First Bottle of Laphroaig

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tombombadil
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First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by tombombadil »

Whoa! Never had any of the Islay scotches before and I think I might be in love. I've had lots of blended scotches, even some single malts and I was never really super impressed, always preferred the bourbons but this shit is intense!

This has got me thinking about abandoning my desire to make bourbon and focus on malt whiskey instead.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by cayars »

Yea, it's addicting if you like peat! Try Ardbeg 12 & Lagavulin 12 as well.

Try taking some JW black (or other decent Scotch blend) and mix a bit of Laphroaig, Ardbeg or Lagavulin in with it and see how much it changes a blend! It's like a whole other beast and DAMN GOOD!

I flip back and forth between Laphroaig and Ardbeg and right now prefer the Ardbeg. Next month...
They are similar but different in a good way. If you like one, you will like the other. Lagavulin is arguably better yet, but a bit more pricey (in my parts anyway).

Lagavulin is the name I'll usually throw out first when someone asks what they can bring over when having friends over for a night of cocktails. :)
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by bluefish_dist »

Try Ledaig 10 year as well. My wife really enjoys a peaty scotch. I made a good one with some heavy peat, unfortunately I didn’t record which one and have not been able to recreate it.
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Twisted Brick
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Twisted Brick »

That's funny you fell in love at first sip. I have always disliked the Islay whiskies as they were always way too intense for me. Then in 2018 I picked up a few assorted bottles (Laphroaig 10, Ardbeg and Talisker Storm) intent on 'teaching' myself to like them. I alternated bottles, were a bear to choke down at first, but gradually, ever so slowly, I came around. They became not only palatable, but I started to get past the peat and into the smooth, balanced malt profiles that lie lurking underneath. Damn!

Then I came into a bottle of Laphroaig 12, Cask Strength (54%), bottled in 2005 by independent Scottish bottler Alexander Murray & Co. and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It worked! I learned how to drink this stuff and I'm with ya, Tombombadil! I wish I still had some left, but there's always more.

I have been patiently waiting to get my processes down before trying a true single malt (even got some SafSpirit M-1 yeast)but gotta fill my barrel with bourbon first to make it authentic.
Last edited by Twisted Brick on Tue Jan 21, 2020 10:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by SaltyStaves »

Love at first sip for me (heavily peated Bunnahabhain). Wouldn't be here otherwise. That was 5 years ago. Brewed and distilled my first peated single malt last week.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by LoStillo »

I'm in love with Laphoraig. Some years ago I was lucky to take part in a tasting of 6 variety of Laphroaig, both alone and combined with 6 kind of oysters (I didn't know there are so many kind of oysters). What an evening!!!
I love all the peated single malt. As others say, it's worth a try Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Talisker, too. Talisker Storm it's my last taste, some weeks ago.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Swedish Pride »

recently was gifted a bottle of Kilchoman machir bay.
deffo worth a go next time you're in the mood for a nice dram.

Missus asked me what was up as apparently i was making sexnoices when sipping it, no , I did not share my bottle with her
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by jonnys_spirit »

Absolutely love the islay malts. My first was during a highland games festival many years ago. I’d been drinking at the famous grouse tent all day (quite a few drams over many hours) and felt like I had really enjoyed some scotch. The after party at the Cèilidh was a blast and the grouse was nowhere to be found. This is where i discovered heavily peated Caol Ila and fell in love 😍.

Have yet to make a peated whisky but will one of these days.

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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Corsaire »

Haha I'm always stocked up on ardbeg, caol ila, bowmore and lagavulin 16. Got some independent bottlings too. And still waiting on my own peated experiments to come of age ;-)
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by tombombadil »

Just picked up a bottle of Ardbeg 10, Lagavulin 16 and Bruchladdich Laddie. Safe to say I've been bitten by the scotch bug! Also, I realized the Laphroaig I got is a special cask strength version.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by tombombadil »

If im wanting to make my own peated whiskey, should I do a corn likker first to break in the barrel?
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Wozza »

Twisted Brick wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:14 pm That's funny you fell in love at first sip. I have always disliked the Islay whiskies as they were always way too intense for me. Then in 2018 I picked up a few assorted bottles (Laphroaig 10, Ardbeg and Talisker Storm) intent on 'teaching' myself to like them. I alternated bottles, were a bear to choke down at first, but gradually, ever so slowly, I came around. They became not only palatable, but I started to get past the peat and into the smooth, balanced malt profiles that lie lurking underneath. Damn!
This matches my experience. I really couldn't take to the medicinal taste. If I wanted a whisky I might reach for a Glenmorangie. But then I was given a bottle of Lagavulin and decided I should educate my taste buds. So I took it slow and easy and read a lot of tasting notes as to what I should be looking for. And I came across a write up that compared it to Glenmorangie.

She said that Glenmorangie was like a walk along a San Diego beach in the summer. Bright, fresh and breezy. And the Langavulin was like a walk along a west coast beach in Scotland in the autumn, wrapped up agains the cold with big Atlantic breakers crashing in spraying salt air everywhere. And you find some driftwood and light a fire. You really enjoy both experiences but they are entirely different, so don't expect the same from each.

I don't reach for the Glenmorangie so much these days.

Edit: My bad. It was a Talisker I was given.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Durhommer »

I'm on a laphroaig quarter cask bottle right now the shits amazing
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by NormandieStill »

I have a bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society that a friend bought as a congrats for the birth of our 2nd. It's a 16 year old single cask from an Islay distillery (couldn't tell you which one, cask code was 29.182). I was a big fan of Islay whiskys since I was introduced to Lagavullin 12 while living in Scotland. I tasted some of the early stuff from the Kilchoman distillery and it was super smooth and very interesting. I need to find somewhere local that I can taste whiskys so that I can see how it's progressed over the last 10 years.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by tiramisu »

Peat is fun for a while but you get over it.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Durhommer »

tiramisu wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:58 pm Peat is fun for a while but you get over it.
I dont think I could ever get tired of peat whiskey
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by tiramisu »

I was a scotch snob for years but these days I prefer simple unpeated barley.
Maybe I will return to Kentucky and Scotch with all their complex flavour but in the last 10 years, my taste has tended towards gin and unpeated Irish whiskeys with the occasional Canadian "random blend" Rye.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by OtisT »

Tom. Welcome to the wonderful world of peated whiskey. :thumbup: :thumbup:

I’m sItting on two small barrels of the first (and only) peated whiskey I have made. Reading this makes me want to go sample them now. I think it’s been 2.5 years.

It smells so wonderful making this stuff. Enjoy your journey Tom.

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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Saltbush Bill »

OtisT wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:50 pm I’m sItting on two small barrels of the first (and only) peated whiskey I have made. Reading this makes me want to go sample them now. I think it’s been 2.5 years.
Otis how can you bear to not even have one little sip in that time ?...please stop teasing yourself and us and go sample the damn stuff ......then report back.
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Re: First Bottle of Laphroaig

Post by Setsumi »

was in bottle shop today. Ardberg realy expensive, was tempted but it runs close to my electric bill a month or x2 my water bill... nope not there yet.
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