Travel Retail Exclusive

From Islay to the world, our 12-Year-Old is created for curious characters. This is one for the free spirits who arent content to sit still, and wont rest until theyve tasted the rewards of a life well travelled. If youre not content to stick with what you know, this is an outstanding Islay single malt to get you started on an entirely new journey: a tantalising taste of our wind-swept home.

With no chill-filtering or added colours, this is the real deal done our way: complete with our unmistakably smoky style, and with a twist to take things beyond the ordinary. Matured in ex-bourbon American oak barrels weve picked out by hand because theyre just right for the job, expect a flavour thats as fresh as it is classic. This 12-Year-Old Single Malt whisky is a tasting profile for the curious, grounded in the traditions and tastes weve refined for generations here on Islay. It started on our rugged stretch of coastline, where it goes from here is entirely up to you.

Tasting Notes:

Colour: Natural colour.

Nose: Sea salt, seaweed, stewed green apple and heather honey with a slight rhubarb tang. Behind this can be found pleasing and mellow notes of vanilla, crusty pastry, hazelnut, dried orange peel, hints of ginger, lemongrass, and intermingling through it all are phenolic, tarry peat embers.

Palate: Carbolic soap intertwined with salt encrusted seaweed, smouldering campfires, blackcurrant, hints of stone fruit, thyme, liquorice root, aniseed and herbal thyme.

Finish: Sweet and powerful, with savoury notes leading to iodine and oily mackerel complexity.

“This baby is supposed to be, I quote, the well-travelled one from the famed distillery, is that to say theyve sent these casks off on ships to sail the seven seas, or something of the sort? Colour: white wine. Nose: well, theres what the colour wouldnt have led us to suspect: notes of fresh wood, especially ginger, and faint touches of coconut, but the rest keeps the Laphroaig DNA intact, that camphory, peaty side, with overripe apple, but then theres the arrival of paprika and thats clearly the cask. Smoked paprika, if you please (indeed, it does exist) Mouth: the smoke in its rawest, most elemental state, austere, close to charcoal, then smoked paprika again, ripe apple, and a rather surprising touch of pineapple, which one knows can come from the casks. Whats really toned down compared to more classic Laphroaigs, like the regular 10 or the CS, are the coastal and medicinal elements, which seem to have been somewhat erased. But its still very good. Finish: fairly long, with unexpected notes of exotic fruit liqueurs and syrups. Comments: its fairly simple but I find it good, different, surprising. Of course, the 46% is most welcome.” – Serge, Whisky Fun

“Love it! Two more years of maturation, with that bit higher percentage, definitely helped here, and we have on our shelves something that could easily become the new Classic, as is the 10.” – /r/Scotch