Whisky : Laphroaig 25 Year (2017 Edition)

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 48.9%

Cask : Second Fill Oloroso, Ex-Bourbon

Nose :  Subtle and complex.  Tea smoked salmon, smoldering beachside bbq pit, and bleached driftwood.  Lovely maritime meat and salt come through as smoked fish spread and creamy compound herb butter.

Palate :  Light body with a mild palate— there is complexity, but it emerges slowly and does not smack you in the face with a fish tail.  Grilled shellfish, seashells and tar, along with sweet honey.  Wood fire ash builds over time giving the impression of ashy chocolate milk or malty Ovaltine.  As the sweetness fades an astringent dry herbal quality, like the bottom of a chrysanthemum tea pot, developments along with a reprise of meaty notes as rich smoked duck.

Finish : Long and lingering smoke and tea.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Barley Stuffed Duck & Tea.

Something Better : Laphroaig 21Y Douglas Laing XOP (similar duck, more herbal/astringent)

Something Better : Bowmore 19Y French Oak (similar chocolate milk/malty Ovaltine, thicker body)

Something Similar : Ledaig 11 Year; The Whisky Barrel (similar seashell/maritime, more fruit)

Notes :  I oscillated pretty wildly between loving the complexity of the meat and tea on the palate— as well as the subtle transition from sweet and mineral notes to ash and sea— and feeling as if the palate and mouthfeel were just too weak to really stand up.  The finish was lovely, but the overall impression is that the whisky feels a bit watered down— perhaps too delicate and refined for my brutish taste buds.  Other editions have varied in abv. from a hair lower 48.6 in 2016 to a jump up to 52% in 2018, so it is fair to say that the flavor profiles and intensity certainly varies as well.  I have heard from a few others who have more experience with the Laphroaig 25 that the 2017 year might be the weakest release.

I would hardly turn down a dram of this— but I would be hard pressed to feel as though a bottle represented a good value to buy.  At least for me, your relationship to money might be different and maybe dropping $400 does not phase you.  It is a premium special occasion whisky— and that is fine— I think it is perfectly suited to that role.  I think even non-scotch drinkers are likely to find this approachable, though if they do not have a taste for maritime and slightly vegetable peat, then they would probably be better off with something else more classically fruity or sherried.