Background

Front and center, a disclaimer- the bottle of Laphroaig 10 was provided to me by Beam Suntory at no cost, no obligation to review and with no strings attached. I thank them for their generosity in doing so.

First and foremost- I encourage you to read u/t8ke’s entire breakdown on the Laphroaig journey here. It’s an awesome step by step tour through his and Nick Conti (owner of Green River Farms) trip to pick this cask. The result of what sounds like a fantastic trip: this 2014 heavy toast, virgin French oak cask.

I did not expect to win the lottery for this bottle! Mainly because I never win any lotteries, but also because I’m typically not the biggest seeker of peated whiskeys. On the other hand, while I have had a few casual pours of Laphroaig 10 before, I had never spent time with it and put pen to paper on my thoughts. With all that said, let’s review!

Laphroaig 10 Year (10 Years, 43% abv)

Nose: Iodine, mesquite smoke, but then there's a nice lemon-y sweetness here too. Like lemon poppyseed pound cake (some light frosting and all).

Palate: Lemon on the front palate, then comes the seaweed, salinity, and smoke.

Finish: Grilled lemon, saltwater, seaweed and a gentle lingering smoke, lightly metallic

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: The smoke is honestly much more well integrated then I remember when I’ve had it in the past. This is just a cohesive sip that intermingles those medicinal/smokey/iodine notes with a consistent undercurrent of sweet lemon desserts.

Laphroaig Single Cask (Jay West & Nick Conti) Heavy Toast Virgin French Oak (Distilled 2014, 57.9% abv)

Nose: Very muted smoke! Toasted vanilla, creme brulee hits you right in the face alongside some ash and iodine.

Palate: Black pepper, more crème brulee, charred blackberry compote (kind of tart)? There's a medicinal almost hyper dark and smoky berry note that’s delicious but hard to place.

Finish: Seaweed, iodine, toasted oak, pipe tobacco- rich, dark, and wood forward.

Great to Excellent (7.5/10)

Overall: This is a tough pour to nail down and I mean that as a compliment! It's amorphous, complex, and I applaud Jay and Nick for picking a barrel where the peat is very well integrated. That crème brulee note really anchors this sip wonderfully.