We’re reaching the end of this long Laphroaig series and, by vintage, this was the oldest sample by some measure. It was the oldest Laphroaig I have ever had, and even beyond the Islay stalwart, I have not had a ton of whiskies from the 1960s. It is therefore a real treat when the possibility arises!  So let’s see how the 60s compares to the 90s or 2000s, when most of the Laphroaig I have reviewed were distilled.

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Whisky: Laphroaig 26 Year (1968), Hart Brothers

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 43%

Cask: Oak

Age: 26 Years (Distilled 1968)

Notes: Petrol cans, apricots, and peaches— like picking fruits at an orchard while lugging a can of fuel. The aroma featured a soft brine, woody apricot pits and slightly overripe flesh, rust and tin, petrol fumes, and dirty filling station concrete. Musty as times, toasted sugars lingered further in with roasted barley, chocolate, peach rings, and a touch of lanolin. Light-bodied on the palate, the flavors hit the same beats with metal, petrol, apricots, plums, and the occasional peach, against dirty shop rages, chocolate, toasted sugars, lanolin, and now some additional vanilla or Tonka bean. It was a bit of a wild ride with everything arriving at once. The finish was medium length and drying with dirty garage rags, dried grass, a kiss of salt, and roasted barley tea.

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Score: 8 (88)

Mental Image: Estate Sale Boxes: Family Photos

Conclusion: This was the oldest Laphroaig I have ever had by vintage, and while I expected something a bit wild and unusual, the flavor profile and evolution in the glass was fairly close to the other twenty-something Laphroaig I poured this week. The flavors were certainly more old-fashioned: dirtier and mustier than the cleaner profiles from the 90s, and also less acrid with more oil-stained petrol filling station concrete than fresh asphalt and road work. However, familiar elements were all present, even if their intensity was a bit different. I wish the experience had been more structured, it felt like everything was hitting me at once, and the finish was a tad weak— though I can write that off as being due to the long bottle time and low abv. Overall, wonderful, a rare treat indeed.