Laphroaig 25-year-old (D.1997, B.2022) Old & Rare HL /54.4%/0.7l

The Old & Rare Platinum Selection series debuted in 2002 in the Douglas Laing & Co. offering (the first editions were bottled for the Japanese market).

It soon arrived in Europe, where it is still considered the most prestigious offering from independent publishers. In 2013, after 40 years of success, the Laing brothers divided the assets of the family company and started their own business. The Old & Rare series currently belongs to Hunter Laing & Co., founded and managed by Stewart Laing, and has lost none of its appeal. The Laphroaig presented here, distilled in October 1997, spent a quarter of a century in a refilled hogshead cask, the contents of which translated into 139 bottles of cask strength whisky (54.4% abv) in October 2022.

Nose: peat smoke, seaweed, damp shells, tarred rope, vanilla pudding, lemon cake, marzipan, buttered toast, lemongrass, white pepper and toasted oak.

Palate : peat smoke, seaweed salad, vanilla, caramel, apples, pink grapefruit, lemon jam, lapsang souchong tea, notes of white pepper, ginger and oak.

Finish : quite long, fruity and smoky, with notes of vanilla, lemons, oranges, apples, pepper and oak.