Laphroaig 1988 Old Malt Cask for PLOWED Tasting Notes and Ratings.

Laphroaig 1988 Old Malt Cask for PLOWED

Added on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 11:52 AM

Bottler:

Douglas Laing

Age:	18 yrs	Type:	Scotch
Vintage:	1988	Subtype:	Single Malt
ABV:	61.90 %	Region:	Islay
Price:	N/A	Availability:	Collectors Only

This was bottled exclusively for the whisky group PLOWED in honor of the group's 2007 Vegas meeting, with Binny's Beverage Depot handling all the legal proprieties.

Member Ratings and Notes

Andy

Cinnamon and butterscotch at the same time. The peat is tamed by the fantastic. Has a hint of bacon fat (thanks Chris). The finish is long and warm. wow! A

Retaste 4/19/13:

p: Ash and maraschino cherries with red hots.

Still nothing of note on the nose.

A-

Chris

N: Bready peat, cookie dough, bacon fat.
P: Oh yeah, a very crisp and dry Laphroaig yet still very big in flavor, spicy peat, lemon sugar cookies. If Rainman drank this he'd say its "Very sparkly. Very sparkly".
F: Builds! Zing!
Hats off to the PLOWED guys for selecting a real tasty one. (Note: I'm not actually wearing a hat, but if I was, I would take it off. Or better yet, I can just pretend...ok, I'm pretending that I'm wearing a hat...and now I'm removing it...yes, that must warm the cockles of you hearts...such a gesture I am making...hmm...I feel kinda funny...is that gas I smell?)

Adam

Nose is pretty classic Laphroaig, gentle smoke and pears. Palate is a sweet peat explosion (I love it when I can say that). I'm not sure that there's any real surprises in here, it's textbook in a very good way (love it when I can say that too). Very long finish. Watch out because this is massively powerful, but extremely good.

Mike

I could not stop drinking this -- among a half dozen other A whiskies. Nose is medicinal, Duraflame log. Palate is mint chocolate ice cream, salt, pleasant complexity. The finish . . . is still going. Hot, spicy, peppers, smoke . . . kill me now and I'll die happy. Might be an A+.

Sku

Nose: White grape juice, sweet wine, honey.

Palate: Honey and sharp peat notes, less medicinal than most Laphroaig but still coastal and salty.

Finish: Smoky

Fuji

Huge oily BBQ peat mixed with zesty citrus. Kinda grungy with diesel and motor oil stuff. The peat is aggressive and dominiting and needs some time to blow off. A/A-

Dave

Smoked ham on the nose. Lots of solid campfire notes that remind me of Lagavulin. A big Laphroaig withoiut the bandaids and iodine that usually show up. This was very good and a solid peater that I would love to have a bottle of. Finish lasted most of the night....

Tim

N: Clean and smooth - light bacon, iodine (but less than I normally expect on Laphroaig), some nice fruit - water pops the fruit out even more. (Side by side this was surprisingly true)

P: Bright, light white pepper, malt, some iodine, and nice peat. Water tames the heat and makes it better.

F: Classic Laphroaig! Heat, bandages, sichuan peppercorn. BEAUTIFUL finish with water - fruit, light smoke and iodine.

I think a dab of water helps this one go from "good" to "really great". Super-fun malt.

Kevin

I braced my nose hairs for this one, considering it's 61.9 abv. But you know what, I didn't have to. It's way more delicate than it leads on. Definitely has some of that typical Laphroaig peat on the nose (and throughout), but there is a delicate aspect this one and a sweetness that balances out with the peat so well I can't really put into words. It kind of has me dumbfounded, because it just may be my favorite Laphroaig.

I can't believe I don't need any water with this, as I sort of assumed it would require a drop. Nope. Just so delicate, but punchy enough to highten my senses and appreciate a little piece of nearly perfect Islay.

I will say though that the finish was a little short for me, which makes me feel obligate to jot down this: A/A-

Dan

Very faint in my glass doesn't indicate what a monster this one will be. A huge nose of smoke, vanilla and some weird funky smell I can't describe. On the tongue, I get some more smoke and peat and quite frankly too much wood. This was a little bitter for me and not in my wheelhouse of flavor combinations I always enjoy. It hits you with a huge pop and actually faded rather quickly on me. Still an excellent dram, but doesn't have the complexity I taste in the other PLOWED bottlings. [4/19/13]

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