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…
One of the best scotches I have had the pleasure of imbibing. It is my favorite. This and Lagavulin 16. I think the 10 is actually better than the 18 which seems too mellow in comparison. Absolutely lovely and a very well priced too. Smoky, peaty with an underlying sweetness but not too sweet like the 18.
As my quest progressed, I was getting a little disappointed in some of the selections I had tried. I wanted a full flavor with peat, smoke, a hint of leather, and who knows what else. Nothing else had met what I expected till a friend told me about Laphraoig. The nose is great, there is a great grape peal on first sip, followed by a leathery peat and smoke. The flavors expand and maintain for a good length of time, making it a great sipping scotch. This is my favourite.
remember when you were 8 years old that big scab on your knee cap you pulled off admit it you ate it? ; an old horse blanket; Listerine mouth wash; a Travis Club Senator cigar; shoe polish; insecticide; a soiled bandaid; paint; burning asphalt;.....it is absolutely DELICIOUS !! (oh and just a bit a hint of homemade vanilla ice cream)
I see that you review these before they are posted. The reviews from people that just don't like it are fine, but to allow reviews from people that use in for a mixer really have on relevance Ron in Texas
Laphroaig evokes one opinion or the other. It seems nobody is neutral on it. My wife, a true Scot, prefers what she calls the "subtle" whiskies like Macallan or Balvenie, but my taste favors the Islay malts, and as other reviewers point out there's nothing subtle about this malt. What I like about it is that there are so many strong aromas and tastes to it. While I try and buy many other malts, this is the one I always come back to.
