Exclusive Malts Laphroaig 56.2% abv. Non-Chill Filtered, Cask Strength, Natural Color.
This is a treat. I really enjoy the Exclusive Malts / Exclusive Casks Indy line and I certainly enjoy Laphroaig. This one is a 7yr old single cask, cask strength, NCF and Natural Color and one of only 254 bottles. Distilled in 2006. Happy Father’s Day!
The smell on this is excellent – Signature Laphroaig medicinal peat, vanilla, barley sugar, iodine, seaweed, brine/salt. Just awesome
The taste (without water) is really hot initially the burn fades to sweet medicinal seaweed bonfire smoke with sweet barley sugar. With water it’s a lovely un-branded Laphroaig. The barley sugar is more noticeable with water then the iodine and brine and peat follow. This is really enjoyable.
The finish is long as with most Laphroaig. A really nice mix of sweet barley and peat smoke.
This is pretty much everything you want in a good Indy Islay bottle. It’s young enough that the peat hasn’t faded, it’s NCF, and CS so you can water down to your specific flavor preference. It’s really not rough around the edges for it being under 10yr old. Honestly one of the better Laphroaigs I have tasted. I know this isn’t readily available but the point of this is that you should seek out Indy bottles of distilleries you like. If nothing else you get to experience a different expression of something you are familiar with.
Overall Grade: A
