This is the other official bottling I had at the Laphroaig tasting event at Jack Rose last Sunday, January 15, 2023. Before that night I didn't even realize Laphroaig MADE a 27 year! Matured in some combination of first fill bourbon barrels, refill quarter casks, and refill hogsheads, bottled at 41.7% ABV. Shelf price is somewhere around $750-800.
The Laphroaig rep, Simon Booking (a fantastic host), called this one "the feminine side of Laphroaig," and I couldn't really disagree. It was a really fascinating experience from front to back - let me explain:
Nose: Very old sweetness - like the remaining scent of an empty baking cabinet where sugar has been kept a long, long time. Gentle peat, ash, vanilla, citrus peel (citrus, but bitter and leathery). Over time, that old sweetness and the vanilla combine into something remarkably like powdered sugar.
Mouthfeel: Oily and medium, thicker than I'd guess for something this old.
Palate: Coal dust (!), butterscotch, old old leather. Intense but delicate: peat, ash, berries, and something strange and ethereal hovering overtop. Very difficult to say what it was - I didn't have quite enough time to explore.
Finish: Peat, ash, vanilla, soft pepper.
Verdict: This was lovely stuff, gentle, complex, and I wish I had more of it, and over a longer period. It's almost impossible that I'll ever splurge $800 for a bottle of this stuff unless I win the lottery or rob a bank, so who knows when I'll get to try this again, but it was a fun experience to see an old Islay and what happens to the big brash Laphroaig when it's tempered by many years.
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