🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

like licking a piece of chalk that fell into an ashtray :D

Even the uncorking and pouring me a smile. Within a very short time, Laphroaig's typical, pleasant scent mixture of coal smoke and seaweed spreads through the room. Whenever I smell that fragrance, I think I can imagine how Ian Hunter managed to get his whisky recognized as a medicine in the days of US Prohibition. Every year, the tension is great. After Green Label and Red Label, the Laphroaig team has already launched 10 batches of their 10yo Cask Strength. So far, again and again, absolute price-performance blast, which run the parallel appearing, highly praised Cairdeas bottlings mostly supple rank. Well, the bottlings have been all, without exception, although quite different in taste, as a Vergleichstasting confirmed a few years ago. Some batches, like 003, 007 or 009, were even outstanding for IMHO. Curious to see if even the new family member is able to convince. Eye / nose Vigorous old-golden shade. Hopefully undyed? Anyhow not cool filtered. Broad, slow-moving spider legs and late drops trickle down the glass wall of Glencairn in slow motion. Visually a treat. The intense nose also arouses interest, while I still relish the oily course of the malts. The barrels used - or at least parts of it - should have burnt down vigorously. Yellow fruits. Like almost every year, I have again the final push that more sherry wood got lost in the batch, as the maximum of 5% of the barrels, which indicates the distillery almost like a prayer mill. In the nose leads first of the (coal) smoke, to the Bourbon vanilla, and in the background then caramel sweetness and apricot jam. The longer I absorb the scent, the more intense the herbal note, a bit like in the coniferous forest. And to it freshly opened Hansaplast. You do not have to say more. Typical Laphroaig. palate Warm, he rolled in and a bit spicy. The consistency is very nice creamy and fruity, from the memory a little less sweet than some of the previous batches. The oak is more intense here. A rich tick spicy, kräutriger than I have from the tastings of the former 10 CS remembered. Black forest honey and fir resin come to my mind. But also greasy notes and some licorice Also the apricot jam from the nose can be found again, where I mean English orange marmalade and even some orange peel to taste. Be sure not a dry malt. Rather fruity and quite pleasant, despite the strength and phenol content. The medico-peaty Laphi smoke is, like the alcohol, neatly integrated and gives the pot once again another dimension that makes the malt immediately wonderfully complex. Nothing to criticize. I like it. Incidentally, a few drops of water make it even more blooming; the individual taste nuances appear refreshed, as it were. Finish / Conclusion The finish is smoky long and also very spicy. The oak spice draws from the flavors actually like a red thread through the batch 10. There is not much more to say here. Again a strong, creamy, solid Laphi with age, in natural strength without fault and blame for the price of friendship.

The CS batches are easy to rely on - a perfect dram for a grubby autumn day - dangerously tasty with a few drops of water

A top malt, PL ratio at starting price simply fantastic, over and over again !!!

Quick hit review. Whisky calendar - Day 13. Someone set the hospital on fire - there are few distilleries that I instantly recognize in a blind tasting. Whiffs of dirty coal smoke, lemon zest and white pepper dominate the nose, followed by menthol cigarettes, brine and earthy notes. It's bone-dry and unmistakably Laphroaig. The punchy arrival kicks off with loads of soot, bitter oranges and resinous oak. This tastes like a distilled ashtray. Grapefruit, licorice and black tea hang around in the dry aftertaste. I am torn between fascination and disgust, so make of that what you will. RATING: 3.5/5.0 stars ≙ 84 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE

Nose: full and intense, smoke and stovepipe, maritime, iodine, green apple, lime, anise, followed by tropical fruits (passion fruit, mango, pineapple) and sherry notes. Palate: continues intensely, smoke and stovepipe, maritime, iodine, anise, marjoram, a touch of nougat and raisin Finish: medium-long, stovepipe and smoke, maritime, iodine, anise, a few refill sherry notes Rating: Intense and delicious. Lots of smoke with maritime notes, herbs, followed by tropical fruit and sherry notes. I like it. 87/100 or 6/10

Water: he does not need, anyway I try it with a few drops ... yes he opens something, the sweetness is even clearer. Overall, he does not need water in my opinion. Conclusion: Wow, what a board !!!!! Maybe a tiny shade worse than Batch 9, but for me that was the best whisky ever, apart from the old Green and Red Stripe bottlings. This is Islay south coast pure. I want this glass of whisky in the glass when I'm sitting in the evening at the port of Port Ellen and end a wonderful day on the mother of all islands. For me, the quintessence of all Islay whisky, a benchmark that all others have to beat first, and very few can do it. And if it now costs 10 GBP more than accidentally in the first Relase - this drop still has an unbeatable PLV, since all PC's, Octos, Caol Ilas and Ardbegs of this world do not lag behind. Honest, clean fabric, no frills, no pimp finish - just pure Islay 90 points

This batch is among the very best. #006 was excellent, too, #009, but #010 is in the same league. Maybe even a notch better?? I don't know. Typical Laphroaig, peat with iodine, medicine, ash, strong full flavoured body. I could drink this all night. Highly quaffable at high intrinsic quality level.

Tasty and tasty, very different from the standard 10s. Drink good with a lot of water for me.

Peaty, seaweed, salty, malty, some dark berries, fruity, sweetness. just a very fine complex Laphroaig. I was really enjoying this one. But then there was something in the finish that did not fit. a really bitter taste. not sure what happened there. Have to retaste in some weeks.

Nose dry smoke, subdued fruits, minerals Arrival bitter sweet peppers, acaholic punch Development geological mineral deveopment, controlled dry peppery acaholic burn. Finish dry sweet and long

N: smoky, creamy, somewhat sweet, otherwise not so expressive. G: oily, the peat explodes in your mouth, you literally have to chew it, it's so dense and intensely peaty! Great! (assuming you like that kind of thing ????), not too spicy or too alcoholic. A: here the peat opens into light smoke, bitter and spicy notes combine with a beautiful oiliness.

correct, not much of the typical laphroaig,

Dark gold in color. Distinctly oily texture.

Mirabellenmus on sticking plaster with coal dust Compared to the previous batches, it is noticeable that it comes along at least initially much fruity. Otherwise, the flavors are all available as usual. In the mouth, he may be a bit stronger than last year, then overall, especially to the finish out, much drier. With the other Drams comes to me a little boredom, which I did not go at the 009er. He is very clean, maybe a tad too clean ...

This is brilliant stuff! Very solid Laphroaig, real earthy stuff. Myriads better than the little things like "Lore" and many others from the core product line. I think the new batch 010 is a little bit different in taste than 009 (as every year there are slight or sometimes larger variations from batch to batch), I tasted them head to head, but they are absolutely at the same super high quality level. Excellent! Well done, Laphroaig!

Have the bottling of 2017 and 2018 tasted in parallel, there were small differences. The 2017 is a bit more balanced in the taste, smoke and sweetness play better together. The 2018er seemed a bit more brutal to me. Both are excellent.

Nose dry smoke, subdued fruits, minerals Arrival bitter sweet peppers, acaholic punch Development geological mineral deveopment, controlled dry peppery acaholic burn. Finish dry sweet and long

It's inside what it says on the outside. Laphi in cask strength. Very solid. With a clear highlight in the nose and at some point it will be exchangeable via the palate. Full review (german): https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2020/11/03/laphroaig-der-juengere/

Unusual Laffy nose, solid body but losing it right at the finish line. Still, you can't say no to a CS Laphroaig.

Somehow the spark doesn't really want to jump over. I think it weakens on the palate, where it is too tart, herbaceous and simple.

A little higher rating for this compared to batch 011. More distillate flavor and peat slightly reduced. Very subtle and need to compare head to head. But worthy of a higher rating. Down to 1/4 bottle. So I figure I better put in a review now. Also, in discussing taste I have said this on other reviews, but since I don't think Scotch goes with food, why put it in the category of tasting like food. Wine is made from grapes, a food, so it inherently goes with food and can be characterized as such.

Okay, so maybe this is blasphemy, but I think this absolutely kills the Lagavulin 12 CS edition (and is priced more fairly as well). I mean, the texture alone: oily as all fuck. Sweet and bitter, soft and brutal at the same time. Simply beautiful.

22 21 22 22 87 Surprisingly the best in recent years batch! By the way for the US market is also good!

Arrived at the table has given and idea of a warm blanket to the group. A marine peat aroma of the 4 drams has filled the room......

Nose 22, taste 22, finish 22, balance 22

Another note here, which is fully unnecessary, since there are many. For no reason other than I had them all right here, I did batch 007, 008, 010 side by side. They are all great! I love the style and kudos to the distillers for producing great whisky year after year. There may be subtle differences, for example this batch 010 seems a little more honeyed than the previous 007,008.. which I appreciate, but honestly they are all close. I can’t rate them different really because in the category which they fall, they all accomplish exactly the same thing. I really enjoy them all! I did have an early one before they started numbering them. The red stripe, and it had better quality sherry for sure, but these are great too. It actually really represents modern whisky on a whole. Everything is homogeneous and it sucks the character away - for better or for worse.

The famous Laphroaig attack has disappeared a little in a recent years, unmasking more of the sweetness of the distillate, but it is still a very great degree of characterful dram.

88,00

This Laphroaig is my first Laphroaig Ten Cask Strength. So I can not say how it compares to its predecessors. What I can say is that he really likes me as a fan of the Laphi character. In principle, he builds beautifully on the standard, whereby he seems much more complex, dense and somehow mature by the cask strength. Especially the creamy wood and fruit notes come through here more clearly and harmoniously, so it represents an almost perfected Laphi Ten for me. At the same time, I am particularly impressed by the nose. Too bad that the full spectrum of flavors can not quite hold in the mouth. Nevertheless, I assume that every Laphi fan will come especially at the expense of the price.

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2019/06/25/odds-ends-june-2019/ N: A contemporary-styled, peated vegetal Laphroaig – that’s pickled veg with an aromatic chilli touch and lime & unripe mango pickle with shoe polish. Once you find yourself stood inside a bicycle shed with a slice of vanilla icecream in a cardboard-y wafer, that’s your lot. T: Tight, short/acute arrival, drying as it travels,… F: ,.. yet becoming fluid towards the tail, wrapping up with a bitter-fresh old oaky smokey profile. C: Water reveals there’s less under the surface but what’s on the surface will suffice.

2018, the feeling is that everything has arrived, a strong drop compared to the 9th batch, everything has become simpler, more budget-friendly, chocolate and coffee notes have disappeared, sweets have diminished, sometimes a very sad feeling of a cigarette ashtray has developed from smoky-peat derivatives, so the release is not bad, but it completely nails the line, maybe, of course, they will correct it in the next release, but doubts are big about this.

Well, not the most vivid release of what I tried. I’ll repeat later, maybe in the wrong mood But no, no matter what the mood, the result is the same. The release is dry and flat, it’s hard to find anything besides wood in it

malty, sweet, typical laphi smoke.

Qualitatively, as always. Corporate identity is recognizable. It is always nice to sit with this whisky, but not much, because it is very typical.

71-80 – Fine, like to drink by time

Just drank my remaining 5cl sample. Still not impressed. It's good, and certainly strong, but nothing special. Only a few years ago I had a few samples from a green stripe bottle, and I feel like the sea and sal-ammoniac aromas from those bottles are completely missing here.

Wet forest, damp peat and earth, with a very, very salty edge. The peat veers a bit toward the vegetal type as opposed to the usual smoky, diesel, ashy peat. Some beef bouillon, salty caramel, and dark chocolate. Such precise control of flavors, nice balance, very dense mouthfeel, very cohesive. It's still a bit simple without much tertiary flavors, but not many distilleries can produce something like this at just 10 years of age.

Well, you have to stand on something, I'm not quite as the fan of the CS Laphis as others, but understand the attraction already good, quality is already a force for the age, the CS does him good.

A powerful dram, but to me too much of a simple and direct vanilla soot bomb, with none of the nuance of the better batches like #012. So far my least favorite of the batches I've tried (003, 009, 010, 011, 012).

Nose: Floral, spice, smoke, Spree, cereal sweetness, iodine and dried fruit. Palate: Dried dark fruit, smoke, leather, spice, cereal sweetness, and coastal notes. Finish: Long -> Smoked dark fruit and toffee fade out with an earthiness.

Nice Laphroaig, strong smoke but "rounder" than the normal Laphroaig 10 or Quarter Cask. With a little water it opens up and releases the complex aromas.

Wow, one of the series that might have been interesting at the issue price. I like both with and without water drops. The waxy twist almost made me slip off the couch. For the full review, go here: https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2022/10/23/iod-blut-und-traenen/

Small comparison tasting Laphroaig 10 CS 1. Batch 014 2. Batch 010 3. Batch 017

In turn, Batch 010 brings to the forefront the aromas of sunflower oil and seeds, technical components, dry wood and menthol freshness. Rubber, minerals and herbs are also present, but not as prominently as the predecessor. After the sample has breathed, apples, sour fruits, some lemons emerge, as well as milk chocolate, coffee, sweet pears and dried bananas. Batch 010 exhibits a stronger herbal and peppery astringency.

Tasty, tasty, intense. 83 points.

Overall probably my least favourite batch, it may grow on me but lacks body and finish in a big way. Lined this up against 008 and 009 and it was 3rd best and I wasn’t that impressed with 009 In my opinion just another average whisky

Conclusion and pictures on: https://tomtrinkt.de

so far i've been having two kinds of laphroaig cask strengths, those that i really like a lot and those that i like a little less... this CS010 is leaning towards the 003, 006 & 008 though not as convincing. Anno 2025: i just had another dram of this #010 and found i had to take it down one point from 91 to 90 great dram!

B21 P21 F21 B22 Strong but tasty

Balance (22) Bomb! How long have I not drunk Laphroaig (90)

Another very nice Laphroaig 10 CS version. This one is dry and peppery (remembers me of batch 007). Concerning price/performance ratio: 10/10

Recognizable notes in their concentrated and delightful realization: medical notes, iodine, warm smoke of a dying fire in which autumn leaves are smoldering, industrial notes of fuel oil, grease, such a path along the railroad tracks. Sweet yellow fruits and dried berries. The taste and finish consistently continue this path.

The best Laphroaigs in the past few years definately are the 10 year CS editions. This one makes no exception.

Overall, a nice, but not necessarily outstanding batch. Relatively tame in terms of smoke, but otherwise nicely balanced and with a decent amount of chocolate.

Blind tasting: Complex and balanced in all areas. The whole bottle is definitely fun.

An absolute pleasure, as every year. You really do not have to lose so many words, because that's once again young and powerful Laphroaig at its best.

Very cool. My first in the series, but certainly not the last!

N21 P21 F21 B22

Light on the nose, citrus, smoke, a little sweaty, oily. In addition, dextrose, some charred green vegetable matter. Immediately powerful green bitter notes in the mouth. Extremely tart. Smoke, ash, wood. The finish is peaty, salty, bitter, menthol, the smoke and the wood are clean. Walnut shells. So ... I lack the balance, I find it almost too bitter and not fruity enough.

Another good batch from Laphroaig. Cold ash, sawdust, fruit, vanilla and a little coconut shavings.

Base from Laphroig. All))

Had an H2H lineup of various Laphroaig cask strength releases from old to modern.

This batch wasn't particularly outstanding, but it's still quite enjoyable to drink.

T he has long time weider nen LAPHI that I really like. Nice aspects, a lot to experience and great flavors. Especially the strong ash or coal I did not have on the screen at all. I'll treat myself to a glass again. I would like to thank Manfred because he surprised me with this sample and gave me great pleasure.

Horny, like every year. Big cinema!

Spicier than batch 9, and a bit more sherry. 87/88.

A Laphroaig Cask Strenght ... I do not really need to say anything more, except that Batch # 10, in contrast to its predecessors, looks rather fruity and gives me less association with campfire romance. As always, a very successful batch, which I like this batch because of its fruity side a little better than its predecessors. 23/23/22/22 (90P)

In a first approximation, the final 87 Already the 9th batch was not pleased at all, it looks like the 10th applicant there too.

For my taste to medical smoky and a little bit earthy-peaty aroma. The interesting sea notes, however, are quite nice. Reminds me something of the Ardbeg Ten, albeit slightly better. The so earthy-peaty direction does not seem to be my taste.

Not bad by any means. Personally, I lack a bit of punch and it's a bit too oaky bitter, which I don't like, especially for young smokers. And Z. B. Batches 9 and 11 are much more complex. All in all, it's a well-rounded affair, just not very edgy this time, but rather a bit more mainstream, almost drinkable. The Laphi DNA is clearly there, so a thumbs up. Successful again.

Distillery only release for the UK but available in other territories. If only the NAS were as easier to miss ;)

[June, 2018]  A friend asked about my opinion of this new Laphroaig cask strength release and luckily I was able to get a sample (I do not buy bottles of Laphroaig anymore without a prior sampling because most of its last releases were not to my liking - rather immature and too heavily wood-driven).  But the cask strength editions were pretty good so far and I pray this one will be too… ...depending on whether you are a "wood-head" or not you might prefer this batch over others or not (like me).  To me the best batch (ignoring the old unnumbered ones which are simply unmatched) is batch 3 followed by the legendary 007 and batch 9.  This one is the best Laphroaig release since its predecessor cask strength batch 9 and the only Laphroaig that is worth the bucks these days (to me as an old-fashioned drinker, only)...

I do not know if it's due to the batch or a taste development leap on my part - I think the incredibly tasty, just delicious, would like to refill immediately. Earlier batches: 2cl, OK, very tasty, but at 4cl it was enough as well. My heavy-peat-time has actually been around for some time. Want to say: The # 010 goes down like oil, and I have absolutely no dilution need. (Experiments on other persons confirm this.8-)) They have gotten really good. And if you got him for the FOL price and ordered several bottles and comes roundabout € 55, that was a top buy, with 10-15% more it's not bad.

Bright tight daring. Perfectly balanced. Excellent!!! For some reason, remembered in the nose furniture polish)))))

I like only this one in the islay whiskies.

Smell: sea water, dog hair, humid sea breeze, salt, coke. The smell is a little closed, wake up, medical alcohol, mint, cream, salted fish, a little apple juice. 83/100 Taste: high sweetness, dog hair, seared sea fish, large pieces of salt, disinfectant, potion, fruit vinegar, oak, orange cake, maltose, dried kelp 84/100 Body: oily, medium body 86/100 Final rhyme: long, fruity soda, mast, disinfectant 84/100 Overall: 84.5/100, cold and hard peat, too sweet, and the expression of dividing into two is not too harmonious. The flavor is gone, completely unlike what it should be at 58 degrees.

It has a characteristic smoky smell The smell of dark fruits, salt preserved fruits and obvious salty taste Compared with this batch, I prefer the following batch 12 and batch 13