The newest expression from venerable Laphroaig, this is the regular 10 year that's been finished for the last 12-18 months in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at a nice hefty 48%. No word on the box about coloring and filtration, but I think both can be presumed. So how does it stack up against the regular 10 year, or the more expensive sherry expressions from Laphroaig?
Nose: Quite muted and closed. Takes a surprisingly amount of time to unwind a bit, and never reaches "full Laphroaig" dimensions. There is peat, iodine, smoke, of course, but surprisingly gentle levels of it. Strong vegetal note, like decaying bog. The sherry is represented by faint sweet resinous notes. I don't get any of the maple, bacon, or seaweed notes from the official tasting description.
Mouthfeel: Pretty heavy.
Palate: A bit muddled - cloves, peat, smoke, coast notes (brine and salt), honey. Perhaps a little chocolate. Oak and the accompanying black pepper. Vaguest raisin or perhaps plum. More of the vegetal note.
Finish: Pepper and smoke, and also not as long as I remember the regular 10 year carrying on; still, decently long finish.
Verdict: Surprisingly tame and muted. The sherry cask suppresses a lot of the "rawness" of the Laphroaig notes, and yet doesn't seem to add much either. A little disappointed; maybe I needed more time with it? Or maybe it's just not my thing. Good to see them experimenting, at any rate. Apparently this run of the Sherry Oak is limited to 4,450 cases worldwide.
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