A Kilbride Distillery 28 yo 1989 / 2017 HNWS Taiwan 51.1% vs Laphroaig 25 yo 1986 / 2011 AD Rattray #2123 60.6%
A Kilbride Distillery 28 yo 1989 / 2017 HNWS Taiwan 51.1%
It doesn’t actually say Laphroaig but the word Kilbride is a dead giveaway – that and the whisky itself. This one shows significant wood influence in copious amounts of custard, sweet oaky lactones and burnt sugar. Worn leather and labdanum bring a warm groundedness. The requisite Laphroaig is also in attendance: Salty mud, brine, drops of cough medicine, wet hemp ropes, eucalyptus and liquorice candy, and bouquet garni. The peat and smoke are reduced to an elegant growl. It’s all very well-mannered. Time has rounded off the corners but the glow simmers. Pretty much spot on for an aged Laphroaig of the period.
Laphroaig 25 yo 1986 / 2011 AD Rattray #2123 60.6%
Powerful, crystalline and sharp to a point. Absolutely no puppy fat. It’s maritime to an elemental degree, and cuts the palate with a razor citric acidity, even the peat seems to eschew earthiness for a metallic-mineral graphene zing. Very lean. Quinine, juniper and iron shavings. Rock salt. I’ve had this style of Laphroaig before and the purity always impresses away. Not very complex but monumental.
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