Rating
Price
Circa £30-35
In A Nutshell
Still Laphroaig, still peaty, but with more tobacco smoke flavours and sweetness than expected. Also economical.
New Casks, New Approach…
You are looking at The Laphroaig Select. It has divided opinions as apparently a detour from the legendary Laphroaig’s usual approach to rather peaty expressions (as is to be expected for most stuff coming out of Islay). Some are saying that this could be a way to introduce people to the wondrous heated whiskies of this windswept island. Others (perhaps the purists?) are saying that it’s not characteristic enough.
I guess you have to try it for yourself and come to your own conclusions. Laphroaig’s never let me down yet!
Anyway, Select gets its name from the unusual ’selection’ of casks involved in its creation. They trailed a whole bunch of new combinations, inspired by the travels of Ian Hunter, who was the last family member to run the distillery (they’re now owned by Beam Suntory).
Ian also got Laphroaig to start using Bourbon casks – which you could say ‘modernised’ their ageing style. The name and eventual taste profile was chosen by the Friends Of Laphroaig (I imagine some tastings and voting was involved)
We Drink It, Stuff Happens
First Impression
The aroma off of the bottle smells a little like freshly baked brown bread with a little sweetness. This doesn’t carry over into the glass, sadly. I don’t know how or why this is.
Nose
White pepper, sultry peat (not tons – less pronounced than some of the other Laphroaigs) and some honey. The sweetness mixed with the peat reminds me of blackstrap molasses.
I think I caught the barest hint of rubber too. It’s quite honeyed and quite spiky. This sharpness could be a sign of its youth. There’s an average amount of alcohol evaporating right up in your grill (and at 40% this is to be expected)
Palette
There’s a little more burn than the nose might imply – it sits sweetly on the tongue for a few seconds before that tingling begins. First the honeyed sweetness hits the palette, before turning to cigarette smoke – it is dry, with some very pronounced saltpeter notes.
This ‘tobacco smoke’ feels lighter than the ‘menthol tar pit experience’ (delicious menthol tar pit experience) feeling that you get from some other, peat heavy whiskies. It feels clean and pure, maybe like a filtered cigarette (I don’t smoke so someone call me out on this if I’m doing it wrong?). Not much richness or creaminess here.
Finish
It’s honey to cigarette-tobacco-peat rather quickly and lots of white pepper and tobacco smoke being exhaled out of your nose for a long time after.
The white pepper, tobacco peat finish has the most staying power and lingers ’til the end, long after all the sweetness is less than a peaty memory. Pretty impressive staying power if you like the peat – not so good if you don’t!
Verdict
Not great but not bad! Not particularly characteristic but I guess that’s what you expect at this price point.
How’s it compare to the Laphroaig 10 then? Depending on retail deals (etc.), Select is equal in price or ever so slightly cheaper. As for taste I’d say it’s somewhat sweeter with a lighter ‘tobaccoy’ smoke – I dunno if this is best for peat newbies. Also the occasionally noticable sharpness may bely the youth of this whisky.
If they’re aiming to snag people skeptical of peat, the Select’s lengthy and very pronounced smoky finish might not be the best way to go about it. But, if like me, you already like Laphroaig’s approach to peat/life/burning things underneath other things then distilling them – you’ll probably enjoy it.
…and you’ll enjoy the price too.