Laphroaig 18 years Single Malt

About the Laphroaig 18 years Single Malt

Laphroaig 18 years Single Malt is a heavily peated single malt Scotch whisky from Islay. Eighteen years in ex-bourbon American oak sit behind it. The whisky is bottled at 48% ABV, above the strength of most core Islay malts. That extra weight carries the smoke without flattening the fruit. Laphroaig built its name on this style, and the older stock shows a calmer side of it. Barley for this bottling begins on the distillery's own malting floor. Few Scottish distilleries still malt by hand, and Laphroaig is one of them. Staff spread the grain, turn it, then dry it in a peat-fired kiln. The peat cut on Islay is packed with moss, lichen and heather, unlike mainland peat. Water arrives from the Kilbride stream, which runs through peat beds on its way down. The nose leads with iodine and brine, then freshly cut leather and warm brown sugar. Sip it and the smoke steps back a little. Honey, orange citrus and baked apple come forward, with clove behind them. A buttery, faintly cocoa note runs underneath the fruit. A thread of cream softens the middle. The finish is long and dry, with licorice, oak resin and salted caramel. Sea salt lingers after everything else fades. Laphroaig 18 years Single Malt spent nearly a decade off the shelves before its return. Demand brought it back, and the extra years explain why people asked. Younger Islay malts hit hard and fast with tar and smoke. This older bottling trades some of that punch for depth and sweetness. Dried fruit and vanilla have had time to build in the barrel. Anyone who found the young Islay style too fierce should start here.