Laphroaig 21 (200th Anniversary 2015) vs Laphroaig 17 yo 1987 for Monnier Trading
Laphroaig 21 yo, 200th Anniversary 2015 48.4%
Nose: After a fruity 15 yo and a rather sweet 18 yo, what cloth is the 21 cut from? A cleaner less loud kind of Laphroaig, with a more pristine coastal character this time, slightly manky wet nets, clean preserved lemons, and lots of white ash and … it’s very mentholated! Undertones of that medicinal iodine. And traces of bungcloth and dank warehouses. I like this clarity.
Palate: Elegant and subtle for a Laphroaig. Immediately saline and speaks of all things maritime, also salty-sweet pickled lemon slices, clean smoke, wet oak and wet ropes. Just the merest drop of medicine. Good but maybe not the most inspiring on the tongue.
Finish: Medium long, ash, smoke and fresh seawater.
Laphroaig 17 yo 1987 for Monnier Trading 51.7%
Nose: A very different style but this has much more horsepower nonetheless. This one has a big gritty earthy peat, a penetrating medicinal tang, dirty with gristle and burnt ends, charcoal, black ash soaked with drippings, a muddy salinity, blackened smoking wood and best of all, no overt sherry despite the sherry, contradictory?
Palate: Quite immense. Dirty, earthy, deeply peaty, salty, muddy brine, lots of ‘bonfire’ in this, quite a bit of bitter tannins too. Lots of chinese preserved fruit, very exotic for a Laphroaig? Also very charred, the insides of an incinerator. Larger than life.
Finish: Long, interestingly I get a very clear preserved plums – the sweet and salty type, ash and muddy nets.
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