Laphroaig 11yo 1998-2010 61.3% C&S Dram Collection cask#700286 btl#168

There you go, another CS Laphroaig vintage 1998. Finding these were like catching fish in a pond a couple of years back. And many has been great! I remember I had a sherried one from same vintage and same series a while back, great stuff. The color is golden, natural, of course. It smells burnt, peat smoke, camphor, gasoline, burnt, vanilla, herbal tea, ashes, but most of all it's gasoline. I've never found such a strong scent of petrol in any malt before, at least none that I can remember. The taste is very strong, salmi, dry licorice, leather, charcoal, smoky, burnt rubber, gun smoke, burning tires, very extreme. Its like, I'd imagine, chewing on gunpowder. Not very medicinal, coastal, or typical Laphroaig, but a beast nonetheless. Lets add a few drops of water. Now it turns richer, sweeter, more vanilla, scented candles, cinnamon, leather, hay, some mineral notes, greens, junipers, a bit waxy and floral, coats my tounge well and leaves this thick sumptuous sweetness in the finish. When neat, the finish was too strong to really enjoy for me. I have to admit I'm still impressed by the young CS Laphroaig bottlings.

A bit unusual in style, a rich, complex Laphroaig, yet extreme in every way: 9

Next tasting: Fettercairn Distillery