Laphroaig 10 Year, SMWS 29.281 “Driftwood barbecue”
Whisky : Laphroaig 10 Year, SMWS 29.281 “Driftwood barbecue”
Country/Region : Scotland/Islay
ABV : 60.8%
Cask : 2nd Fill Barrel
Age : 10 Year (Distilled 2 Sept. 2010)
Nose : Herbal, meaty, and charred. Sweet notes of char and burnt sugar cookies came to mind right away with toasted herbs, charred wood, burnt char siu, burnt brown sugar, and the burnt ends of pumpkin bread. Behind the over-enthusiastically, charred sugars were hints of tar, medicinal herbs, and vinegar.
Palate : Medium-bodied with burnt sugars, wood char, and chocolate. Maritime and peppery at first, the dram quickly moved from driftwood bonfire to caramelized custard with toasted brown sugar and marshmallow. The char intensified at times with burnt sugar and salted treacle. Notes of toasted marshmallows— perhaps one briefly lost in pinewood fire— left the impression of s’mores in the forest as dark chocolate appeared at the end.
Finish : Lingering ash and dark chocolate
Score : 7
Mental Image : Colleen’s Memories of Lost S’mores
Notes : A quintessential Laphroaig with ample maritime-medicinal notes behind a profile of charred and burnt sugars. Slightly bitter, though not unpleasant, as the char and dark chocolate lingered long after each sip.
The mental image on this one was thanks to a taster who came out for their very first whisky tasting. It can be an intimidating experience to sit at a table and try to figure out how to talk about whisky with new people. Fear of being wrong or saying something ridiculous pushes most debutants to sit quietly and only offer a few words here or there when prompted. Our newbie quickly realized that we do not always agree on the finer points and that half the fun of tasting notes is throwing out memories and notions to see what sticks.
It turns out, quite a few of us had lost marshmallows in campfires— or charred them a bit too much and still tried to eat them. Maybe a few of us even tossed marshmallows into the fire only to watch them expand and blacken. The memory of the slightly bitter burned sugars came alive as s’mores with hints of dark chocolate at the end for just about everyone around the table that day. Those are the best notes, the ones which are slightly specific but can be universally understood— notes you can imagine, even if you have never had the exact same experience.
