Scotch Review #111: Laphroaig PX Cask Triple Matured

Distillery: Laphroaig

Region: Islay

Cask Type: Starts in ex-bourbon, then transferred to quarter casks, finished in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry.

ABV: 48%

Age: NAS

Price: Part of a sample swap courtesy of /u/ThePeatyPeshwa

Color: 0.9, Amontillado Sherry.

Nose: While it is smoky, it’s actually a little subtle and not completely overbearing. The main notes up front are of a smoked seafood dip (slightly smoky, slightly salty) and a bit of medicinal peat. Some sherry comes out the longer it sits and gets some hair. Honey and cracked white pepper rounds this out.

Palate: Medium mouthfeel. There’s a lots and lots of peat now, both of a medicinal kind and a slightly toasted one. There’s a hint of that smoked seafood dip and a bit of grilled lemon. With some water, it’s a tad sweeter with some malt coming out but all of the peat disappears.

Finish: Surprisingly short. You get a nice gulp of sweet barbecue smoke with a hint of pepper right before it vanishes away.

Conclusion: I was a little worried this was just going to be another peat bomb but it’s far more fun than that. While the peat is ever present and noticeable, it does take a bit of a back seat to some really fun savory notes. That smoked seafood dip is lovely and really makes me hungry for some actual dip. The little bit of grilled lemon is interesting. I wish there was a little more complexity to this, it’s peaty and savory basically, but it’s not a bad dram at all. Would I buy a bottle? Eh, maybe.

Final Score: 80.

Scotch Whisky review #111, Islay Whisky Review #9, Whisky Network Review #142

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.