The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Rating: A
Laphroaig 28 Year Old Single Malt
(Credit: Beam Suntory)
Laphroaig seems to be on a roll with releasing ultra-aged expressions. Last year they turned out a 27 year old single malt, and now they have a 28 year old. One might be tempted to see this new malt as an older rendition of the previous limited edition, but it has a different warehouse provenance.
The 27 Year Old was aged in refill hogsheads, then moved over to first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and refill quarter casks for a finishing. The 28 year old was drawn from a wide range of casks, from quarter casks to Sherry butts, before being married and finished for a year in Sherry casks. Those are two quite different styles of maturation, and that matters in Scotch and doubly matters in a 28 year old whisky. It’s bottled at 44.4% ABV.
The Scotch
This Laphroaig has a golden look in the glass, and coating it leaves behind thick tears aplenty.
The nose comes on in proper Islay style at first, full of creosote, before letting some cinnamon and fruitiness akin to fig newtons come in and share center stage. In this case, the stage is made from some musty old wood, probably on the verge of falling apart. It’s neither a complex scent or one that has big, bold personality, but nonetheless it has bags of character.
Compared to the scent, the flavor is only a little ashy and much more subtle. It’s got a light, malty and honeyed sweetness to it in the main, so the native spirit is showing itself well. It’s also spicy and straw-like. The liquid has a silky texture to it, rounding out a subtle, delicate presence on the tongue.
The whisky concludes as sweet tobacco leaf dissolving down to a trace of sweetness, spiciness and a whiff of smoke.
The Price
Laphroaig 28 year Old is officially priced at $750 a bottle retail. Mind you, that won’t stop some from marking it up a bit.
