Every once in a while the whisky gods smile in your direction— I acquired this bottle after SMWS lost or misplaced another bottle I was supposed to receive.  I have completely forgot what bottle that was, only that it was part of some set, and in exchange they offered to replace it with something of a similar or slightly more expensive price point.  Of course I chose the Laphroaig and split it with a group of buddies.

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Whisky: Laphroaig 23 Year (2001), SMWS 29.292 “Peat in parts per thousand”

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 58.2%

Cask: Oloroso Butt

Age: 23 Years (Distilled 14 Feb. 2001)

Notes: Peppery and mineralic, wispy smoke blew in from grilled pineapples and caramelized fruity sugars. Those elements provided a sweet contrast to swimming pool chemicals and old mossy ponds. Dirtier and more industrial qualities waited further in— pineapple and lilikoi never disappeared lending the aroma the nostalgic quality of a pineapple cannery down a dusty red dirt road. Slightly farmy at times with old hay and coastal pasture. Medium-bodied on the palate, the flavor profile was similar with plenty of peppery phenolic malt leading country swimming pools and idle cattle toward grilled pineapples.  More olives and brine poked through at the end with some acrid burning green wood and mineralic smoke— always more charcoal grill than fresh pavement. The finish was long with a gentle pepper, brine, machine grease, and grill smoke.

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Score: 7-8 (86)

Mental Image: Country Ranch Luau

Conclusion: Feisty and robust, age seemed to have hardly tamed the phenolic and peppery spirit in this cask. Despite the aggressive profile, it was not a simple youthful full-faced blast of peat to the palate, it had developed some subtly during two decades in a refill oloroso butt even if the initial arrival was overly enthusiastic. The influence of the cask was nicely restrained, allowing more of the malt to come through, though I could not help but think this felt more like a Port Charlotte than a Laphroaig. Overall, a moody whisky.