Welcome back Everyone. These past few days have been very grey, dark and rainy here in Hungary. "Winter is coming…" It feels like in the UK really. What better to review during these times than a nice heavily peated whisky from the isle of Islay?

As autumn and winter creeps up to our doorstep I tend to reach for more sherried whiskies. During summer, during the immense heat that we have here, I tend to enjoy lighter whiskies, such as ex-bourbon matured whiskies. Perhaps a light cask finish. I also enjoy rum and cocktails as well during these times. But why do I, why do WE reach for more sherry forward whiskies during autumn and winter? Good question. I would put my bet on the taste profile of these sherried whiskies. Cinnamon, cardamom and such spices remind us of the autumn of Christmas. Also the dried fruit notes are more dominant in these expressions and those also remind us of these times. This is my philosophy. What is yours? Why do you think we tend to consume more sherried whiskies during autumn and winter? Let me know in my Instagram comment section.

Today we take a look at a very popular whisky from a very popular distillery. Meet the Laphroaig 10 yo Sherry Oak Finish. Let's jump right into it.

About the distillery

Laphroaig distillery is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Port Ellen, Islay, Scotland. It is named after the area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of the island of Islay.

Laphroaig means 'the beautiful hollow by a broad bay' in Gaelic. The area around the distillery is beautiful. Laphroaig Whiskies are considered the most smoky-intense malt whiskies from Scotland.

Laphroaig distillery was officially founded in 1815, although rumors say that the brothers Alexander and Donald Johnston actually built the site in 1810, when they started farming in the area. The last member of the Johnston family to run the distillery was Ian Hunter, a nephew of Sandy Johnston, who died childless in 1954 and left the distillery to one of his managers, Bessie Williamson.

After changing owners several times today the distillery and brand are owned and operated by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan

Laphroaig has been the only whisky to carry the Royal Warrant of the Prince of Wales, which was awarded in person during a visit to the distillery in 1994. The distillery identifies Charles by his title of Duke of Rothesay, as he is recognised in Scotland. The 15-year-old is reportedly then Prince and now King Charles' favorite whisky.

Laphroaig proudly presents itself as the most strongly flavored of all Scottish whiskies. The production process of the distillery is distinctly structured to achieve this. The site has a production capacity of 3.3 million liters per annum. The water used in the production of Laphroaig is drawn from the Kilbride dam, into which the Kilbride stream flows.

Most distilleries have an equal number of wash and spirit stills, but Laphroaig has three wash stills and four spirit stills. The reason for this was that Laphroaig had to distil slower on the spirit still than on the wash still for the special distillery style. As a result, one wash still was not running at times. Bessie Williamson, who took over the distillery in the mid-1950s, thought this was inefficient. She prevailed over the conservative distillery team and had an additional spirit still of the same shape but twice the size installed.

The three wash stills have a capacity of 10.400 liters, while three of the spirit stills have a capacity of 4.700 liters, and one has a capacity of 9.400 liters. The wash stills at Laphroaig have the common shape of an onion, but then surge upward into very tall conical necks. The extra height on the pot stills helps to increase the amount of reflux in the stills.

The peat used to dry the malt in the production of Laphroaig is taken from a moor on Islay itself. The distillery actually still utilizes it's own maltings floor for a part of the production. A rare feat for a distillery of its size in the modern age.

After drying, the malt is coarsely milled and sprinkled with hot water in the mash tun. Almost all of the starch is converted into sugar by enzymes. In the end, you get two times 25,000 litres of mash.

Over 90% of the barrels that are used at Laphroaig are American white oak first fill Bourbon barrels. Ian Hunter, a previous distillery manager, pioneered the use of these barrels back in the 1930s. Hunter found that American White Oak barrels gave exactly the right kind of the flavor that would compliment the Laphroaig Single Malt. The distillery also uses tiny quarter casks that are used in the Quarter cask expression.

Laphroaig has mixed warehouses located right next to the sea, on the distillery property: two dunnage warehouses, including the famous Warehouse No. 1, where you can also have tastings, and ten racked warehouses. Once a cask is deemed to be fully matured, it is bottled in the bottling plant.

The distillery's location, with its maritime climate and high humidity, means that it only loses about 1.8% Angel's Share per year. In other parts of Scotland, the loss can be up to 2.0%, which makes quite a difference when measured against the storage period.

Laphroaig 10 yo Sherry Oak Finish - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 48%

"A fine and full-bodied single malt. Finished in sherry oak casks to layer aromatic honey onto our famous peat smoke. Slàinte.​

Unforgettable flavours from our classic 10 Year Old whisky find harmony with the sweetness and complexity of Oloroso sherry to create Laphroaig® 10 Sherry Oak. Finished in European sherry oak casks for a particularly memorable single malt.​ ​ This unique expression begins with the same time-honoured process that goes into our regular 10 Year Old Laphroaig®. After drawing rich character from ex-Bourbon barrels, the spirit then rests in casks previously filled with sweet Oloroso sherry. Each barrel is hand selected to add extra complexity to our quintessential single malt. It's what layers notes of Manuka honey and grilled bacon onto our renowned flavours of peat smoke and seaweed."

Nose: Yes. Exactly what I expected. Medicinal, earthy peat. How lovely. Iodine and salt. Tar, smoke and barley. Lovely sweet manuka honey, raisins, figs, dates and dark chocolate. Cocoa powder. Candied oranges, cinnamon and allspice. Sweet and smoky nose. Great.

Taste: The 48% is very well integrated. Silky, smooth and hefty and the same time. Oily. Lots of dark fruits such as raisins and figs. Grapefruits, candied oranges and forest fruits. Roasted almonds and BBQ sauce. Iodine, earth and peat. Warming. Spices again and a nice oak influence. Complex and tasty. Just what you would expect from this dram.

Finish: Smoky and sweet. Long. Gets drier and dried by the end. Iodine, earth and peat. Dark fruits, espresso and cocoa powder. A hint of oak and sherry.

Overall this is a very good expression from Laphroaig. It mixes heavy smoke with sherry quite well. It also has a 10 yo age statement which is always nice to see. However I think the price is a bit high. For 10 euros less it would be a perfect purchase. But even so this is a good purchase, an enjoyable whisky. I will score it 87 / 100. A solid whisky that you should buy and enjoy at your own pace. Buy it, try it. Drink responsibly.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.