Laphroaig 16-year-old (D.1987, B.2004) Silver Seal / 46% / 0.7l

Silver Seal Whiskey Co. may not be familiar to many whiskey consumers, but it is highly regarded by whiskey connoisseurs and collectors.

It has been operating since 2000 and is considered the informal successor to the legendary Italian company Sestante, which ceased operations in the late 1990s. In 2010, Massimo Righi, after more than two years of buying carefully selected barrels of whisky, became the owner of both brands. For years, Silver Seal has surprised us with extraordinary editions of whisky, most of which end up on collectors' lists as soon as they are released. The Laphroaig presented here is a whisky distilled in 1987, aged in a sherry cask for 16 years and bottled at 46% abv in October 2004 in an edition of 770 bottles.

Nose : peat smoke and sherry, iodine, roasted nuts and almonds, raisins, smoked ham, cocoa powder, caramel, licorice, blood oranges, a touch of nutmeg and cloves.

Palate : well balanced, sherry and peat, raisins, dried dark fruits, dark chocolate, bitter orange jam, honeyed nuts, cinnamon, black pepper and oak.

Finish: quite long, with notes of peat smoke, sherry, pepper, nutmeg, licorice and oak tannins.