Laphroaig 10 Year Old is an iconic Islay single malt whisky, renowned for its heavily peated profile. Expect intense smoke, medicinal iodine, and a hint of seaweed. This whisky captures the bold spirit of Islay and is one of Scotland's most characterful drams. Islay's world-famous Laphroaig distillery is known for its medicinal malts, and its signature 10-year-old is no exception thanks to its full maturation in bourbon barrels, which serves to highlight that individual distillery character. This beauty has won a slew of industry awards over the decades and we love it.
Non-chill filtered for maximum flavour. A must-have for peat lovers!"
Our tasting notes feature a contribution from the longest-serving distillery manager in the brand's history, the wonderful John Campbell, who worked at Laphroaig from 1994 until 2021.
This opens on big, smoky muscular peat notes. There are spices, and liquorice, as well as a big dose of salt. This whisky has become slightly sweeter in recent years, and it appears beautifully on the nose, amidst the classic iodine/sticking plasters and cool wood smoke we love.
Seaweed-led, with a hint of vanilla ice cream and more than a whiff of notes from the first aid box (TCP, plasters etc). The oak is big, and muscles its way into the fore as you hold this whisky over your tongue. An upsurge of spices develop – cardamom/black pepper/chilli.
Big and drying, as the savoury, tarry notes build up with an iodine complexity.
The only malt from Laphroaig’s range that John Campbell recommends with water; try it, it opens up the palate massively, providing a dazzling array of additional flavours…
Sharpie marker. Band-aid. Rank ass. A bit of water opens it up, and we get more familiar citrus, vanilla, and wood notes. I feel like I could enjoy this a lot, given time, and it's different from what I was expecting (a lot of smoke in blends like JW makes it somewhat familiar). Perhaps I should have tried Highland Park, Talisker, or even JW Double Black first, before going off the deep end? It seems like too much, too soon. Either way, glad to know what's out there, as someone who is more experienced with Speyside malts and blends!
Big Palate, big nose, big finish, bigger bottle? It's Scotland for you.
Laphroig "Laff royg" My first Islay after sampling a dram I bought a bottle, love the smokiness although this bottle I bought is 43% with a bit more bite then the dram I sampled. I'm usually on the opposite end of the spectrum, ahh yes the LOWLEND, My favorite is Auchentoshan 3 Wood (because of the 3 wood and dark color). I love the taste of the dark, sweet, fruity and woody, smooth, subtle and sweet yet complex and full-flavored scotch finished in Oloroso then Pedro Ximenez Sherry Casks. But it does not match the "feel" of this "La Froyg" Islay scotch; the warmth, the smoke, and the buzz is a bit better with this Islay. Auchentoshan still my favorite as I drink scotch first for the flavor, just wish the 3 wood gave a bit more warmth and buzz, not sure why it doesn't since it's about the same proof, perhaps it's the triple distillation? Anyways, this Islay is definitely nice and smoky bandaidy and sweet, yet just smooth enough for being a 10 year. Gave meh a bit of peaty heartburn but I loved every second of it. This is an amazing scotch, and well priced. I found mine for $45 a bottle. Though as luck would have it I got mine even a bit cheaper. Oh, btw they fit in Tomatin Boxes.
I am a single malt fan generally, Glenmorange type.. A friend of mine told me about strange whiskey he ever tried.. called Laphroaig. He warned me of unexplainable taste and suggested to keep glass of water nearby in case tasting goes wrong! I told my husband about it and he got it for me to try.. It wasn't love at first taste.. But I kept craving it ever since I tried and now officially in love.. Also did extensive search into peety islays and found another love of mine.. Adberg. Its just darn good, just try..
My first taste of Laphroaig was the PX cask, and it was kind of like that scene in Harold and Kumar where they ride the cheetah. It was intense, unfathomably awesome, and full of smoke. After the PX cask, i found the 10 year to be still quite nice, and fantastic for the price, but without the rich complexity of the PX. The 10 year still has anything you want in a Laphroaig and it would be my standard go-to in a pub, but for a special occasion I would recommend trying out the PX or at least the Triple Wood if you want to go that extra mile.
