🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

not far from the 18yo

You can complain about the price, about the malt not. Very nice, as the notes of exotic fruits and the mild smoke unite. The 43% are just right.

86/87. Nice profile but this should have been bottled at higher strength. Fruity for a Laphroaig, but not as smooth as the old version of the 15.

Trichlorophenylmethyliodosalicyl ridden bottle.

Light gold color. Slightly oily structure.

N: Melon & orange juice, fruit punch,... fruit cocktails even. The cask mix/bag of tricks brings an interesting slant on the Laphroaig house style. T: Im aware this particular bottle is soft (super-oxidised), but its still able to relate some of its former glory. Theres more fruit punch for the palate, and style-wise its (older) Bowmore-esque. F: Soft fermented fruits, dry, dark oak, tea tannins. C: Super oxidised/flat bottle, still able to show its worth. This [cleverly] 'doctored' Laphroaig reminds me [style-wise] of Laphroaig 'PX Cask' WB - earlier batches of which were very good. Scores 86 as it is, but i reckon it was better when fresh.

N- Fresh, cool copper and high on mineral. Surprisingly light but elegant with multi-layers and evolving aromas. Citrusy came thru with soft cherry and pomerol, almost like a fruity white wine. Lifted lychee smokes with drops of water. P- Gentle and balance on weight. Sweet malt rounded with well integrated smokes. Not to wow you with heavy peat like the 10Y, but rather complement the overall flavours. F- Medium, soft and elegant with citrus, grilled lemon and juicy. — at Laphroaig distillery.

I think he is really good and he is something different in his rather restrained but yet expressive way.

unfortunately this sample seemed quite simple, fresh... yes, there are signs of ayla, probably more towards this distillery. But expectations were higher. 21.5-21-21-21.5

I wouldn't call the anniversary edition a glorious return of the Laphroaig 15. It is a fine whisky, but that's about it. It won't be long before you'll find them in a shop near you. It is a cool, landmark release. But not because of its exceptional quality. You can find better peated whiskies for the same price.

Even a good quality Torfler, will never quite be my direction in the form.

Compared to the old 15-year-old, he comes with a darling sweetness. The phenolic notes were displaced by more vanilla. I like the old one a little better, but even the new 15-year-old is a great, round whisky with a nice finish.

So glad the 15 year old is back!

(Blind tasting 2018) I really like the end of the week, uncomplicated and still drinkable, reminds me of Talisker, maybe the Storm? I estimate age at 12 years. Alcohol is probably less than 46%, in the beginning it was still a bit pungent, but not more later.

A very good whisky for a core range, non cask strength expression.

Weak

One of the most underwhelming Laphroaigs I've had in a while. Had a nice start, but tripped early on and never finished the race. This is why I rarely buy official Laphroaigs nowadays.

Serge says; Laphroaig 15 yo '200th Anniversary' (43%, OB, 2015) This baby needs no introduction. The older 15 had always been a favourite in the house, since the early ‘white label, red letters’ version. It’s been discontinued a few years back and replaced with a 18. And now it’s back, on time for Laphroaig’s 200 years. By the way our dear friend Marcel van Gils has written a superb book for the occasion. I’ve only seen a few highlights, but I know it’ll be smashing stuff. I’ll post a link as soon as it’s out, do not miss it! In the meantime, back at the ranch, let’s have this new 15… Colour: gold. Nose: I find less tropical fruits, and less ‘femininity’ than in the older 15 (not talking about the powerful older ones), and much more ‘big stuffy smoke’. I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to some peat burning in a fireplace, burning papers (with perhaps a bit of plastic), antiseptic, creosote and ozone. In the background, oysters and wet limestone. What I totally adore is the fact that there are no oaky smells that I can get. How un-modern, how smart! This is an anti-Select. Mouth: you would have thought they could have pushed it to 46% vol., but no, that would have been unnecessary. Totally Laphroaig, a bit acrid, very smoky, quite medicinal, very smoky, and yet candied and sweet, with grapefruit syrup and a little limoncello. It’s got this blade-y side that’s so thrilling, but also some sweeter liquorice, orange drops, and perhaps a couple of cheap whelks (my favourite seafood beyond oysters, don’t ask me why.) Excellent. Finish: long, much saltier. Drinking seawater and liquid smoke. Some coal smoke in the rather dry aftertaste. Comments: phew! I think this is extremely well done, kudos to John C. and staff. Oh and very smart, older fans must be pleased. SGP:357 - 90 points.

I really, really like this 15. Although it was only bottled recently (2015), it is far removed from the modern Laphroaigs of this era. There is hardly any oak, wood or caramel notes in the whisky. Strong peat of the modern Laphroaigs (yes!), but oak and caramel (no!). Rather fruity and also maritime.

Blindtasting Nose: very thin, a few fruits, some smoke, leather, Ingwar, citrus and biscuit Mouth: citrus, butter biscuit, malt, vanilla, a little bitterness Finish: Short to medium. Little complexity and depth. Tip: Stagnant or oxidized Talisker 10yo

86/88/87/87

87.5

Round, complex and fruity Laphroaig, I like it, but does not quite reach the 18 yo.

It tastes like someone has distilled a smoky banana wheat. ;-) Delicious part, could use a slightly higher alcohol content for my personal taste.

Beautiful, round Islay Malt. Can not really complain. But to put it bluntly, very clearly. IMHO does not go along with the wonderful, powerful hands from Green Stripe to Batch 006. Unfortunately not with his wild "namesake", who was replaced by 18yo a few years ago.

http://www.weinkenner.de/2015/alt-gegen-neu-15yo-laphroaig-2006-vs-2015-200th-anniversary-35805/ Color: straw yellow Nose: Thin nose with equally thin Islay-Südküstenflair - lime juice, little spice and some muffelig-sweet peat flavors. Floral and slightly perfumed accents with green apple slices and honey aromas. All in all, not at all uncomfortable. Taste: Sweet, perfumed apple-lime juice, which at the beginning is quite bland and with an artificial sweetness (reminds a bit of alcopops). Polarizing in no direction, blind very difficult to type on a 15yo Laphroaig. Towards the finish, the peat shows off better, and a little more flavor with a slight tingling develops on the tongue. Finish: Medium long - now a lot of peat and well-integrated, tenderly bitter notes twirl on the palate, sweetness and tartness are now in balance, and with the sweet peat in the background is now the best part of the new 15er. Note: No signs of iodine and medical notes. Thin structure, uncomplicated and "newfangled" sweet, but with a lot of peat in the finish. 85 points (nose: 86 / taste: 83 / finish: 86)

absolutely my stuff. this is no loud whisky. it´s not built for power but for beauty. would like to try this at higher strength, I think 46% might be perfect. no water needed! 90/100 or even higher

Sweeter style of Laphroaig, especially on the nose. Peaty and sweet but balanced on the nose with some bitterness in the finish. Great dram overall.

DionysusIf you read your email properly it says FIRST 2500 bottles are for friends of laphroaig and official webpage doesnt state anything about the amount of bottles per you say.

the notes are complex from nose to mouth the alcohol note, the sharpness, the lack of tension take him points Ranking: 1.Nase, 2.Abgang, 3.Mund an always welcomed dram

A really weak-breasted Laphroaig ... This has not shared with its predecessors except the name ...

200 years of smoke mixture. It is like a mixture of 60% 18 years old Laphroaig (white), 20% Laphroaig Select and 10% of Leftoverlaphroaig. Not as much TCP, smoke, medicine as we would get from the previous 15 year old version. Not as much 200 years of history as expected. But still interesting. Concerning price/performance ratio: 7/10

The perfect treat for Laphi friends. Pleasant medicinal aspects vie for your favor with a whole bowl of fruit (very tropical). My predecessors have already listed a large number of aspects. I can only add: I also find green olives in this wonderful and mouth-warming cocktail. The proportion of bee honey is also remarkable. And at the end you get swallowed another wave of sea water. - In a group of friends, after this drop, we also tried the "ordinary" 10-year-old for comparison: and that one (otherwise also very appreciated by hardliners) only tasted rather stale and watery...

What a pity that this dram is not bottled in cask strength!

well done, almost better than the old version of 15yo

Well put-together malt which needs to be explored with time. Suffers of 43% abv. imho as flavors are not as concentrated as in earlier versions of the 15 or 10 @43% abv. for that matter. Inferior to the latter ones, too. Still decent complexity. I like it better than the newer 16 @48% abv. for its elegance.

I am somehow a Laphi fanboy but this one dont kicks me out of my chair. Very weak in the taste and finish, it could bear some extra percent of alcohol. Apart from the citrus notes behind the smoke, i also had some rubbery notes that i never detected before in a Laphroaig. Is it because it was my 4th dram today or was my sample maybe faulty and oxidized - i really dont know; but the one i had was not the one i prefer compared to recently other ones. If you want to spend 85 bugs for a nice smoky dram, you should swipe the cask strength edition. If course, a bad comparison because of the difference in ABV, but if i only had 85 bugs... You know what i mean ;)

Coming back to this whisky about 7 years later and emptying the bottle, it's now clear to me what the intent of this whisky was. The attempt to reproduce the tropical fruit spirit with the lightly layered smoke of Laphroaig distilled before 1995 was IMO not successful. Although this expression was decent, it pales in comparison of the whisky it tries to mimic. I still applaud Laphroaig for trying and would even encourage them to experiment more and try harder, because IMHO that old style is so, so, so much better.

A quite good dram, although not as good as the "old 15 year" Laphroaig.Tasted, at Copenhagen Malt Whisky Tasting Society, 8. May 2015.

A very good dram, especially for the price.

A good dram, but for the hype and price asked I'd expect something a little more complex and maybe with a craft presentation. Prefer the old 15 year, and the QC for that matter.

This got me slightly in a tangle. Don’t get me wrong, this is certainly not a bad expression. Though, I was expecting more after reading all the raving reviews. But you should never do that, do you? The nose was slightly underwhelming, although the palate made up for most part, there were just too much bourbon-cask infused oranges. But still recommended, I did enjoy it very much.