It's December 22, 2001 - the first day of the second winter of the third millennium. This was our very first attempt at our very first JOLT (Joint On-Line Tasting). Johannes van den Heuvel - Amsterdam, Holland
A small coningent of certifiable malt maniacs went out to
study several different bottlings from what's perhaps the 'Islayest' distillery on Islay; Laphroaig. (Well, of course they didn't really 'go out' - not in this weather!) The Laphroaig distillery is located on the South shore of Islay,
close to Ardbeg and Lagavulin. I don't know if the location is a factor, but these three are the powerhouse distilleries from Islay. None of the other Islay distilleries (Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila) produces single malts
with so much peaty power. Of these three 'powerhouses', Laphroaig may be the most extreme.
As a result, the number of participants was relatively limited and we didn't set up a real 'live' environment.
Contributions by:
Klaus Everding - Hamburg, Germany
Louis Perlman - New York, USA
Patrick Whaley - Minnesota, USA
Davin de Kergommeaux - Ottawa, Canada
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'The Essence of Islay' by Johannes
Well, the weather is certainly cold enough tonight!
Wind and snow - perfect conditions for Islay malts. Somehow, the whiskies that are born on this windswept island at the west coast of Scotland seem
to express themselves best when the weather is worst. Even a die-hard Islay lover like myself might prefer a Speysider or a Campbeltown malt on a hot summer night, but winter is the domain of Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphraoig.
The Laphroaig distillery was founded in 1815 by Alexander and Donald Johnston. Donald died
in 1847, after falling into a big barrel of beer. What a way to go, eh? Fortunately, Donald wasn't the last of the Johnstons; the distillery remained in the family until 1954. Nowadays, Laphroaig is owned by Allied Domecq. The fact that Laphroaig could be sold legally in America during the prohibition years was largely due to its medicinal character - which proves that the heavy, phenolic 'Phroaig character isn't an invention of recent times. The distillery is one of the few that still have their own maltings, although the capacity is limited. (The capacity at the Port Ellen maltings is three times higher.) These days, all official Laphroaig bottlings are matured exclusively in bourbon barrels.
For tonight's JOLT, I selected four different bottlings from my collection; - Laphroaig 10yo (43%, OB, 100 cl) Only one of these bottles (the 'standard' 10yo ODB) was open; the rest came in directly from my reserve stock. There is another closed bottle of Laphroaig in my
collection, but I decided to keep the 'Leapfrog' 12yo 1987 46% (Murray McDavid - bottled 2000) in my reserve stock for a while longer. This particular bottling is quite a collector's item, because it is the last bottling under this name. In
the past, Allied Domecq guarded the brand name 'Laphroaig' vigorously and made sure no independent bottler was allowed to use the name on their labels. Private bottlings appeared on the market, but they were given fancy names like 'Leapfrog'
and 'Laudable'. The proprietors recently changed their policies, so future independent bottlings will have the name 'Laphroaig' on the label.
Not to worry though - four different Laphroaigs are challenge enough. For me, the 'standard' Laphroaig 10yo
(43%, OB) represents what an Islay malt is all about; the Power of Peat! It has been a constant resident on my top shelf since I discovered it about ten years ago. I can always count on it to warm my body and soul on a cold winter night. There are a few Islay malts that score more 'quality' points, but when it comes to pure power and individuality the Laphroaig 10 is a hard act to follow. It's impossible not to have an opinion about this bottling.
Strange. I can't remember detecting fat and oil in the 10 before, but Jeroen and Adwy found the fat and oil as well - so I wasn't
imagining things. Adwy thought it was too sharp in the finish, making it lose points. Jennifer detected an explosion on the palate after adding water. The second version of the evening was a fresh bottle.
- Laphroaig 15yo (43%, OB, 70 cl)
- Laphroaig 10yo 'Original Cask Strength' (57.3%, OB, 100 cl)
- 'Laudable' 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask, 70 cl)
That makes this 'Leapfrog' a bottle to save for later.
To assist me in my hour of need, I invited five people over; Arthur, Reinier, Adwy, Jeroen and Jennifer. Around 20:30 the last member of tonight's tasting panel arrived
and we started the session.
Nose: Needs a minute, then the phenols kick in. Medicinal. Iodine.
Lots of peat and smoke. A little fishy? An autumn walk on the beach.
Taste: Heavy peat and smoke. No sweetness at first. Slightly fatty & oily.
Pinch of salt. Very dry in the long finish with lots of peat in the end.
'No Half Measures' indeed...
Analyzing it, we imagined that this malt would go very well with seafood.
The final rating of 86 points stands, although I'm leaning towards 87.
The Laphroaig 15yo
(43%, OB) opened with a very good 'Plop!'. Why do I like a loud 'plop' so much, you may ask? Well, for one thing lower air pressure inside the bottle proves that the bottle was perfectly sealed. This is my second bottle; Davin bought me my first bottle over a year ago.
Nose: Much sweeter and fruitier than the 10. Better balanced as well, although I'm not sure that's a good thing in this case. After a minute, the peat comes to the foreground. The aroma doesn't seem as overwhelming as that of my first
bottle; it may require some breaking in. The volume increases after a few minutes and a few drops of water, becoming maltier and 'farmy'.
Taste: That's more like it! Peat and wood, with a powerful sweetness in the middle.
Some smoke, but not too much. Lots of development. Very good.
Jeroen noticed that the development in the taste was slower than in the 10. He's right; the start of this malt is a lot softer than the 10, but it more than makes up for it later on. My rating of 88 points stands for now, although this bottling seems a little weaker than my last one.
Time to move to higher proof. I've never tried the Laphroaig 10yo 'Original Cask Strength'
(57.3%, OB) before, so opening the bottle was a very special occasion. Reinier described it as a good replacement for Semtex! Finally, we opened the Laudable 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask, 318 bottles). Everybody on the tasting panel was amazed by the nose - it seemed very
different from the medicinal style of the official bottlings. Jeroen thought is smelled like sour milk, while it reminded Adwy of 'Marc de Bourgogne' or a nice French cheese. Reinier thought it was a shizofrenic malt. I decided on a
preliminary rating of 86 points; the taste is wonderful but the nose lacks the powerful iodine character I've come to expect from a bottle of Laphroiaig.
Nose: Surprisingly fruity! Iodine in the background, growing stronger.
Smoke and tar. Licorice. Wonderful complexity. Laphroaig power with a fruity bonus.
It becomes friendlier with some water; nuttier with more organic notes.
Taste: Ooomp! Iodine! Peppery. Smoky smoothness. Lots of peat in the finish
Really wonderful stuff; the absolute winner of the evening so far.
Sweeter and more complex after adding some water, but still very powerful.
Yeah - it's hightly combustable allright. I decided on a rating of 90 points because it marries the
qualities of the normal strength 10 and 15. It has the power of the 10 combined with the finesse of the 15. A wonderful alternative for the ordinary 10 because it lacks some of its minor shortcomings in the nose and palate. It's a shame it's a
lot less affordable than the 'standard' tenner.
Nose: Is this a Laphroaig? No iodine in the nose at first. Yeast? Sour cream? Musty?
Quity spirity, numbing the nose. Grappa? Oily like Tobermory or Isle of Jura. After a few minutes, the iodine becomes a little more obvious. Briny.
It may change after a few weeks in an open bottle.
Taste: Rather sweet in the start, growing into a peaty burn. Smooth & gritty.
Iodine. Salt and smoke. Brine. Very powerful after a few minutes. Good stuff.
Maybe I should try and sampe it more open-minded next time...
Now we've tasted all the malts on the menu.
Check out the overview of the ratings of the panel;
Laphroaig Mini-Matrix |
||||||
Reinier |
Jeroen |
Arthur |
Adwy |
Jennifer |
Johannes |
|
10 yrs. ODB |
88 |
77 |
75 |
77 |
77 |
86 |
10 yrs. ODB C/S |
85 |
85 |
65 |
79 |
76 |
90 |
15 yrs. ODB |
82 |
75 |
70 |
81 |
86 |
88 |
15 yrs. OMC |
83 |
63 |
65 |
71 |
79 |
86 |
I think these ratings prove that most members of the tasting panel - with maybe the exception of Reinier - were no die-hard Islay
fans. Not to worry; I poured them a couple of more 'mainstream' malts while I took a little break from the JOLT. We sampled
Springbank 21, Aberlour A'bunadh and Port Ellen 1981 from my collection and two versions of Caol Ila Arthur had brought with him; the
Caol Ila 26yo 1974 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask) and the Caol Ila 21yo 1975 (61.3%, UD Rare Malts). Arthur also brough a bottle of a Turkish single malt: Ankara. After the Laphroaig violence, I'm sad that I couldn't pick up very much.
Nose: Not bad!
Taste: Bad.
Well - that was fun.
After my last guests left around 1:00 AM and my nose had some time to recuperate, I checked my e-mail and closed the evening with two H2H sessions, revisiting
the four Laphroaigs of tonight.
Laphroaig 10yo (43%, OB) vs Laphroaig 15yo (43%, OB)
Nose: The medicinal / iodine character of the 10 is a lot sttronger than that of the 15. Vegetables in the 15? The 10 seems more
chemical, the 15 more organic. The 15 is a lot sweeter at first, but after a while the 10 seems to catch up with fruitier notes. Dust in the 10? The 15 grows oilier with time.
Taste: The 10 has a wonderful smoky & peaty burn that numbs the tongue. The 15 starts softer, but grows just as powerful after a
few seconds. It's somewhat 'fuller' than the palate of the 10, with a little more development. Based on this H2H, I'll maintain the current ratings of 86 and 88 points.
Laphroaig 10yo 'Cask Strength' (57.3%, OB) vs Laphroaig 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, OMC)
Nose: The OMC really didn't seem like a Laphroaig next to the peaty power of the 10 C/S.
The OMC appeared oily with a light flowery sweetness. It's pleasant, but not at all what I expected.
The 10 C/S is the big winner here; the OMC seems more like a Caol Ila or Port Ellen in comparison.
Taste: No half measures with the 10 C/S. Numbing. The OMC performs excellently as well - the nose lacks some of the trademark
Laphroaig features but the taste is just as medicinal as the C/S. The 10yo C/S is a malt with the individuality of the normal 10 and the
complexity of the 15. The best of both worlds - the rating of 90 points is final. The 15 OMC ends up with 85 points.
In conclusion: The Laphroaig 10yo ODB Cask Strength was the best whisky of the evening, as far as I'm concerned. No, let me rephraze that - the 10yo C/S was the whisky I personally liked the most. I absolutely love the 'standard strength' 10 and 15, but both show some tiny 'flaws' that keep it from reaching the 90 points benchmark. The 10yo is just a little too single minded, while the 15
lacks the overwhelming Islay power I like in the 10. The 10yo Cask Strength has everything I love in both malts, and none of their
shortcomings. Single malt experts might very well argue that, objectively speaking, the 15 ODB (or the 15 OMC for that matter) are 'better' whiskies because they are more balanced and refined. Phew - it's 3:15 PM. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yeah, well... I'll just follow my own sensory compass.
Time to call it a night. I think this was an evening very well spent.
'American Laphroaig JOLT Report' by Louis Perlman
For the last few weeks, it was anything but Laphroaig weather, but the temperature finally headed south by the end of last week, stopping just a bit short of freezing. I was able to sample six 'froygs. My list included:
My methodology was to compare the distillery 10yo to each of the competitors, save for Cadenhead. For all but the Blackadder, which I had just opened, there were no surprises, as I was familiar with all of the other expressions. Laphroaig 10yo (40%, OB) - A slightly oily body which extends to the palate, with the peat and iodine on the nose. I also detect a
bit the 'tarred rope phenol' that Michael Jackson ascribes to the Cask Strength. One minor flaw, a slight watery-ness to the body that probably comes from chill filtering. I'm sticking with my 84 rating, see the conclusion for why.
Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength (57.3%, OB) - Everything the 10 does but more of it. Laphroaig 15yo (43%, OB) - Although my bottle is 3 years old, it hasn't deteriorated, and in fact, is the same or very close to the
way it was at first. The whisky is very dry, and there is what the booklet that comes with the bottle called nuttiness, and Michael
Jackson calls grassiness. I can actually detect a bit of both. This, combined with the dryness, results in a very intense dram. Also an extra rating point, but some people who like the 10 may hate this stuff. Laphroaig 9yo
(46%, Murray McDavid) - Like a velvet covered boxing glove. All of the elements are there, but better behaved that
in the distillery offerrings. I'd say the Murray McDavid is better balanced, but that's not what Laphroaig is necessarily about. It would probably be heresy to rate this higher than any distillery version, so I'll continue my 85 streak.
Laphroaig 12yo 1988 (45%, Blackadder) - First of all, the whisky was pale straw in color. It certainly seems as though caramel
coloring is used in the distillery 10 and CS, if not the 15. As for the taste, here was the only element of surprise. Had the 12 'used the
extra 2 years to become even meaner', as Klauss so aptly described the OMC Laudable, or did it mellow out a bit. It was the latter as
it turned out. There was a more iodine on the nose, but the whisky was rather mellow, the least intense of the batch. My wife the
Islay hater tried to wave away the glass, but I insisted that she try some anyway. 'It tastes better than it smells' was her reply. Not bad, but I prefer the Murray McDavid for just a few dollars more. Laphroaig 12yo 1984
(58.9%, Cadenhead's) - This was the big winner of my Peat Monster Bash a while ago, and with some more
time to break in, it became better balanced without losing any of it's intensity. Last year I felt that it mimicked the 15's character, but
it now has elements of both the 10 and 15. I'll have to go back and do another round with my Port Ellen 22 yr Scott's Selection. This
bottling is no longer available (although I know whee a bottle or two might be left in NYC, contact me if you are interested), but there is now a Cadenhead 10yr that isn't too hard to find.
As for rankings, the Cadenhead rocks, followed by the CS and Murray McDavid, although the order for those two depends on the
weather. I suppose I should always have a bottle of the distillery 10 around, although this bottle now resides at my parents home (I
took home enough for the JOLT). It's not likely that I'm going to replace my 15, but that's because I'm trying to keep the population of open bottles down. And the Blackadder is just a bit too much out of character, IMHO.
One point in conclusion. I'm not as big a fan of Laphroaig as some of the other maniacs, as I prefer Ardbeg by a large margin and also
the Bowmore Mariner. My personal opinion is that Laphroaig is a specialized malt, outstanding on those damp and chilly nights, but less welcome otherwise. But that's just MY opinion. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- Laphroaig 10yo OB
- Laphroaig 10yo OB Cask Strength
- Laphroaig 15yo OB
- Laphroaig 9yo Murray McDavid
- Laphroaig 12yo Blackadder
- Laphroaig 12yo Cadenhead
So here goes:
The body is a bit rough, common to many cask strength bottlings, but no more than a few drops of water. This stuff is supposed to be
nasty. One more point than the 10.
'Malt Madness Canada JOLT' by Davin De Kergommeaux
December 22, 2001
I suppose most of the other maniacs are done by now, but here in Canada it's 6:10 pm.
It's pleasant and if I remember it will get even better if I wait... and it has.
Hey, did the cat pee in here?
Done: With water the nose becomes grassy, mildly sour and the smoke is greatly subdued. Just a hint of alcohol, and memories of
rotting hardwood make low-key appearances. The palate too has changed. Is this what they call opening up? Black licorice has
joined the flavours and the smoke remains subdued. A quickly disappearing flash of metal just crossed my mouth, but I can't find it
again. Fresh grassiness now moves to the fore. The finish becomes woody and smoky. It's mild and subtle and I doubt it would last until morning. My Malt Madness Matrix rating remains a well-deserved 92.
On to plonk number two, the standard issue Laphroaig 10yo (40%, OB), again in the North American 750 ml bottle. Klaus told me
there are only two colours of Laphroaig, and so far he's right. In my little room, by colour alone, this is indistinguishable from the 15
yo. They use caramel to colour Laphroaig Klaus advises. In Germany this must be listed on the label so the secret can't be kept. I
guess in a subtle malt the caramel probably colours the flavour as well, but this mighty 10 year old could disguise a Stilton!
Louis has just signed in with his JOLT notes and he too finds an iodine note that just seems to elude me tonight. A few drops of water
have really diluted the palate, reducing it to a wonderful warm smoky spiciness that just warms the tongue on this very xmassy
evening. Gee, I might just have a real one when this JOLT is complete, and then take the dog for a walk in the snow! The finish is
long and smoky and medicinal. As I said, Laphroaig standard issue. I was initially tempted to nudge it up a point or two, but after a good long tasting the 89 in the Malt Maniacs Matrix remains. And now the
Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength (57.3%, OB) in a 35 cl duty free bottling. No plonk as I break this one open, it's a
screw cap. And yes, it's the same gold as the others. Looks like Laphroaig has got whisky colouring down to a science.
As Louis says, its everything the 10yo is and then some. Medicine, antiseptic, tar, smoke, but so far no malt. There's a growing,
watery sweetness in the back of the mouth. The finish though seems to fade out early. It's still long though and delectable. With
water, a grassiness emerges in the nose, as do a range of esters. Suddenly you can smell the alcohol. The tar is still there. It's
smoky, still smokier than the 10yo 40% abv version. And it's still rich and syrupy in the mouth, but now the malts join the phenolic smoke. This is a great malt, and it's in a screw cap, so I'll have to drink it up!!
It's 8:48, two and a half hours since this tasting started and now that I've tasted all three of the OB's one final comparison. Head to
head, the CS has the most powerful and smoky nose. Though still very smoky, the 10yo adds a strong overtone of malt. Compared
to the others the nose of the 15yo is just a cereal mash. I liked them all and rated them all highly, but it's complexity pushed the 15
yo over the 90-point threshold, the CS is just on the line while the 10yo remains a fabulous malt for a wintery night. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My first plonk has just sounded, more of a thwack really as I popped the cork on the first of three virgins I will initiate tonight: the Laphroaig 15yo
(43%, OB). Klaus has just sent me a note to comment on the Canadian winter, and yes, this is a Laphroaig night;
cold and clear. I've tried the 15yo before, with Johannes in fact, but I didn't remember such a rich almost orangy golden colour. The
official notes call it a deep rich gold, The nose says Laphroaig, it's rich, tarry, peaty and just a little bit dusty in the nosing glass. A deep full breath jolts your nose awake, only to anaesthetize it with esters and alcohol.
Malt, dairy barn and fresh silage have joined the smoke and tar. And there's another something way in the background that says cigar
box one minute and walnuts the next. Let's see what the folks at Laphroaig think I should smell. Ah… officially (and this is an OB) the
nose is mildly smoky, toasty and pleasantly sweet, like new hay. Well, I guess if you drink the 10yo daily the smoke is mild, but to me,
it's right out front; and that hay is there all right, but it sure ain't fresh. Now, some ten minutes after pouring my dram, the nose has settled into a peaty (smoky) mildly fruity, maltiness, with a background hint of sourness.
It's redundant to call the palate signature Laphroaig, but it's all there, smoke, rubber, yes rubber, a flash of oiliness. It burns with hot
spices. The middle becomes astringent and some woody notes emerge. Wow, what a malt. It's like three malts in the same bottle
and the palate shifts ineluctably among them. Now smoke, now a sweetish nutty malt and under it all a woody spice. Officially, it's a
full-bodied, suave malt with zesty oak and warm peat smoke top notes and sweet undertones reminiscent of fresh nutmeg and toasted
almonds. Faintly salty. Are these the cigar box walnuts I tasted? Anyhow, the distillery recommends to awaken the full bouquet of this sublime single malt, add a few drops of soft water and swirl gently in the glass.
The nose is immediately drier, medicinal and really smells like the seashore. No salt in there (cryptic note to Peter Wood) but definitely
some seaweed. By golly! That's Laphroaig you smell when you walk the sea wall around Stanley Park in Vancouver. Nose prickle only
on a long, deep nosing. Has my nose temporarily abandoned me? Suddenly I smell nothing but medicine, then a pleasant licorice and
tobacco flood in and I'm back to Laphroaig. One of the difficult parts of tasting malts is giving the nose enough time to develop, but
my wait has been rewarded as the malt and hay have begun to emerge. And finally, a strong hint of linseed oil comes to the fore. The
Laphroaig website www.laphroaig.com says the nose should be phenolic - seaweedy - very peaty with a hint of sweetness.
The palate is much sweeter than the 15 yo and much smokier. It's oily in the mouth and quite strong. Spicy on the tongue. It hits
like a hammer, unlike its more ingratiating older brother. I like this malt. It's rough and raw. I've been drinking Ardbegs lately and have
been saving my three unopened Laphroaigs for tonight and had forgotten just how great they are. The website says I should be
tasting a malt that is richly smoky - fully peated with a hint of sweetness – salty. Well, still no salt, but lots of ocean. It's fully
peated alright and that sweetness is way more than a hint. And now for the very first time I can just smell the mintiness that Klaus
has been telling me about. In fact it almost develops into a wintergreen scent. And now it's gone, hidden behind a nutty maltiness.
With water the nose yields malts, grass and licorice. Yes the phenols are all there, but I'm starting to be able to dissect them.
Nose: Very smoky, fresh and you can smell the alcohol. A deep whiff clears the sinuses pronto. The phenols come to the fore, but
this starts out much more subdued than I had expected. Hey, this is my first encounter with this malt, so another one for my 52 Challenge! I smell tar and horse liniment and oh yeah, the licorice is back.
You know, you probably could use this stuff to disinfect wounds.
Palate: Rich, round and packs a wallop! The alcohol burns the tongue - it's almost painful, but there is no hint of it in the flavour.
No, that's all smoke. It's got that strange oily yet astringent mouth feel and it's thick and syrupy.
This is fabulous. A few of these would put your lips to sleep alright.
For now it gets a nominal score of 89.99, which I'll round off to two significant digits - 90 points.
Now back to my Laphroaigs for a couple of unstudied drams.
'Kick Off JOLT' by Patrick Whaley
Initially, I only planned on tasting the 10yo for the JOLT. Laphroaig 10yo (40%, OB)
Oh this is the stuff, such a deep complex malt, and so marvelous! This malt completely coats the mouth, great mouth feel. What a
finish, the peat doesn't seem to fade and you can keep feeling tingling in your mouth. The cloves seem to be a late development.
The 10yo doesn't have the very pronounced note of black licorice like the 15yo. Definitely a deep malt. An incredible whisky. Laphroaig 15yo (43%, OB)
The nose is much more sweeter than the 10yo, but its not as powerful. At times, the nose of the 15yo seems to be more
concentrated. There is something else in the nose that I can't identify. The finish just about knocked me over, it is way more intense
than the 10yo. This malt seems to become more complex the longer it is in the glass. I still can't believe the finish, it is just huge, powerful, amazing, and worth the price of admission. This is an incredible whisky.
Final Thoughts - This was truly phenomenal, what a great way to kick off JOLT. I now remember why these two malts are great, I
can't wait to have another go with them. I think it is strange how two malts from the same distillery can have some similarities but
simultaneously carry such differences. You can definitely see the typical Laphroaig trademarks of peat, smoke, and salt. Then, the
two malts have these little differences. I was extremely surprised that the 15yo had a bigger, more intense finish, and I definitely
wasn't ready for it. For now, my scores will remain the same, 95 for the 15yo, and 94 for the 10yo. I could easily score them as
equal, I really don't prefer one over the other. When things are this great, it is hard to judge. They are both all around incredible. I give the 15yo and extra point for the finish.
Maybe after I have more time with them I can come up with some more conclusions. I don't know, that would be a lot to handle... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I kept thinking that it would be great if I could also taste the 15yo with it, so I couldn't help myself and I got a bottle. I knew that
this was going to be very fun and very tasty. The Laphroaigs were some of the first malts that I tried. It has been quite some time
since I have had either. I have tasting notes from the 15yo from the first time I tried it but I haven't looked at them. I can vividly
remember my experiences with both of them, actually remembering how powerful and peaty they are. I was also hoping that perhaps
I could pick up some nuances this time around. When I first started writing for Malt Madness, Johannes told me that your nose and
palate get better with experience. This time, I wanted to probe the depths of the glass to see what I could find.
Nose: peaty, smoky, salty, strong, cloves, traces of iodine
Palate: rich, sweet, smooth, clingy, thick, meaty
Finish: long, huge, intense, peaty, sweet
Nose: dry, very sweet, black licorice, mint, some salt, sulfur
Palate: some dryness, salty, sweet, rich, touch of sulfur
Finish: amazing peaty finish, huge peat attack, extremely intense,
medicinal, dry, power and more power
I wonder what the next encounter will bring, what new nuances will I discover. I'm tempted to compare the Laphroaigs with
Lagavulin. If the Laphroaigs left this kind of impression on me, maybe Lagavulin will lose its top spot.
'Little Laphroaig JOLT' by Klaus Everding
Hello everybody, Only 3 'phroaigs on my table for the first JOLT. Laphroaig 15yo Laphroaig 10yo Laphroaig 10yo c/s
Peaty christmas and a malty new year, Klaus - - - - -
It really deserves a higher rating. I think I should rate it almost as high as the 10 yo. The 15yo is more delicious and finer, more
civilized. This speaks for a higher score for the 15y. But the 10yo has that hard to define anti-stormy weather component, the brute
force and the dark sweet and peaty tides. The more I think about it, the more I come to the point that this component is more important for me. The implication 93 points for the 15yo.
My medicine. Hoops! The glass is empty. Must fill it again.
This evening I have discovered that the c/s is sharper. What a miracle the alcohol content is higher. Now I tried to dilute it to
approximately 43%. And now there are differences between the 10yo c/s and the standard 10yo which cannot be ignored. The c/s is sweeter and the tary and smoky aroma is reduced in favour of peat. Still the two malts are very similar.
Click HERE for the other articles in MM#1.
Overview of available JOLT Transcripts:
December 2001 - Laphroaig
March 2002 - Aberlour
June 2002 - Macallan
September 2002 - Springbank
<-- Back to MM#1
Target: Laphroaig, Islay
Date: 22/12/2001
Tasting Team:
Davin de Kergommeaux
(JOLTing in Ontario, Canada)
Johannes v/d Heuvel (JOLTing in Amsterdam, Holland)
Klaus Everding (JOLTing in Hamburg, Germany)
Louis Perlman (JOLTing in New York, USA)
Patrick Whaley (JOLTing in Minneapolis, USA)
E-pistle #01/012 - Laphroaig JOLT
Transcript by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland