4 years was a pretty long wait for a game franchise, but the game play, complex story line, deeper characterization, and a much more balanced fighting mechanic makes it worth the wait.
This Laphroaig was specially released to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, supposedly the most richly flavoured Scotch whisky, if you buy the marketing. I was skeptical about this claim when tasting the standard offerings from Laphroaig, but this particular bottling seems to live up to its lofty claim. Alas, good things are hard to come by, and there were a limited number of bottles of this 32 year old drink worldwide.
The scarcity of this whisky is largely due to it being cask strength. That's right, a 32 year old, cask strength whisky. Amazing. The alcohol level has dropped to 46.6% after the angels had their share over more than 3 decades, and what is left is the very best that Laphroaig has to offer. A worthy whisky to celebrate 200 years.
Laphroaig 32 (46.6% abv, cask strength, matured in an Oloroso hogshead)
Colour - Similar to the Balvenie 30, if not slightly lighter. That's surprising, because the Laphroaig spent its time in an Oloroso cask, which, from my experience, tends to give a deeper shade.
Nose - sherry, peat. Dark chocolate, and a little medicinal. A little salty, and the savouriness builds with time. After a while, it smells like a roasted meat, like the charred bits of a nice, roasted charsiew. A bit of ash. DW says that this smells like a rich cigar. Neither of us smoke. You are free to doubt our credibility. Some spices, and the bottle's tasting notes says nutmeg. Some vanilla lingers on the glass after the whisky is finished. Maybe it needed more time to come out against the other big-hitting flavours.
Palate - a little sour on entry, like wine. Peat is obviously there, but very restrained. Nuts, and lots of dark chocolate. It's amazing that the dark chocolate manages to stand out against Laphroaig's strong peat. It's a little leathery as well, which transits nicely between the dark chocolate and the ashy peat/smoke. Holding it on the tongue, I found a trace of the sweetness of Oloroso. Very smooth. This one is sweet, smoke, sherry, chocolate, peat, and a bit of pepper and other spices rolled into one. Delectably balanced.
Finish - Leaves behind a little bitterness, like dark chocolate. A little peppery on the insides of the mouth. I thought I caught a bit of lemon grass. Rich oak and wood spice, which balances out the bitter dark chocolate finish.
Overall - this was amazing. Thanks DW!
If I had tasted this last week, it would have been a worthy contender for the best whisky I had over CNY. As it turns out, DW and I had a comparison of the Balvenie 30 and the Laphroaig 32. They displayed such differing characteristics, and the comparison of the two is a great (and very very pricey) way to show the differences between the distilleries. If I had tasted this last week, the CNY whisky challenge would have ended with a great bang. Ah well. Better late than never!
Hands-down the best I've ever tasted, but the age, price and limited edition release means that this one is competing in a totally different category of drinks from the other whiskies that I've reviewed thus far. Stuff like this doesn't even get entered in competitions; it's far too good and precious.
No comments:
Post a Comment