July 5th 2020. Will the history books remember this day? I will. There's a good argument to be made that life is measured better by the number and the potency of our accumulative experience rather than by the number of days our bodies have tagged on them.
Laphroaig 10 is certainly an experience and it's what we're reviewing today.
A reminder for those reading through, this blog is by amateurs for amateurs, a more down to earth and relatable experience than the high flung expert tastings we commonly find online and on the back of bottles. Something you can rely on to make decisions about which scotch you want in your cabinet.
This is a love it or hate it scotch. There are no 3 ratings here.
This is Simon's pick, and he was expecting to get punched in the face here with something very potent based on what he'd heard and seen. Nevertheless, Laphroaig 10, by everyone's taste-buds, did not meet those expectations. It's an easy to drink scotch, without too much burn, and the flavors highlighted below are distinct but mild.
On the nose the peat smoke hits you the hardest. Simon picks up some sweet orchard smell, which Kyle and Trevor back up. After a minute the brine stands out, it reminds Sean of a fishing town out east (the Maritimes in Canada that is).
Scott and Sean both get an oily, full mouth feel.
The flavors match the odors perfectly in terms of quality, but not in terms of quantity. The peat, the brine, and to a lesser extent the orchard sweetness, are all there, but diminished and tamed in comparison to the nose.
Kyle pictures celebration and reward for some future success with this scotch.
Although there is a chasm in our ratings, this is the first scotch where all 5 of us, on the nose and the tongue, have no disagreements at all. This is a scotch that lays its cards on the table. A naked, unashamedly genuine, scotch.
Simon and Kyle are both tempted to give this their highest ratings yet with a high 80s, but they want to sleep around before committing to Laphroaig 10, so they settle for 83 and 80 respectively. Sean matches that 80. Trevor and Scott can appreciate the different flavor profile compared to what we've reviewed so far, but it's just not their cup of whisky, and they settle on 50 and 72 respectively. Averages out to 73.
As mentioned the average is misleading on this one and whether this is a good value bottle depends on who you talk to. Peat and brine lovers will say it's an awesome value bottle. Sweet teeth will say it isn't. We recommend you give it a shot.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew
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