The Whisky Exchange Selection Signatory Laphroaig

February 22, 2016

The Whisky Exchange Selection Signatory Laphroaig

TWE

The Whisky Exchange is pretty much heaven for malt heads. They have one of the largest, if not the largest, selection of rare malts of any retail store. If you type "the" into any of the browsers on my phone, laptop, or work computer, www.thewhiskyexchange.com is the first suggested link. Which is basically the Internet telling me "dude, you have a problem".

Both Mr. and Mrs. Beast's birthdays are in June, so if you want to get a head start on shopping, here are some useful links:

Port Ellen Very Old Particular

Talisker 1957

We'll be here holding our breath. Anyway you can see the caliber of stuff that TWE has lying around. They're not cheap, as a matter of fact they tend to sit at the top of the market, but they've earned it. There's just about no other place in the world where you can shop for this kind of stuff!

Exclusive Bottlings

TWE also partners with both distilleries and independent bottlers to release TWE Exclusive single barrel picks. One of their favorites is to pick Signatory Cask Strength selections. If you know SmokyBeast, you know we're nuts for Signatory Cask Strength. They tend to pick monster bottles, serve them up with no coloring or chill-filtration, and (obviously by the name) at cask strength. You can rarely go wrong with the cask selections, they're usually some of the best reflections of each distillery. And the stunning presentation of their decanter bottles only heightens the effect for the whisky collector.

TWE Signatory Bottlings (Photo from TWE Blog)

So we've got two aces - Signatory and TWE coming together to release a private barrel. What could put us over the top here? Well of course choosing a nice old Laphroaig, and aging it in a sherry cask no less. This bottle was a total no-brainer for us.

We closed our eyes as we clicked the little currency conversion button and watched the dollar sign pop up. Some things can't be helped. Add to cart. Be smart, buy two. Checkout before we get cold feet. Anxiously await arrival of box. Tear open. Share with friends. Something like that...

TWE Signatory Laphroaig 16 Year (Refill Sherry Butt)

Distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2015, this whopper of a 59.9% malt whisky spent its entire sixteen years in a sherry barrel, giving it a beautiful color.

Needless to say we were very excited to pop this puppy open. Jake joined us for a tasting to see what all the fuss was about. Somehow we guessed that we wouldn't be disappointed.

Tasting Notes (Beast)

Nose: It's got that very distinctive Laphroaig nose. Sort of like soaking cigar ash in salt water. You singe a few nose hairs on the way in. But quickly the big sweetness of the sherry kicks in and you're off to the races. Beautiful balance of peat and stone fruits, seaside barbecue and fruity jam. There's a medicinal undertone here of phenol and deeper herbals (sage, peppercorn, rock salt) cut with some bitter cherries and baking spice.

Palate: Nice oily mouthfeel, very smooth with the sweetness counterbalancing the smoke for a lovely drink. Almost an uncanny drinkability for almost 120 proof.

Finish: More like weeks than days on this one. The power of the ABV and the peat make this one to remember. Super strong smoke just lingers in your nose and throat for hours with the sweetness gradually dying off and leaving you with a perfect winter jacket.

Tasting Notes (Jake)

First of all Signatory Laphroaig hand picked by The Whisky Exchange? Are you kidding!? Any one of those names alone is a reputable source and deliverer of delicious drams. But all three collaborated on this one? My mouth started watering even the first time @smokybeast told me about this bottle. The Beast just wouldn't shut up about this bottle and from the moment he pulled the top of the other night (the bottles top, not his) I could tell exactly why. In general, Laphroaig is usually my least favorite if Islay malts. Never find myself thinking "I'm really in the mood for some Laphroaig right now", but this pour is absolutely one of the tastiest Islay malts I've come across.

Nose: Smoky as hell, fruity all the way through. It's like a bacon wrapped fig that was charred over a campfire, drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh cracked black pepper.

Palate: De Lish! Oily as a jersey shore tanning bed and as dry as British "humour"..

Finish: And it just doesn't fade! I had this almost a week ago and I swear I can still taste a little smoke when I burp. Which I don't often because I'm a gentleman. This was a fantastic malt that will make it hard to enjoy my peaty section at home because this just towers over them all.



Review

This bottle is a slam dunk. While not cheap (one hundred pounds before you get into shipping / customs which can get expensive), it's super hard to find a 100% sherry cask Laphroaig these days. While some of the current Laphroaig releases contain sherry maturation (finishing and/or blending), they're really not in this league. This is definitely not a malt for beginners - you need to be way into the peat and cask strength spectrum of whisky drinking. That being said, for us this was a seriously amazing dram. Cheers to TWE for another great pick and keep up the noble work. /SB

Malts of Scotland Laphroaig Sherry Cask - Oh Yeah!!!

September 16, 2015

Malts of Scotland Laphroaig Sherry Cask - Oh Yeah!!!

Indie Indie Indie

If you've seen our whiskey collection, you know that we're big fans of independent bottlers.

Quick definitions: "OB" or "official bottlings" are whiskies released directly by the distillery or by companies like Diageo who own the distilleries. Lagavulin 16-year and Laphroaig 10-year are official bottlings. There are also limited release OB bottles like Lagavulin 37-year and Laphroaig 25-year.

"IB" or "independent bottlings" are released by third party companies like Douglas Laing, Signatory, McGibbon's, A.D. Rattray, and so on.  These are independent bottlers who purchase stocks of whiskey (hundreds of barrels in many cases), age them, and release them in smaller batches, usually single casks. 

These are not the most collectible bottles. Official bottlings always fetch the most at retail or auction, and are usually the big fish in high priced whiskey collections. But indie bottles can be very special. Third party bottlers have the luxury of releasing one cask at a time. They don't have the burden of always having to put out big quantities of the same age malt every year. This means that they can really pay attention to each barrel. They can age it in the type of wood they feel best suits the malt, taste it every year until it's perfect, and release it whenever they feel it's at its prime. There are gems and bargains to be found in indie bottles.

Case in point: try to find an age-stated, sherry cask Laphroaig these days. Sure, there are releases like Cairdeas and PX Cask that are Non-Age-Stated Laphroaigs finished for a year or two in sherry barrels. But we're talking about 100% sherry cask matured goodness, over 10-years old. You know what, don't try. Take our word for it: it's impossible.

But in the indie world, you can sometimes find a gem like this:

MOS

Malts of Scotland is a German bottler that specializes in Islay malts. They have great taste in barrel-picking, and they really know how whiskey-philes like their product: cask strength, un-filtered, un-colored. Basically straight from the barrel. 

Check out the details on this one: 15 year Laphroaig aged in a Sherry Hogshead, bottled at 56.8% ABV. This one was bottled for the occasion of Aquavitae, an annual German whiskey festival. Malts of Scotland puts out tons of special releases like this, available all over Europe. Keep an eye out if you travel through Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, etc. They're not expensive and this is just the type of thing you want to grab at a liquor store on your next vacation or business trip oversees.

Tasting Notes

Nose:  Rock & roll nose of cantaloupe and peat. Oh this one's gonna be good. 'Phroaig's signature phenol and campfire rocks (some people say ashtray) are there, but so subdued and 'in the pocket'. Hiding behind it is rose water and chocolate covered cherries. The nose is maybe not incredibly different from some of the modern sherry finishes, but there's a subtlety to it that hints to great things ahead.

Palate: The peat hides from the tongue and drinking white chocolate, green grapes, and sweet cream. Really lush mouthfeel that coats your palate with honeyed fruits.

Finish: The prodigal smoke makes a most welcome return on the finish. Big peat smoke, but so well balanced against the big proof and all the sweetness. The sherry comes to the fore here but it's not cloying, just blends wonderfully with the other tastes. More grapes, perfume, honey, and lots of smoke.


Review

No wonder it's so hard to find a cask strength, age-stated, 100% sherry cask Laphroaig. They're incredibly delicious!  Full power, super smooth, big mouthfeel, lots of smoke, beautiful sherry finish, everything comes together here. Brilliant stuff.

Laphroaig Douglas of Drumlanrig

June 9, 2015

Laphroaig Douglas of Drumlanrig

Quality Control

From now on we're only going to drink scotch that's personally selected and certified by nobility. How else are we going to ensure the proper quality of our malt beverages? We think this is a pretty reasonable measure. 

Luckily the Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry takes some time away from the goings-on at Drumlanrig castle every year to do just that. He visits the good folks at Hunter Laing and puts his seal upon a few choice barrels, which are bottled under the winged heart sigil of Douglas of Drumlanrig. The winged heart (FYI we're pronouncing that like "wing-ed" because it sounds cool), commemorates the bravery of Sir James Douglas "The Good" who was killed during the crusades. 

The good duke likes his Islay malts, and he likes them un-chill-filtered and free from artificial colouring, so he seems like a pretty stand-up guy.  

Douglas of Drumlanrig Laphroaig 15 Year

This Laphroaig was a limited release of 150 bottles distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2008...   

Tasting Notes

Nose:  Equal parts extra virgin olive oil, salt water, and peat smoke.  It has a lovely vegetal entry and then moves slowly into hearts of palm, some little hints of white grapes & citrus, and then builds into the smoldering salt water campfire rocks.  It's very subtle though and never overwhelms, it just sits there in the nose in an immensely approachable and enjoyable way.

Palate:  Some sweetness comes out in the palate with little lemon candies and honey. The olive oil sensation continues in flavor though the mouth feel is rather thin.

Finish:  A very well-balanced, if slightly forgettable finish. The 46% abv choice is noticeable and so mellow it borders on weak.  Mild peat smoke drifts across the nostrils and the garden theme continues with some fresh eggplant (? weird tasting note but that's what we got), florals (daisies?), and light ocean salt.  It's super drinkable, that's for sure, but by no means a beastly dram.

Review

Duke of Queensberry's Crib - Drumlanrig Castle

This is a very nice bottle.  It would be the perfect introductory Islay malt for someone who does not have taste for peat smoke yet. It's delicate and has a lot of subtle things going on in addition to the smoke like farm vegetables and flowers.  On the down side it's a little watery, as the very pale color would suggest, and definitely isn't showing bold flavors. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a nice mellow Islay malt is just the ticket when you don't want to burn your throat with a killer peat-head bottle.

The only issue here is the price point / value. Over $100 is a lot to spend for an introductory dram, so this one is a little tough. For that coinage we'd probably veer towards buying a nice cask strength Laphroaig, and then if you're feeling like something more mellow just adding water yourself. You'd probably end up in a similar place. Some of these bottles were done at cask strength, but we didn't manage to track one down, so those may have been more up our alley.  Or maybe we've just been drinking too much barrel proof whiskey lately and we're jaded.  A few years ago we may have had a very different opinion.

Anyway if we put the cost out of our minds, this one is a very lovely malt. Good for some outdoor action on a warm day when you want something very drinkable and soft. A treat fit for...  well evidently for a Duke. It must be nice being a Duke.

Cheers/SB

Review: The Exclusive Malts Laphroaig 2005 8-Year - A Young Fiery Beast from Islay

January 16, 2014

Review: The Exclusive Malts Laphroaig 2005 8-Year - A Young Fiery Beast from Islay

The standard Laphroaig 10-Year has always been a pretty good standby when something better isn’t available. It’s super peaty, pretty affordable, and more or less available anywhere you can get a drink (at least it is in New York City).  The truth is, and as our faithful readers know, Lagavulin 16-Year is our holy grail to which all peaty scotches will be forever compared.  Laphroaig has never quite floated our boat the way The Mighty Lag does.

But young, head-strong peaty malts are very trendy right now.  When we interviewed James Wells from Kilchoman Distillery, he opined that older scotch loses the boldness and strength of the peat and his favorites were younger fresher bottlings, particularly young Laphroaigs.  So when we came across The Exclusive Malts Laphroaig 2005 8 Year, we thought we'd dive in for a fierce, peaty "slap your ass and call you Sally" experience. 

There’s not a lot written about this special batch. The Exclusive Malts are bottled by an outfit called Creative Whisky Company who do a whole range single barrels bottled at cask strength and aged in a variety of different types of casks, depending on the line.  KL Wines has this bottle in stock at the moment for $79.99, which is a reasonably good buy for a cask strength Islay, even if it's a couple of years younger than 10-Year. And hey, what's good enough for Prince Charles should be good enough for the beast right?

Tasting Notes

Appearance: It’s light. Like, Bud Light light.

Nose:  Holy mother peater. You already know what you’re getting yourself into when you give this one a whiff. There’s no mistaking the peat here, but you also get a little green apple, leather, musk.

Body: Again with the leather, but also a bit of tobacco in there too. Maybe a hit of sweetness, like apricot, but smoky enough that you almost feel like you are smoking a cigar at the same time – as far as we’re concerned, this is not a bad thing. This is not the smoothest drink ever, but like the Laphroaig 10 year, it serves its purpose.

Finish: Just like our previous reviews on Laphroiag, this one’s a bit of a burner. Adding 2 drops of water opens it up a bit, but it’s still pretty intense on the way down. There’s something at the end that gives the impression of almonds and rosemary. Aromatic, but subtly so.

The Verdict

This definitely did reverse some of our indifference to Laphroaig, but we’re still not totally sold.  It's got some of that young peat magic that pops the mind in all kinds of interesting directions.  But our favorites are still the elder, wiser bottles where the burn has turned to warmth and the peat has settled into an old dependable friend rather than a young hothead.  Some of the youngins like Kilchoman seem to have found a formula to combine the rawness with a roundness and smoothness that we're not getting in this bottle.  

If you're a Laphroaig fan, you'll definitely want to check out The Exclusive Malt 2005.  It's different and it's a chance to experience a single barrel cask strength version of the distillery at a reasonable price, which is not so easy to come by.   

Cheers/SB

Review: Laphroaig Quarter Cask - Can The Mighty Dwarf Prevail?

May 9, 2013

Review: Laphroaig Quarter Cask - Can The Mighty Dwarf Prevail?

Surface Area

Here's a secret:  If you're in a rush to cook pasta, boil your water in a wide and short saucepan.  Spreading the water out over a wider pan makes it boil much more quickly.  You'll be cooking those raviolis in half the time.  It's all about surface area.  Think about it...  In a standard size pot, a lot of the water is very far from the edges.  The heat has to pass through several inches of water to heat the cold water in the middle of the pot.  In the wide and short pan, none of the water is farther than an inch or two from the hot surface of the pot.  Ok, we're sure you understand all about surface area.  You went to third grade.  Sorry about that.  But we bet you didn't really think about whiskey this way.  

The Mighty Dwarf Cask

When it comes to aging whisky, distillers have been trying the same principles.  The theory is that the aging process takes place when the whisky interacts with the oak of the barrel.  So that would logically mean: higher ratio of wood to whisky = faster aging.  Thus the concept of the quarter cask is born.  Smaller barrels (casks) means more wood touching the whisky.  More surface area.  Boil that water quicker so that we can eat our ravioli (or in this case single malt scotch) sooner!

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Look closely at the label below and you'll see the standard size Laphroaig barrel next to the quarter cask.  Can this mighty dwarf really speed up the aging process and give us a lovely, smooth, and mature whisky without having to wait 14 years?

NAS

This is another No Age Statement bottle, so it's tough to really judge the quarter cask approach in a vacuum.  There are a lot of rumblings about it being some combination of 7-year quarter cask barrels mixed with some older traditional barrels.  Our friends at Master of Malt (who know a thing or two) say it's a traditional 5-year aging that's finished for 7 months in the quarter casks.  No way to know for sure.  Clearly it's young, or putting an age statement on the bottle would increase the value.  The only detail is "Double Cask Matured at 48%".  Ok, not helpful, but let's see what happens.

Tasting Notes:

Appearance:  Definitely darker than the standard 10-year.  Still not quite a pleasant color, but we're trying to remain impartial based on looks alone.

Nose:  Ok now we're listening.  This is the epitome of salt-water ocean air.  You can just smell the breeze coming in across the whitecaps.  You can even smell the rocks.  Very nice aroma comparable to some of our favorite Islays.

Body:  Here we are again with Laphroaig's throat.  Unclear wether it's the lack of age, the barreling process, or the original flavor, but it's not where we want it to be.  There is more wood flavor than the standard 10 year bottle, which is sort of nice, but the mellowness hasn't taken hold.  It's a harsh and fiery dram that's tough to swallow.

Finish:  It's extremely throaty on the finish.  Uncomfortably so.  You need to add water.  When you do it mellows out slightly, but it's tough to find a balance between smooth and watery.

The Review:

So did Laphoaig's little scientific hypothesis prove to be true?  In a word: No.  The quarter cask aging did increase the wood flavor, but it didn't age the whisky any faster.  Because the real key to aging is... age.  It's not just absorbing the character of the wood.  When whisky ages, the fire of the alcohol fades and the fruit, smoke, and spice flavors of the malt come through.  At around $60, you'd be crazy not to spend an extra ten bucks and go for Lagavulin, Ardbeg, or Bowmore.   Sadly the mighty dwarf from Laphroaig gets a SmokyBeast "C".

/sb