroaig 20 yo 1991 (53,3%, Liquid Sun 2011, sherry hogshead, 279 btl.)
Nose: impressive notes of tar and smoked meats: cecina de Léon, grison, barbecued streaky (pork belly)… nicely mixed with muted medicinal notes and gouache paint. Coal smoke. Quite sweet as well, with tobacco and some dried fruits. Blackberry jam? Nice balance. Water brings the spices out.
Mouth: again very smoky and ashy, with burnt toast and plenty of liquorice, a little pepper and salt. Then the sherry comes through, still showing sweet notes of ripe dark fruits (cassis especially) and chocolate. Nice tobacco notes and espresso.
Finish: long, drier, smoky and a bit salty with a little coffee. And back to the smoked bacon.
As I said, sherried Laphroaig can be really good. This one has quite an excellent combination of deep smoke and dark fruits. Recommended. Too bad the rarity makes the price slightly heavier than I hoped for… Around € 150.
Score: 91/100