I received this sample from a Laphroaig vs Ardmore peat tasting our local whisky group put on a few years back. I was on the road at the time and did not get to drink my pours with everyone else… it may have taken me a few years, but I am finally getting around to the last few in my queue of Islay samples.

---

Whisky: Laphroaig 22 Year (1991), Cadenhead’s

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 49.8%

Cask: Bourbon Hogshead

Age: 22 Years (Distilled 1991, Bottled Feb. 2014)

Notes: Maritime and deciduous with a forest floor carpeted in leaves and dry vegetation— a coastal hike in the autumn. Mellow chimney smoke and burning pine lingered further in with hints of crispy bacon, lard, and soot. Herbal spices waited further in with fresh thyme, rosemary, and parsley— occasionally a touch floral with dried rose. Medium-bodied on the palate, the flavors were more vibrant than the aroma: a quick one-two punch landed with lemon, pepper, more soot, old burnt logs, and maritime brine. Earthy, maritime, and still very autumnal, a bit of bitterness came at the end with green wood smoke and tar. Herbal spices and menthol reasserted themselves on a medium to long finish with more grapefruit and citrusy pith at the end.

---

Score: 7 (82)

Mental Image: Forest Tea

Conclusion: I was intrigued to see that someone share a review for this dram from Serge (of Whiskyfun fame) on Whiskybase. I use whiskyfun as a reference occasionally, though, and this may seem odd considering I have a whisky review site, I do not read a ton of whisky review websites. I realized some years back that they drove a FOMO that I had trouble fighting off and so I have largely abstained from checking them regularly.

I went to whiskybase right after writing up my notes for this because I was not all that impressed with the dram and I was curious what others had scored it. Serge gave it a 91! I was a bit off that mark, but I was fascinated to read his notes (see them here on whiskyfun). While our scores settled in different brackets, our notes are not dissimilar. Sometimes it is nice to see other people hit upon similar qualities— even if they wrote a decade earlier and half a world away. Cheers to whisky crossing time and space.