If you follow the blog for a while, you probably know by now I have a very sweet spot for Laphroaig. I have to tell you that a few years ago there was a rough patch in our relationships but in the last 2-3 years things are far better, thanks for asking!

This 10 Year Old Sherry Oak finish release is not just a limited edition but it’s a new addition to the core line up of Laphroaig, so a very encouraging and refreshing addition if you ask me – kind of a counterbalance to the Quarter cask which is also bottled at 48%

This whisky was aged for ten years in refill sherry and ex-Bourbon barrels and then finished in European oak Oloroso sherry casks for unspecified time period. So basically we should get here the classic 10 Year Old profile with extra sherry goodness and added oomph. Let’s check out if it fulfil the promise and potential.

Laphroaig 10 Year Old Oak Finish (48%, £59.95/€68.50)

photo credit: thewhiskyexchange.com

Nose: Sweet dried red fruits and berries with raspberries, cranberries and strawberries in the lead. Semi dry smoke, TCP and iodine, smoked meat, soot, tar, gentle ashiness and leather. After a few minutes (or lots of minutes in my case), it feels more like old school Laphroaig.

Palate: Ah, here is the modern Laphroaig ahsy side with an initial blast of ash and smoke. Then sweet smoked meat, meat in BBQ sauce, dried berries, again the combo of raspberries, strawberries and cranberries. Peat smoke but also some wood smoke and dark chocolate. I felt a small dip in body complexity on the first sip but it recovered quickly. Sooty,  tar, more chocolate, cooked cinnamon and espresso, not too drying and I like this.

Finish: Long finish, ashy and sooty, medicinal, smoked meat, lingering dried raspberries and cranberries, dark chocolate and espresso.

Thoughts: I like it. Yeah, I may not be 100% objective but I feel this whisky is like a cross of modern Laphroaig with the smoke/ash/dryness trademark and the older Laphroaig which were more wet peat style – this is something in between – The nose feels more old style and the palate feels more modern but generally a good combo here. Note to self: need to get another bottle – good thing this is a permeant core lineup bottle.