Laphroaig 10 yo The Laphroaig Collection circa late 90s 33.33cl 43%

Laphroaig 10 yo The Laphroaig Collection circa late 90s 43%

An old duty free exclusive. No crest on front label but present on rear label. Since the royal warrant was awarded in 1994, this was from the early subsequent years before the royal warrant made its way to the front too.
There is a reason these simple old 10s of yesteryear are held in such high regard and it is self evident here. Wonderful complexity and depth without a monstrous one dimensional peat jamming up all senses. I suspect that the peating was done lighter then and also the depth of peat extraction may have been treated with more discernment. So: a mystical brew of deep earth and dark oils, sprinkled with flecks of iodine salt, hot tar, dry but oily smoke, hot embers upon which some juicy rendering has dripped, dried lemons and salted herring. The sea is a tugging churn of freshness and power never far from the senses. The whole is big but not huge, amazingly complex yet restrained, ‘richly flavoured’ indeed but never unapproachable. 90 pts