Review #22 - Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength Batch 13

Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batches Mini-Series: Part 3 of 3

So we've now seen cask strength Laphroaigs with some emphasis on different flavors; first, Batch 11 with those nice, sweet ex-bourbon notes of vanilla and oak behind the peat blast; then, we had Batch 12 with the salty, boggy, medicinal and vegetative prominence.

Batch 13 arrived in January of 2021, this time at 57.9% ABV, just slightly lower when compared to its closest older siblings. Story is the same with the barrels and age, so we're again expecting some congruence with the main flavors. Time to find out what the subtler, more unusual notes in the background are in this specific bottling.

Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength Batch 13

Scotland/Islay - Single Malt

Current Locally Available Price: USD 100 (2023)

Age Statement: 10 Years

Strength: 57.9% ABV

Details: Batch 13, bottled in January 2021

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 7 months; bottles at 90% and 90% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Starts off quite medicinal and inky, and there's some rubber in there as well. Lots of vegetative peat, quite rich overall, and the smoke this time has some ash in it. We're finding mildly damp wood as well as dry driftwood, plenty of salinity or brine, and now quite a lot of barbecue notes - it's a bit saucy. Savory campfire cooking, a hint of oily sausage, somewhat on the dry side, but there a bit of sweetness arrives in the form of red or meaty orange fruit; once, even a touch of stone fruit. As this develops, the barbecue notes become sweeter, and the ashy peat feels thinner.

Palate: Mouthfeel is medium-thick, and its packing tons of flavor. Lots of peat as usual, also a bit of heat, and plenty oily; tons of salinity and brine, just a hint of funk in that peat smoke. Just slightly earthy, lots of black ash, or the remains of a day-old campfire, with a hint of dampness. Fruit comes via lemon citrus and oranges, but those burning driftwood and rubber notes begin to overpower the more subtle flavors, and the medicinal character is never far away. Later, there are hints of balsamic and rosemary, and once, a bit of burning propane.

Finish: This finish goes on for a long time, full of saucy barbecue on the grill, waves of peat, and more of that ashy smoke. Seriously, peat forever. It's oily, and there are some dry oak notes that prickle the tongue and cheeks. A little bit earthy, some wood smoke added in as well, and a hint of char and vanilla later on. This is still going several minutes after the last sip.

Final Note: What a way to wrap these up - for us, this is the best of the bunch. We love the addition of the more savory notes, especially in the nose and finish, and it still retains plenty of the Laphroaig character that we're looking for. Finish goes on for ages, one of the longest we can remember. $100 isn't cheap for a bottle, but to us, this punches well above its weight - hard to compare it to many other 10 year bottles, or cask strength bottles. We would give this a big stamp of approval, especially on this batch. That said, you can't really go wrong with any of them, as far as we've tried.

Our Average Rating: 8.6 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 7.43