ralfy review 806 - Laphroaig 16yo @ 48%vol:
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- If you like my content you can buy me a 'wee dram' at / ralfy , thanks !
For more whisky info & stuff, SUBSCRIBE to 'ralfydotcom'
Subscribe to my other UA-cam Channel 'Fitter Philosophy'
This video represents a personal opinion and perspective only.
To comply with Google Adsense policy this video is an independent non-profit review and is not selling or linking to a site that sells the product being reviewed.
Ralfy, I bought mine in Germany where it's compulsory to add a sticker to the label if a malt has been coloured with E150a. There's no sticker, so I think the insipid light white wine colour is more than likely quite genuine and natural. Other reviews have occasionally claimed the bottling isn't chill filtered either. To me, due to the imbalanced nature of the malt (in my opinion stemming from the exclusive use of first-fill ex-bourbon casks) I could well imagine that filtration hasn't played a role in the production process. I find the bottling good, and I certainly welcome the 48% ABV, but lined up against its 18yo brother its weaknesses show up clearly. I even wonder if they pushed the stills too fast on this batch and then whacked it into a parcel of first-fill bourbon casks that might provide a counterpart - maybe trying to get something like the punchy quality of the 10yo, but with 6 years more bottle age. In any case, it's simply not well enough balanced to my palate. Solid, good peated malt, yes. Outstanding no. But give me the 18yo any day! Second and third-fill ex-bourbon casks and Laphroaig distillate: that's the recipe I prefer. Cheers.
I do have to agree with Ralfy on this one. Laphroaig has indeed lost a bit of its former smoke/soot/ash. Still a great whisky...but perhaps not quite AS great as it might have been before. Just my decidedly non-expert entirely subjective opinion.
Brought two bottles of this. I really like it. Great stuff!
Just like to say I'm really enjoying your book 'Search For A Whisky Bothy'. A fascinating insight into your world.
. . . glad you enjoyed the read !
I just polished off a bottle of Laphroaig 10 year old cask strength batch 11 for 75 dollars I liked it enough to buy 3 more
Can't wait to try batch 011. Batches 009 and 010 were great!
@@100puremustard5I Live in Pennsylvania we have state run stores and the 11 is nearly sold out already.Good luck and get a bottle you will love it
What a find your Channel... I don't think I've heard somebody articulate, and explain whiskey in your manner. Truly an effortless pleasure listening to you speak. I dub thee the "whiskey whisperer"! What a wealth of knowledge...I appreciate cha! Cheers!
Thank you for your honesty, Ralfy!
Hi Ralfy..loving the book..wife purchased one from the first batch for me.brilliant..as for the Laphroaig.i enjoy the quarter cask myself.have a lovely Christmas you star.cheers.🍷
I have learned a lot about whisky from your video's; thank-you! I've been a fan of Laphraoig for a while now. I agree with your comments about this 16 YR; but I do like it. To me this Laphraoig 16 YR is all up front with little finish. This is very different from other Laphraoig's I've had. I think this may be a good version to introduce someone to Laphraoig for the first time. It has the distinctive Laphraoig character but doesn't punch you in the taste buds like my current Laphraoig favorite, the 10 YR cask strength.
I prefer smokey, peaty whiskies. I have a bottle of The Balvenie Peat Week 14 YR I'm waiting to try. I will be cracking this one open to enjoy a dram on a cold night soon. I'm curious where this one will fit with Laphroaig and Lagavulin 16 YR. I love this hobby.
Love the Laphroaig CS. Batch 009 and 010 are fantastic! The 2003 Balvenie 14 Peat Week is very good, typical Balvenie honeys and vanilla with a pretty good earthy peat punch. Lagavulin 16 however is very overrated IMO. Had 2 different bottles and will never buy again.
Laphroaig is what made me a whisky lover.
Ardbeg was mine, didn't know whisky could taste like that. It was love at first taste! First time I tried Laphroaig I didn't like it though, but now I do!
Have to admit the same. Somehow I could associate the taste of salt and tar with my greatgranddads woven fishing lines, I was hooked. Still merry christmas and a Happy New year. All the best.
Truly appreciate you Ralfy. Happy holidays!
Tinsel Town in the Rain, is one of my favorite songs from a Scottish band, called The Blue Nile - recommended, very moody, thoughtful lyrics.
Was just about to say the same thing. One of my favourite songs/bands of the 80s
The Blue Nile are amazing! Love the follow up album Hats.
When you first hear Tinseltown in the Rain you think its about NY or Hollywood but in fact its a love letter to Glasgow.
Hi Ralfy, your description reminds me of the Laphroaig 15 from before. Cheers mate.
You always provide such a fantastic perspective Ralfy. Thank you so very much for elaborating as you do. Always look forward to your next upload. Wishing you nothing less than the best of success! Cheers
To be fair we have to encourage distillers to bottle at a higher rate, we need to applaud them whenever they do this regardless of why we think I’m the decision was made.
... but there's the _house_ Laphi 18 which is excellent. I got it at < 70 € because they were the last bottles Mövenpick had.
Thanks for all you do Ralfy!
The first Laphroaig I tasted was the Quarter Cask. I didn't like it at first and it took me two months and a bottle and a half to tame it. Now it might be my favorite; I always have a bottle at home. I actually have a bottle of Laphroaig 10 yrs, Triple Wood and Lore. KANPAI!!
Get a Tamdhu cask strength for that price imho, they have been consistent the last 4 batches and have a renowned reputation.
Ralfy, you mention Laphroaig being at its very best around 6-7 years old; could you perhaps suggest any particular expressions which best exemplify this? Very eager to try. I, myself, have definitely found that peated Islay's do best at young ages and fully agree with- just curious which bottles you like that fit the bill. Cheers.
Believe the Quarter Cask is about 6-7 years old, imagine the Triple Wood/Four Oak is also around that range. Even tho the Quarter Cask especially was probably similar to the situation described in the video as marked up "fashionable" drams!
@@hippie_4762 You can get Laphroaig QC for around £27 in the UK though, so its not marked up much at all. Just bought it the other day as its one of my cupboard mainstays!
@@hippie_4762 QC is one of my favourite Frogs!
"WHY, WHY do they chill filter it??!!"" Like why do dogs lick their bollocks = because they can. CHEERS!!
when a dog licks they don't strip the flavour + texture out :/
@@chrish12345
You sound like you have verified this yourself???
I've read in a 2018 interview with the Distillery manager that they don't chill filter. They just don't bother to say they don't on most of their labels. Old label of Quarter Cask used to state it on the front, new one doesn't.
Simply put, distillers don't care to put it on the label as much as we would like to see them put it on the label.
@@JMMurray203 don't they filter the standard 10 year old? pretty hard to believe - as Ralfy says if its not on the label, where it belongs and has legal meaning, words mean NOTHING!
I saw a version of this today at my local Cava and on the back it states first fill bourbon casks but nothing about chill filtration, and when i moved the bottle around i saw this thick dusty cloud swirling around in the bottle and i have to say i almost bought it then and there. Any thoughts on re reviewing this in 2023? still seems like a better value purchase for an older laphroaig.
Ralfy.... unbelievable, bought this here in the US on Wednesday, got into my truck and looked up your review and didnt find one......4 days later - unbelievable you address it. Your ears must've been burning
Thanks for the review Uncle Ralph. 🤙🏽
Re "Tinsel Town"...of course the original is Hollywood, but y'know what else "tinsel" was used for? The original "chaff"--the stuff airplanes dispense to throw off radar homing or heat-seeking missiles! And speaking as a veteran of Hollywood for real, once upon a time we on a sitcom I did decided to decorate our 4 cameras and dollys with tinsel and lights for the holiday season....and it jammed the radios we use to talk to one another so effectively we had to remove it! So....powerful stuff, tinsel! :)
I'm glad I saw this review. The 16 year had been on my wish list for the past month or so. I had imagined the longer age and higher abv would've made Laphroaig what it's supposed to be. But apparently not. I'll stick to the 10 year cask strength and the regular 10 year when it's on a good sale for my daily, as far as Laphroaig goes. Otherwise, Ardbeg 10, Ledaig 10 and Lagavulin 8 will be my regulars. Port Charlotte Heavily Peated 10 is delicious as well, for an extra $10 over the Ardbeg 10.
I'm generally in line with what Ralfy likes or doesn't....although I don't use near the water he does....but I have to differ with him on this one. I really like it. It's very much tamed down from the 10. It's more in line with a Caol Ila 18 than Laproaig 10 if you ask me. Has more of a sweetness and light peat than traditional Laphroaigs....which I can appreciate.
@@axetwogrindAgree….this is a fine bottle. The ‘23 bottle even better. Laphroaig doesn’t do “pretty” whiskies, but for a Laphroaig it’s pretty. On my shelf with the 10 CS and Lore.
Im a budget malt fan, and I don't want just competent for a malt nearing 100 dollars. Thanks for the review, Ralfy! Happy Holidays
I just found a bottle of this! I stopped into the shop planning to get the cask strength 10 year (batch 12) but wasn’t expecting to see this. I got the second to last bottle. Looking forward to trying it.
I’ll stop back maybe for the cask strength 10 in a couple weeks...
Excellent and timely review. I've held off but been close to pulling the trigger. I completely agree with what you say about focusing on the bad points. I've been drinking whisky for thirty years and I have a built in value for money barometer in my head. I have certain expectations of whisky that costs £90, especially those from a big name like Laphroaig. Sadly, those expectations have been diminishing over the last few years because those distilleries, particularly the five you mention, have been, mostly, overpriced. I completely agree that Laphraoig is better when young. My favourite bottlings have all been 6 to 12 years old and released by independent bottlers. Anything under 10 years is substantially better value too.
Hey Welsh Merry Christmas pal, not seen you for a bit - though I haven't been on the whisky streams in a while now! Anyway hope you have a good one!
Cheers my friend. Good to see you and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Where is your barley bunnet????
Any grinch with a bottle of Laph '16 is a friend of mine hehe
Looking forward to your next review. Before i got in to whisky, i used to enjoy the combination of craft pale ales and port.
Interesting, never thought to mix pale ale and port.
Hi Ralfy, any thoughts on the Laphroaig PX Cask? I agree with you in terms of how good young Laphroaig in white wine casks can be .... and despite the travel retail, added colouring, chill (or some kind of) filtration, and NAS ... I think this PX Cask Laphroaig is at least worth a review :)
Ross Duncan it’s NAS ... not an integrity bottling ... Ralfy won’t review it. It’s nice though ... a great balance of sweet, smoke and spice!
. . . like the 'Lore' version, a decent malt but could use an age statement to help us know what we are experiencing !
the 2020 edition is said to be much better. Maybe a comparison would make sense? Would love to see that
It says First-Fill Bourbon Cask on the back of the tube. (Maybe not very well made ones then). I bought it too, but haven't opened it yet.
I almost fell off my chair after the glam "on a budget" line. Well done.
As it was with Ardbeg. Around 1984 nobody was keen on the stuff destilled around 1974. 1983 the destillery was closed. When the stuff became collectable, every one made a bee line for it. I ordered my first 12 bottles of Laphroaig 10y at thr local deli store. Else there was no chance to get one. Btw, I agree, a clean, but uneventful Laphi, at least not extensively bitter from bad cask influence.
Why chill-filtrating? Thank you for your honest opinion, Ralfy. Much appreciated. Merry Christmas to you and all fellow maltheads around the world.
Ralfy, the info which you've divulged here re: independents hiking up prices solely based off whatever the "flavour of the month" Scotch is, is incredibly valuable to me as a relative newcomer to whisky world. I tried to justify the prices of IB's thinking it's NCF, NC, cask strength, single barrel... but ultimately was still left scratching my head as the prices still just seemed astronomically high. Port Ellen and Brora will always command high prices and the pricing disparity between IB and OB there is almost non-existent I've found, however for brands like Ardbeg and Laphroaig, as you touch upon here, the disparity between price and quality of the whisky is just astronomical. Macallan IB's are pricey, sure, but generally cheaper than their OB expressions- I think that's solely because these days mostly a certain kind of "whisky enthusiast" (read: collector) is buying Mac and maybe OB's are more valuable in that arena. But my god, the prices I've seen on some fairly young IB Ardbeg is absolutely ridiculous- Laphroaig is not too far behind... The Signatory 30th anniversary Laphroaig 20 immediately comes to mind at a cost of about 500 Euros. It would be greatly appreciated (by my self, and I'm certain many others) if you could perhaps dedicate an entire episode to just this topic; the gouging done by IB's based off whatever whisky is in vogue this season. You've touched on something that the vast majority of connoisseurs would never openly admit- frankly, I think this statement by you will leave many of them trembling in their boots, which will hopefully lead to more Scotch for us all to actually indulge in. Thanks very much, Ralfy.
Missed that one but I do not worry too much about it. Still have some 18yo olds in stock. And I am quite happy about the 10yo CS and the regular quarter cask and triple wood which I think are reasonably priced NAS of good quality.
Wow, your notes Ralfy were so familiar as I was nosing and tasting a dram of Smoke Point from Shelter Point in Canada. My guess is that the Laphroaig casks they used to finish it were of the 16 year old variety, since I got fresh fruit on the front, middle was a waft of sweet smoke, and the finish was salty sour lemon but man does lemon continue on and on. Cheers!
Interesting, entertaining and thought provoking as always! Thank you!
Time to switch to Ardbeg Uigeadail.
Just opened my first one for a few years at the start of the month, still so good. I wouldn't pay £90 for this 16yo, for what you want out of it, you are better gettting Quarter Cask at a third of the price.
No drink, no peace, no calm and I`m in the middle of moving, buuuuut I`m still gonna watch ;)
I received a Laphroaigh Càirdeas Tripe Wood. Bottled at a searing 59.5%. I wish I could get a bottle to you from America. It was $79 here. But I'm a fan of peat, and this is pretty powerful stuff. I just don't know how old it is, no age. But it was filtered and colored. Of that I'm sure.
The initial description of this 16yo amazon bottling sounds a lot like the 15yo "cairdeas" they had last year (or two years ago?) which was only at 43% but was so much better then the 15yo they produced for the 200 years celebration. Have you tried those 15 year olds? (the latest 'cairdeas' and the "official 15yo 200 year celebration bottling) and if you did how would they compare?
Slainte!!
I've tried many official bottlings of Laphroaig, and nothing comes close to beating the 10 cask strength for me.
I use to love Laphraoig back in 2014 but it's not very smoky anymore. In fact most Islay whiskies are not very smoky as opposed to that heavy medicinal character. I want the bonfire smoke not mothballs. I've heard that is due to not burning the peat at a high enough temperature.
Same here, I really miss the char-and-tar, now it's mostly just antiseptic. I'm no expert, but I think they're over-stilling the spirit some how (the cask quality is also SEVERELY lacking, especially you, Laphroaig!). The core character in lot of Islay malts is just so damn THIN, sterile, and mild-bodied now-a-days. Very unfortunate.
Ralfy, I really think you were far too forgiving in recent re-review of the Laphroaig 10. There is no way I would be ok with rating it beyond the 60s at the moment. I think everyone has been far too soft on Islay these last few years. The words 'heavily peated' and/or 'Islay', should not be allowed as a free pass.
Call me a jerk, but Islay has some serious stepping up to do, corporate-multinationals be damned.
Same here. That's when I first started trying the "big boy" single malts and immediately fell in love with Laphroaig and Ardbeg. They were everything that I instinctively thought a true single malt should be, and for me they embodied what always came to mind when I thought of Scotland.
Moreover, it's nice to hear that it's not just me and that it's not just my tastes changing.
The Highland park 18 travel exsklusive is verry Nice at 46% look it up=) mine is allmoast emty afther a short time, it's better then the normal in my apinion
My islay malt of the year would be the Port Charlotte 10. Very nice malt!
@@highlandparker7912 Indeed, that suprised me. It was a very nice malt!
Ralfy , merry christmas to you an your family ! Cheers , Chris from Bremen / Germany
Classic beer back whisky, especially a peated malt ale
Hey Ralfy,
5 months ago you released a video where u showed of all the bottles you bought recently and that you were going to review in the near future.
Among those bottles was an Arran 12 year old finished in palo cortado cask (Master of distilling 2 if I remember correctly). You said back then u were definitely going to review this bottle.
I was really looking forward to that specific review so I would like to know what happened to that review , did the bottle in the meantime failed to deliver your expectations or was the quality not good enough for a review?
Thanks in advance,
Kind regards,
Klaus De Potter
(one of your maltmates from Belgium )
. . . I forgot all about that one, I've no idea where the bottle went !
What this means Klaus is that somewhere not too long ago the bottle disappeared during a night of magnificent malty mirth and merriment
Yes , i' m really enjoying your book ralfy , i'm from helensburgh but i've drank in the smiddy & the bon accord many a time , just over half way through at the moment , wanted to ask if you've tried the new version of kilkerran 8 CS oloroso cask matured , it truly is a sparkler , . X
. . . thanks for feedback on my book, still to discover the Kil'k 8
Och! I have a wee bit of that Deanston12 left from when Aquavitae recommended it so I got hold of a bottle. Can get it for 75NZD here - good buying. That’s about 37pounds in old money. My Hogmanay dram will be a special BenNevis 1991 cask strength. A gift from a generous friend. Must look after him! Cheers from NZ🇳🇿🥃
Merry grinchy christmas ralfy!
Just ordered the book. Looking forward to it.
. . . thanks for buying, let me know what you think !
I just bought two bottles of whisky for two very dear friends of mine
*Ardbeg Uigeadail*
*Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask*
Were these good purchases? The reviews were very good but I'd like some more clarification.
Both very good but very different...
. . . both fine as gifts !
Ah, thank you very much for your response.
Excellent! Appreciate the response, Ralfy!
I have a few malts in. But I'm saving a bottle of springbank for me and a good friend boxing day.
Do you reckon that what you said about using 48% abv for an anemic malt also goes for Glendronach 21?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from hillbilly select reviews.
Ralphy -may I kindly ask you - when you add WATER, what sort of water do you use/recommend? Thank you
. . . fresh filtered tap water !
Don't have a good single malt selection where I'm at. Noting with a WOW factor available. I've gone back to cask strength and bottled in bond Bourbon and The. Last several bottles of malts have been a waste of money.
"why do they chill filter it!!!!" LOL...Reminds me of when I went to Buffalo Trace and visited the Blanton's bottling room....Begged for a sample before chill filtering
Really interesting review; I am a Laphroaig fan but by the sounds of things I would be better off sticking to the cheaper expressions. I am very surprised about the chill filtration as the cheaper Quarter Cask states "please note that any cloudiness when mixed with water is normal for a whisky that hasn't been chill filtered (but it is barrier filtered, but instead barrier filtered only, the method used when the quarter cask was king".
This 16yo is really superb, at a great ABV. It is no illusion. Stop trying to be too clever. You have nothing to prove. Nobody will think less of you if you are honest and say that this Laphroaig is really very good.
Ralfy - do you feel the same way about Lagavulin 8yo being bottled at 48%? After seeing this review and reflecting back on my bottle of Laga 8, I think so.
. . . there is a trend !
Where would we be without the fresh cask involved? Manx bothy is where it's at fellas, take note! -
Talking about Glasgow, what about the 1770 and 1770 peated?
I always thought that tthis was a direct marketing ploy, trying to go against the Lagavulin 16 yr old. The Lagavulin 16 year old has changed over the years, and not for the better. I think their best offering right now is the 12 year old. Some whisky is bottled past its prime, and I actually enjoy some of the younger more intense whisky like Kilchomann Machir Bay. When I did the warehouse tour of Lagavulin, we did some cask sampling of 21, 22 yr old and the famous 1966 cask. We also tried some 7 and 8 year old whisky that I really enjoyed.
Could you give us the bottle code please? Is this the 2019 version?
Tinsel notes- Is Glasgow then the topic to the English band Prefab Sprout song-Tinsel Town in the Rain ? Merry Christmas Ralfy
. . . possibly !
Youre awesome Ralfy, such a eloquent amazing use of the english for these reviews
Feel smarter after each video
Old fan here sending regards from Brazil since 2015, 2016
Cheers mate
Merry Christmas Ralfy. Slàinte 🥃👍
Ralfy what oficial bottling of Laphroaig do you find best? The standard 10yo?
. . . cask strength 10yo and Lore NAS !
You got a haircut Ralfy! A little change leading up to the new year?
Spot on Ralphy! I do love this, but it's design is one relegated to a specific environment. Perhaps a more social, and less personal experience. It's a thing.
Amazon won’t sell me the 16yo.... or any whisky actually. I feel rejected ! 🥺
Nice one for a " barmpot" good lad 👍🇬🇧
I picked up a bottle a few days ago and am halfway through by first tipple when I find you telling me about my last half hour, a glitch in the matrix perhaps
I bought it for $90 here in the liquor store, and Costco has nice Laphroaig 12 CS for $57. Both delicious
Rostislav Traps What state is the Costco store located?
Illinois @kazakus
Crazy that. In its home country you wouldn't get change out of £100 for a 12 CS.
Shame this is so expensive now. The 10 used to be a decent affordable dram for us mere mortals but these days its pish. 😢
Ordered yer book, looking forwarded to it arriving, had to use Amazon, oh well
So would the young, 48%, NAS Quarter Cask version be your favorite official version of Laphroaig?
. . . not now, I look for young Indi-bottler versions.
ralfydotcom Ralfy, are you saying that the quarter cask has gotten worse? I always liked it, but my last was some 4 years ago I think.
@@thewhiskybothy For £27 its still a belter imo, and much better than the regular 10.
Any possibility of reviewing some Octomores? For me, they're the most intense and enjoyable when it comes to peaty-ish whiskies :)
Could you please do one off best non age statement whiskys\whiskeys\bourbons video some of us just want to know if there is some good stuff out there that not going to break the bank and is easy to find
I heard that they chill filter for Asian markets.
Really? Maybe because they don't like peated whisky or what?
@@ziofanale3853 they are big on mixing or using ice I assume. Very strange.
I soon will check out a Brodir 😊
Glad to know there're other people out there willing to pay a little more at another retailer in order to NOT buy from Amazon. It's been evident for years that they (Bezos, et al.) largely take their customers for granted.
Any chance to get new bunnets?
Merry Christmas
Hi Ralfy! Can you please do a vfm peated whiskey episode;Ardbeg every year gets shitier Laphroaig too. i love peat but i can't stand paying more to get less every year. I opened a new bottle of uigedail and I almost cried.. It is less than 40% the whiskey it used to be 10 years ago..
What dictates an integrity malt?
. . . age statement, natural colour and bottled at 46%vol +
Integrity malt?? Why if it is chill filtered?
. . . because I'm being too kind to it.
I do like the 16 a lot. Not only because I can drink it instantly when it is in my glass, but second because I hate to "play" these water experiences with whisky. I want to put it in my glass and drink it... It is not science. So, 16 is really good for me.
After trying it for a couple of weeks, you are right... Laphroaig doesn't have to be old. 5-10 years is perfect.
Chill Filtering should not do much at 48%. It changes the whisky when whisky turns cloudy below 46%...
Oh dear....I’ve just spoiled myself of buying the 2019 version, 25yr, cause of the price being favourable ( not from amazon) 😳. I’m a bit concerned i might be disappointed. Here’s hoping.
. . . fingers-crossed for you !
ralfydotcom I still want to know where yer barley bunnet is 😉. Mines is never off 😂
First Fill maybe bigclive reverse engineering the barley bonnet
Ralfy dear, 87? I was smelling an 83!! :-O
Ralfy likes Quarter Cask!!!
Fur Coat, Nae Knickers more like lol.
Morningside in Edinburgh!
Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength still the best!
Hey Ralphy, you are the best! When I watch your surveys, I always feel like sitting down and having a glass of whiskey.
And your English is perfect :) Greetings from Russia!