Laphroaig 18 Year Old 2001 Signatory Vintage CSC
Laphroaig 18 Year Old 2001 Signatory Vintage CSC (Cask Strength Collection), 20% of the barley used by the distillery is still malted and dried on-site at up to 40-60 ppm phenols. The remaining 80% comes from the Port Ellen maltings, at 35-45 ppm phenols. Full of inspiration, in just a fraction of a second, this bottling takes us to Laphroaig to breathe in the particularly invigorating salty sea air. Next, acting as a link between the peat and the other ingredients of the aroma and flavor palette, incredibly smooth dark chocolate brings us irresistibly towards the malting floors filled with the utterly divine fragrances of germinating barley.
The complex initial nose is characterized by notes of rubber, smoke, and sooty peat. Allowed to breathe, it becomes more oily, salty, and medicinal (band-aid). The powerful attack pours blocks of chocolatey peat onto the palate. The mid-palate alternates between herbaceous (hay), fruity (pear), and vanilla sequences. An archetypal Laphroaig, the start of the finish is peaty/chocolatey, phenolic (hydrocarbon), and salty. Citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit) bring lots of energy to the very end of the palate.
