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Had an H2H lineup of various Laphroaig cask strength releases from old to modern.

Yummy Yummy Yummy.

A powerful bloke, fiery and pretty untamed yet very enjoyable!

[October, 2012]  I had this dram during a Prof. Schobert "Islay" tasting at Bonn. In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50 - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored it 90.  My notes state this is the best batch of Laphroaig cask strength so far - I bought several bottles.

Nose is very strong, rich and impressive: new wet oak, spicy, acetonic, glue, iodine, peat, smoke and zesty lemon! Taste is full of peat, wet tires, iodine and oceanic. Finish is very long with notes of warming black pepper, smoke, peat, salt and new wood. Very tasty and impressive!

Rather dry and herbal but the creaminess is great

This was wonderful and extremely enjoyable. The next great style after the fruity early 90's. Strong, rusty nails on a low tide and also hints of that fruity expression from a time that was years gone by the time this was distilled. The smoke that (IMHO) overpowers the spirit in more recent (last 10 years+) OB's is already present here, but is not that prevalent. And that's exactly why this is so very, very good.

Another very nice Laphroaig 10 CS version. This one is very fresh with some citrus notes. Concerning price/performance ratio: 10/10

wow, started with the Cairdeas 2017 just to warm up and thought may be something bit more smoky.... so what do we have here? Batch 003 was the one in the front of the shelf... deep complex heavy smoke in the nose.... turns to sweet smoke and soooo long in the mouth, doesnt go away. hopefully there are a few more in my storage :) am doing a horizontal Laphroaig 10 CS tasting between 002, 003 and 005 and they are all so very good but quite different tastewise, would go for the 003 batch if I had to pick one, but complaining on a very high level, if you only have one of the other 2 - be happy and just enjoy it. just for the sake of scoring them batch 002 - 89p batch 003 - 90/91p batch 005 - 88p

Laphroaig - the complexity of the smoke with these older bottlings is astonishing. I'm glad to have tried one of the first batches. I'm all the more pleased to see that the current batches (16,15,14,..) are basically very similar. It's great how attention is paid to consistently high quality here - February 24th, 2024

Smoked ham, mud flats, iodine, spicy taste of pepper, fruit such as green apple, organic solvent, ginger, various herbs

Laphroaig Cask Strength. Laboratory work - comparative testing - Batch #001, Batch #002, Batch #003, Batch #004 Aroma: Batch 1. Bright, deeper, from the first breath, cool etherealness, what a beauty..23+ Batch 2. The nose is nice, pleasant, a little sour, but a little lost against the background of the 1st batch. 22 Batch 3. The nose is a little weaker than all of them. Younger, the angularity is slightly felt. 21+ Batch 4. Traditional brand nose. 22 Taste: Batch 1. A soft, delicious symphony. 22+ Batch 2. good signature taste. 22+ Batch 3, good signature taste. 22+ Batch 4: floral, slightly sharp taste. 21+ Aftertaste: Batch 1. Nice long one. 23 Batch 2. Good, quite long. 22 Batch 3. Good, quite long. 22 Batch 4: long, pleasant, dry but not intrusive.22 Overall score (balance): Batch 1. 23+ 22+ 23 22+ 91+ Batch 2. 22 22+ 22 22+ 89 Batch 3. 21+ 22+ 22 22 88 Batch 4. 22 21+ 22 22 87+

In 1 test session Batch 3, Batch 14 and Batch 17. All three whiskies have the same bright yellow/gold color. All three whiskies leave a considerable amount of whisky on the glass. Thick waves, but also thick, slowly dripping tears. Do you like smoky whiskies and have never tried the 10 cs? DO IT! If it's too strong, you can always reduce the ABV to your desired strength. They are three completely different whiskies. I've seen several reports that batch 17 has an old-school profile, and I certainly can't confirm this compared to batch 3.

Great stuff and wonderful drinkable, forgot to try the water, because it was so delicious. The caramel or the sweetness impressed us the most in the Laphi, because it fits so well.

Very good whisky, peaty but without being "too much". Despite the degree, alcohol is very well integrated.

'Most Enjoyable' N: Sticky sweet peat, ash, some cream soda but overall i found the nose to be rather closed up T: Reluctant arrival, taking time to unravel and reveal itself, even after an hour+. Eventually - fructose sweet fruit development, bourbon sugars and some salty herbals before spice engulfs the palate. Add water for a soup of honey, nettle tea and some medicinal spices albeit with less intensity. A long, simple and intense fruity spicy journey. F:  The fructose sweetness lingers coupled with clean smoke oil, witch hazel, liquorice and a hint of 'Vicks'.  A masterfully blended taste with nothing taking precedence. Long finish C: A reluctant fructose sweet Laphroaig which takes its time to get going, but once it does the flavours burst into life leading to a moorish finish. Simple in many ways, and one of the most enjoyable Laphroaighs I've tried. Scores an A-

Colour: deep gold. Nose: smoky, pleasant, with some hay and sweet aromas. Taste: very nice with a firm body; smooth and smoky peat, slightly sweet, nutmeg and almond with a long soft and very distinctive aftertaste.Finish: almonds and nutmeg. A very lovely whisky - wow!!

A huge peatblast, simply perfect!

Laphroaig Tasting Notes: Colour: Rich, deep gold Nose: Powerfull, smoke and earthy aromas, seaweed Body: Full bodied Taste: Massive peat smoke, huge flavour, complex, seashore salt, fading sweetness at the finish Finish: Long and savoury

A more restrained bottling than Batch # 002. Not worse, just different, like a Laphroaig on Valium

22-22-22-22, Tried 13.5.25 Not bad, but no wow factor, so 89-1=88

Very funky and very focused on algae, herbs and roots. But also kind of cool.

89 points goalkeeper

Light smoke, ink, peach, banana, sweet peat, sweet potato, lemon honey.

Laphroaig 10 yo OA Cask Strength 55.3% Batch 003 Color: strong gold (dyed) Nose: Pure: Wow, the classic Laphroaig peat bomb, BUT clear fruit behind it, Sherryfassanteil (!?!), Slightly rosinig. Sea, much sea, salt, harbor, iodine, stormy sea. With a little water: wonderful, the sweetness increases massively, vanilla comes up, fruit still there, but not so superficial. Still very maritime. Smoke level is about the same. Fantastic nose !! Gschmack: Pure: it goes pure too! Hardly any sharpness! The expected strong "Peatstorm" but not too violent, very medical, how does iodine actually taste? Then rather dry, less fruit than the nose promises, but quite noticeable. With a bit of water: much sweeter, a little more fruit while still dominant peat. Now also much saltier. Very good, but the nose is a little better. Finish: long, light but pleasantly bitter, the peat sticks to the palate for a while. Comment: Wow, lives up to his reputation, so far the best young Laphroaig. I could swear there's Sherry in it. Little but noticeable. Very very horny fabric !! Water brings a lot of sweetness. Great PLV.

Thank you COWBOYTZF for the wine! Compared with Batch#013, the old version is really good, the iodine taste is not so heavy, and it is not so dirty.

It's a pity, if I had entered the whisky pit four years earlier, I would definitely have become a laphroaig fan.

nose: peat, briny (salt, seaweed) taste: ashes, spicy, sambal overall: i like this much better than the 10y, triple wood etc.  86p. samples of the old `green stripe` available on whiskysample.nl

Very good product, harmonious and well representative of Laphroaig.

A very intense smoky whisky, with a lot of power, strong smoke, but also sweet counterpoints, I like that. blind tasting

Strong, very strong start, then comes the sweetness. The phenolic smoke is not as present as expected. Citrus, some ham and oak. Very long, pleasant finish!

Smell: shredded squid, bacon, smoke, cream, lemongrass, smoked salmon, grease, jam tart 87/100 Body: Full, oily, powerful body 88/100 Taste: rich fruits, smoked sea fish, a little dog hair, disinfected water, and then there is a distinct fruity flavor, charcoal grilled, salt, rosemary 88/100 Ending rhyme: long, smoked, bacon, salt, western spices Overall: 87.5/100

Fantastic Malt!

A wonderful scotch. Lucky to have friends in faraway places to get me these as the 10yo cask strength are not available in Canada. What a shame. In the US these are only $70us, what a bargain. If you can still find any.

An outstanding 10 year old

Old against new. Comparison between batch #003 and #014 The #003 is only optically lighter than the #014, but also in the nose. #003 is fresher and even a little less smoky, but more maritime than #014. The #014 seems heavier, smokier and darker. In the mouth, the #003 is much smokier than you would expect from the nose. Beautiful bourbon sweetness with herbs, light fruits and maritime notes. The #014 nicely continues what the nose showed. Everything is darker on it than on #003. The smoke also looks a bit dirtier. What can I say. I like both. But they differ quite clearly. The #003 appears clearer and more linear, while the #014 appears fuller. Overall, this confirms my previous experiences with the 10 CS bottlings. You almost never go wrong when you buy a bottle of it. If you like Laphroaig of course.

88/89/89/89

The first Laphroagh i ever bought, what a beauty she was.

I tried it and more capacious. The nose is dense, saturated, tobacco, peat, iodine and sea salt. Dried, wood, spices and a drop of olive oil Medium finish, dryish, spices and wood

An outstanding 10 year old

Undoubtedly a gem of Islay 22/23/22/23 90

Hate it or love it bottle. I've you like this style of whisky, all the Laphroaig CS bottles are great!

Compared to newer CS, less secondary aromas, smoke, barrel, tastes good, but doesn't make your heart beat faster. I have to correct myself: he needs water. Then it becomes sootier, greener, thicker, more poley, more resinous, similar to a 15 year old.

In a vertical tasting of batches #1,2 and 3, this was the clear winner for me. Very mild, smooth and oily. Blind I would have thought this dram was much older.

Considering today`s price trends it is a real bargain!

After a face to face this weekend between the red stripe, the batch 01, 02 and 03 it was clear to everyone that more time passed and less these laphroaig CS were good. Logically, therefore, this batch 03 was the least interesting and by far a 4. Too much focus on peat and not much else. The scale is not so good too. It remains to be seen after a little airing what it gives but for now my rating is 88pts.

N: nuts (salted), briny and peat smoke T: meat, peat, cookies, lemon and some grape fruits F: liquorice, ashes and lemon tasted with Aby

powerful and straightforward barrel laf, did not feel a wide variety of aromatics and molt development, probably worth a try on occasion

Everything here is beautiful - youth, pressure, brightness, density, balance, this is a dozen brought to the limit of their capabilities.

certainly the best to date of the 3 new cask strenght.dépasse can be the "red stripe" to advise without reservation and drink in moderation because we ask only one thing: return there

After having over 80 Laphroaigs I must say that this strength and profile with sweetness and iodine, peat and toffee fits my expectations. Maybe it is a result of the fact that I fall in love with this distillery based on earlier, softer releases at similar taste and strength. I could drink it forever... or at least untill I'm done and drunk

A very good ex-bourbon Laphroaig that was a super bargain at the original retail price.

[October, 2015]  I had another dram during an "Laphroaig Bicentenary" tasting at Bonn. In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50 - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored it 90.  My notes state there must have been some sherry casks included in this batch, for sure...

First of all, big smoked peat. Light vanilla, bitumen and nails come right after. Gravel, asphalt. Custard mixed with fuel oil. Camphor, disinfectant. Dust, cigarette ash. Who knocked over the ashtray? Chlorine, iodine, and peat, which seems to crush everything in its path. Nice fullness after adding water. It becomes more fruity, with some very juicy yellow plums. I feel like I'm eating an ash cake. To drown myself in a pool of ashes. At the same time it is very delicious, and rather well balanced. Little by little, fruits take over, white grapes, Mirabelle plums, greengages, which tend towards pineapple and Spanish melon. Then the tar comes back, the gas oil. In the mouth, very intense peat. Some winey and honeyed reflections, then the spices rise, pepper, cloves. Surprisingly, I really feel like I have ash on my tongue. For the rest, it's quite warm and malty. The finish is violent at first, then it becomes softer, very long, resinous, woody, young and fresh wood that has just been cut. An ounce of fruit to finish, but it's a little sour. Pear a little hard. Burnt wood. This ultra-ashy, peaty whisky is a real uppercut. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2021/04/laphroaig-10-yo-cask-strength-batch-003.html

It has an oily viscosity and a high intensity bouquet. I have aromas of intense maritime peat smoke, earth, vanilla, pipe tobacco, creme brulee, dark chocolate, honey sweetness and cowshed. Moderately complex. A good balance between sweetness and dryness in terms of taste. The alcohol is well integrated and it is heavy in body.