The flavors evolve on the nose and palate, with peat kiln smoke, fresh asphalt, damp earth warehouses, morning-after campfire ash, and old boat dock contrasting nicely with toffee apple, crème caramel, delicate raspberry preserve, and dried citrus. Long, smoky, spicy, briny, seaweed, dirty martini-tinged finish. This whisky comes from a combination of both sherry and bourbon casks, and the marriage works. I also like that it retains some of its youthful brashness, while showing the depth that maturity affords a whisky. A delicious, well-balanced, old-fashioned Laphroaig.(Reviewing this whisky gave me an excuse to open a “fresh” bottle of its predecessor, the 30 year old, and here are my thoughts. The 30 year old is softer, mellower, drier, and more debonair. The 25 year old is bolder, more youthful, more dynamic, richer, and sweeter — bottling at cask strength really helps here. Both whiskies are very nice, but quite different in personality.)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Fall 2009)

A cask strength whisky, but don’t expect a rambunctious blisterer. Age has given this one a mellowed beauty. It offers a deep, rich, soft peat influence on a thick and creamy palate, with dried seaweed, seashells, salinity, brine, charcoal, and muted medicinal notes—all imbued with sweet oak, lime, chocolate-covered marshmallows, and light pepper. Cooked pears, chocolate, and vanilla cream complete the finish. The peat has settled in, and a marvelous, mature whisky rises.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2021)

This is the first time I’ve been up for reviews here so I had a game plan: play it cool, mark tightly, let everyone know I’m hard to please. Then they gave me this, the whisky equivalent to front row tickets to Neil Young on his current Twisted Road tour: not just a chance to get up close and personal with an old favorite, but to do so with an old favorite who’s on fire. Laphroaig’s owners are intent on ensuring a big peaty engine for any new release, but this is a monster by anyone’s standards. It’s essentially Quarter Cask finished in oloroso sherry casks, so in addition to the intense charcoal smoke attack there are rich fruity notes; blackcurrant and berries. It’s an evening barbecue whisky. Grill that fish until it’s blackened and crispy, drizzle on lemon, and as the smoke rears up in protest, sip this. Big, moody, broody, fruity, and rich: what’s not to love? (Travel Retail and some European specialist retailers)

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Fall 2010)

Laphroaig’s latest batch continues the high standards set by previous releases. More sherry on the nose compared to Batch 010, with malt, sea spray, lemon, antiseptic, and big notes of peat. Citrus fruits, sherry, brine, and peat smoke on the full palate, with vanilla and charred oak. The finish is long, sweet, and medicinal, with licorice singed over a peat fire. Editors' Choice

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2020)

A single Pedro Ximénez hogshead yielded this whisky, which might be characterized as dramatic. Raisin, fig, grape skins, furniture polish, menthol tobacco, toasted wood, asphalt, and medicinal iodine on the nose. Chewy, robust, and rich on the palate, the peat keeps the cask’s sweetness in check, as raisin, orange marmalade, dark chocolate, fruit leather, hefty spice, roasted nuts, and oak vie with iodine, saline, and ash. Pepper slides into oak and tobacco on the finish, with dark-skinned fruit and menthol lingering. (Julio's Liquors exclusive; 288 bottles)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Spring 2020)

Clear peat and maturity on the nose as aromas of antique furniture mingle with cinnamon toast, fireplace log, wax paper, and mahogany. A peppery and well-spiced palate zips with barbecue smoke, red berries, peaches, apricots, vanilla cream, and Red Hots cinnamon candy. The flavor is similarly intense on the long finish, as dark chocolate meets peppermint. Big, lush, complex, and rich, this whisky has lots to offer.

Reviewed by: Ted Simmons (Winter 2021)

Bottling at cask strength, with only ‘barrier filtering’ to remove particles of char, rather than the standard chill-filtration process, gives the whisky greater integrity, with heightened aromas and flavors, and a satisfyingly sinewy mouthfeel not found in the standard 10 year old. Classic ‘burning hospital’ notes feature on the nose, along with peaty malt, vanilla, lemon, and brine. Charcuterie and cocoa powder add to the effect on the palate, before phenolic, medicinal, and sweet malt notes bring things to a close. A must-have Laphroaig that represents a big step up in intensity. Number 7 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

A turbocharged version of the formidable standard 10 year old, Cask Strength varies in ABV from batch to batch. Tar and antiseptic hit the nose immediately, along with peat smoke, malt, newsprint, and new leather. There’s also lemon, vanilla, and brine. The sinewy palate mirrors the nose, adding charcuterie and cocoa powder. Predictably medicinal and phenolic in the very long finish, with balancing sweet malt.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Initially aged in bourbon barrels before being transferred into quarter casks, and ultimately oloroso sherry butts. The sherry influence adds an additional dimension to the quarter-cask style, hence an oily nose of dates, vanilla, tropical fruits, and bonfire smoke. The palate is drier than might be expected, with Laphroaig iodine, barbecued meats, muted sherry, and peat smoke. The finish comprises dried fruits and lots of oak.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

This expression has been matured entirely in first-fill bourbon casks. The nose offers lemon juice squeezed onto hot baked salmon, cooked over a wood fire, then sprinkled with sea salt. Rich, sweet, tropical fruit flavors on the full palate, with honey, barley sugar, peppery oak, and mellow peat smoke. Dark chocolate, dry peat, and black pepper in the long, mildly medicinal finish. Editors’ Choice

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2019)

Clean and complex, showing a matured, somewhat restrained personality for Laphroaig: less medicinal, but more rounded. Tar, pencil shavings, anise, honeyed citrus, Spanish olive brine, and a hint of seaweed and white pepper on a bed of creamy vanilla, caramel, and light nougat. Lingering, satisfying finish. Frustrated by a dearth of 20-plus year old distillery-bottled Laphroaigs? Look no further. Delicious!

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Fall 2013)

Any sherried Laphroaig is welcome, and this does not disappoint. Rich, resinous, medicinal, with underlying soft fruits, the smoke is all-pervading, but never dominant. In other words, it isn’t just complex and balanced, but has that other dimension which elevates it in mind (and marks). With water, there’s antiseptic cream mingling with oxidized fruits and nuts; think manzanilla pasada. The palate shows storm clouds gathering over Texa. Rich dried fruits, cacao, and a ferny lift on the finish. Fantastic. (The Whisky Exchange only)  £100

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2014)

The nose is earthy and spicy with mature oak, aged peat, melted caramel, potpourri, sherry, candle wax, musty old library, and wool-filled closet. On the palate it’s rich and concentrated, creamy and thick, with chocolate cake and warm chocolate syrup, burnt coffee beans, cooked dark fruits, and medicinal notes, with a great touch of peated sweetness at the end. The peat and sherry oak create a remarkably subtle, yet delightfully complex effect.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2021)

The annual bottling for 2020 was matured in bourbon barrels and second-fill ruby port barriques, married together, and finished in red wine casks. Ripe strawberries, iodine, and peat on the nose. Red berry jam in time. Flinty, with sea salt. Creamy on the palate, with caramel, hot tar, sweet red wine, burning peat, antiseptic, chile, and brine. Licorice, pepper, and drying peat in the long, satisfying finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2020)

This expression offers an uncompromising note of brine-laden peat and iodine, with charcoal and sweeter fruit notes also present. The palate is equally out there, with old-fashioned fabric Band-Aids, bladderwrack seaweed, black pepper, smoldering peat, vanilla, caramel, and sweet oak. The finish is as big as everything else, with barbecue, iodine, and asphalt. Still a classic!

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Amber with gold streaks. Its aroma and flavor is fresh, powerful, and medicinal, with notes of peat smoke, band-aids, tar, rich toffee, seaweed, and brine. Thick in body, with an almost molasses-like viscosity.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Fall 2002)

Aged in quarter casks, bourbon barrels, and sherry butts for 27 years, then finished in sherry casks. Red apples and honey on the nose, where the characteristic Laphroaig phenolic attack becomes muted with time. Dried fruit, malt, and vanilla on the palate, along with subtle notes of iodine and warm tar. Developing brine, dark chocolate, and licorice leading into a dry, smoky, peppery finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2019)

The 2019 edition of Laphroaig’s annual Càirdeas series, this is a cask-strength version of Laphroaig Triple Wood. The complex nose is redolent of iodine, lime, peat smoke, wood-fired meats, drying seaweed, salt air, and other maritime notes. Charred smoky peat and coal fire envelop the palate, and embrace emerging notes of bitter chocolate, licorice, savory herbs, smoked jerky, cracked pepper, and cigar ash. A spicy finish is filled with leather, bitter nuttiness, dark chocolate, espresso, and lingering peat smoke. Number 12 in the 2019 Top 20

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2019)