Laphroaig 7 Year Single Cask (Jack Rose Selection)

 

(credit to Whisybase for the picture)

I didn't even know Laphroaig had official (or quasi-official) single cask bottlings until I attended the Laphroaig event at the Jack Rose Saloon earlier this month (January 2023). The Laphroaig distillery has always supposed Jack Rose fairly closely, and they flew the owner and master taster out to Islay, where they jointly selected a single cask in the warehouse to be bottled for Jack Rose (!). 

They chose a 7 year old whisky aged in virgin French oak, with a medium toast. Bottled at 58.4%, I was able to taste this very interesting whisky. Here are my notes: 

Nose: The nose is simply astounding. It may be - and I know I'm prone to flights of fanciful exaggeration from time to time, even emotional, when I experience unusually good whisky - but it honestly may be the richest Islay nose I've ever scented.

My notes from that night are, verbatim: "Quince, apricot... peated caramel, smoky dried fruit jerky... pine, salt, minerals, vanilla, baked apple, sage, flowers... green olives, wet tobacco, peach pits... poached pear, spent tea leaves... "

It's a kaleidoscope. I fully understand why the Jack Rose people selected this cask - the French oak was extremely active and the base distillate was uncommonly rich, resulting in a wild, riotous nose that veered between peaty, fruity, savory, bitter, mineral, floral... just the whole gamut. 

Mouthfeel: Oddly, thinner than expected. On the thin side of medium. Oily, but not resinous. 

Palate: Here is where perfection collapsed into reality for me. I figure there is no way a 7 year whisky can be 10/10. It was hot with alcohol that swept away into ash and peat, and then a rather normal (for Laphroaig) mixture of olive tapinade, lemon cookies, pepper, herbs, lots of baking spices, some black tea, and a hint of the floral bit. Still had a lot of depth for a young whisky, but only a fraction of the complexity of the nose. Others I spoke with agreed with me.

Finish: Peat, ash, lemon peel, pepper, sage, and bitter smoke. 

Verdict: A damned fine dram. Probably the best young Islay I've ever had... until I tried the second single cask bottle of the night (!), which was another 7 year (matured in a PX sherry cask), bottled for the liquor emporium Julio's in Westborough MA. 

That said, this is still the second-best bottle of young Islay I've ever had. The nose is the most fragrant, rich thing imaginable, and even if it sort of folds itself down into the expected Laphroaig experience on the tongue and throat, that experience is still a great one and far better than most Islays provide at 7 years. Perhaps only wild-and-woolly peated single cask  Bunnahabhains could compete with this level of complexity and intensity together. 

This bottling is available for sale up and down the East Coast, I believe (281 bottles were drawn from the cask) - highly recommended, if you see it on a shelf.