The richest Laphroaig ever! That’s quite a claim for the new Laphroaig Lore. It is named after the skills passed down over the generations and is the unofficial replacement for the discontinued Laphroaig 15 and Laphroaig 18. An annual batch should appear from now on.
Laphroaig Lore is a marriage of six different whiskies. On Twitter they revealed that the whiskies in this vatting are 7 to 21 years old, with 3 more ages in between.
- 9 yo spirit matured in quarter casks and finished in virgin European oak hogsheads
- 9 yo spirit matured in re-used ex-Laphroaig casks
- 21yo spirit matured in first-fill bourbon casks
- some matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts
- and something else as well…
Laphroaig Lore
(48%, OB 2016)
Laphroaig LoreNose: a bit of all classic Laphroaig elements. Some acrid smoke and mineral notes up front, with sweeter honeyed notes behind it. Vanilla and fudge. A few floral notes, blending with eucalyptus and soft medicinal notes. Waxy notes in the background. Candied lemon peel. There’s a really nice, old-style sooty note as well, but overall it’s certainly not the peatiest Laphroaig.
Mouth: creamy mouthfeel, with sweet peat, alongside salty notes, pepper and apple sweetness. A lot of vanilla. Bonfires notes and cold ashes. Some floral notes again. Orange peel. Spicy chilli, cinnamon and liquorice towards the end.
Finish: sweet at first, medium long, then drying with tobacco, smoke and earthy liquorice when it fades out.
This Laphroaig Lore is certainly rich and reasonably complex due to the different wood influences. Solid Laphroaig, though a very rounded one. As a kind of ‘Laphroaig Legacy’ it is a successful dram, provided you like a bit of a mash-up. Around € 100.
Score: 85/100