Released in 2004, this bottling was aged for around five years before being finished in a quarter cask for several months, the size of the cask is quite small, thus does not require such a long maturation. This remains a truly great achievement from Laphroaig.
Oily and buttery nose, with toffee, nuttiness, hickory, bicarbonate of soda, rum and raisin ice cream and zest.
Big rush of sweetness, in fact it’s an explosion of sweetness, with fiery chilli heat, TCP, sweet cereals and a touch of cola syrup.
Medium-length, but becomes fruity, with custard and cigar smoke.
This whisky is excelent and i'm very happy to have it here in my country, i think in 3 whisky shops online we find The Laphroaig. But can the Chaps of Master of Malt tell me what wood is this quarter cask? New wood (american virgin oak) or ex-bourbons barrels? My greetings. Cesar from São Paulo, Brasil.
This is about the most ridiculously off-the-chart blast of flavour I have ever had in my life. I drank a dram and survived. Nose is reminiscent of old antiseptic, bandages, iodine, slight hint of death. Taste is like a massive hit in the mouth with a Viking warhammer wrapped in dirty bandages from the previous day's fight. Some kind of sweet something for a second before the blast of fiery antiseptic cleanses one's innards of all things living. Leaves a feeling in your chest akin to someone lighting your chest hairs on fire. This isn't something you drink, it's something you live through and survive. It's as epic as it sounds. Try it at least once. I really don't know what to say rating-wise - this is not something from the land of the living, and I think that review systems on this particular plane of existence are going to fail to describe what is in your glass.
I recently bought my third bottle of Laph QC and in between each I have tried other Islay Single Malts. As far as peated Scotch goes, for the price, QC is perfect. There's no other word. There are perfecter malts but they cost a lot more. I note that Ardbeg 10 and Lagavulin 16 are sublime too though $30 and $50 more per bottle respectively. And while I adore those two malts also, I never regret a QC purchase. If you happen to have bbq lamb skewers for dinner or a nice roasted ham with scalloped potatoes or some sausages, you cannot afford to bypass Laphroaig especially if the lamb is done on a charcoal or wood burning grill. Superlative!
The title of this review says everything you need to know. Very well balanced. I would pour a dram of QC to a friend trying an Islay for the first time. Accessible.
I just bought a bottle of Ardbeg 10 and a bottle of Laphroaig QC. Now the Laphroaig was excellent: sweet, peaty, smokey, buttery, nutty and smooth. However, I drank a dram of Ardberg 10 right after and it was night and day. The Ardbeg was full of vanilla, a peat monster, but smooth and more ballanced compared to the Laphroaig. It was much more unique and interesting. Long live Islay scotch, especially Ardbeg.
