![]() Select, Quarter Cask, Triple Wood, PX Cask, the Cairdeas releases, and older variants such as the 18yo and 25yo). There are numerous expressions in Laphroaig’s core range (e.g.(Well, at least in terms of their flagship expressions! That being said, Lagavulin appears to have manoeuvred in recent years to steer its fans towards its younger 8yo expression, while Laphroaig has heavily pushed its NAS range.) Thus, any comparison of these great whisky brands has to take into account a six year age difference. The flagship expression of Laphroaig is the 10 Years Old, whilst the flagship expression of Lagavulin is the 16 Years Old.Laphroaig is owned by Beam Global (now Suntory!) and Lagavulin is from the Diageo stable, one of their original “Classic Malts”.They both make heavily peated, smoky, medicinal whisky.Both whiskies come from Islay, and yes, they are next-door neighbours, just one mile apart from one another. ![]() ![]() This merits Laphroaig 10 Year a well-deserved score of 94.It’s the question every Islay whisky fan asks themselves at some point in their whisky journey: Laphroaig or Lagavulin – which one is better? Is there a definitive answer? Yes, there’s some juicy stuff we can explore over the next minute or two…įor the sake of this comparison, let’s get a few obvious things out of the way first: It offers simplicity and purity of expression from a place where there are many competing classics, and a few competing trendsetters.Ĭonsidering the company it keeps on Islay, Laphroaig certainly holds its own. It encapsulates much what the average peaty whisky drinker desires and expects. Laphroaig 10 Year remains a beloved classic because of its ability to transport its audience to Islay, a remote and harsh place many will never travel to. Sweeter on the palate than expected considering the heft peat brings to whisky, Laphroaig 10 Year leaves the impression of sea spray and hot breakfast cereal on the finish, fading into just the smoky peat we know it for. It is clear the play between very sweet oak and very smoky peat is what makes this spirit the seminal one that it is today Match sticks, sulphur, hay, and smoked salt blend together with the ripe sugar elements that define the spirit. Savory, with marked slate and driftwood notes. On the palate, the first impression is the interplay between sweet and salty. After opening up, taffy, peanut butter fudge, and sweetly viscous gumminess are present, herbal ocean tones underlying still. Medium caramel in the glass, the Laphroaig 10 Year Old, which is their entry level Scotch, looks like any other whisky out there.īehind the obvious peatiness on the nose lurks a beautiful array of scents: smoke, decay, iodine, leather, seawater, charcoal, and wet stone. Laphroaig tastes like the bitter ocean air whipping me across the road as I walked the island at night it tastes like the ocean beating against the black rocks at the shore it tastes like morose Scottish winter. Moreover, the entire trip-in many ways-tastes like Laphroaig to me because of that moment. Being able to be fully ensconced in all of the elements I had experienced when nosing and tasting this type of whisky in the past, but so viscerally, so completely, was an overwhelming and unforgettable moment. Laphroaig was the first time I had seen an active malting floor-in addition to walking on the metal grated floor above their peat smoking kilns. Once commonplace, traditional floor malting in-house is now scarce only a handful of distilleries in Scotland still perform this step themselves (including Kilchoman and Bowmore on Islay, Highland Park in the Orkney Islands, Springbank in Campbeltown and The Balvenie and Benriach in Speyside). As one of the only Scotch whisky distilleries that still malts their own barley, their malting floor was a key attraction at their facility. Although all of the distilleries had something unique to offer to my research in addition to my personal experience, it was Laphroaig that changed the way I taste whisky today. When I was researching Scotch whisky last year, I spent some time on Islay interviewing and touring distilleries all over the island. Laphroaig holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, but one reason in particular. The Whiskey Wash, while appreciative of this, did keep full independent editorial control over this article. ![]() Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a free sample to review by the party behind it.
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