Laphroaig 25 Years Old 1997/2023 Symington’s Choice 52.2% 700ml

Details：

Distillery: Laphroaig

Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)

Bottling serie: Cask Strength Collection - Symington’s Choice

Vintage: 1997

Bottled: 2023

Stated Age: 25 Years Old

Casktype: Bourbon Hogshead

Casknumber: 3372

Number of bottles: 196

Strength: 52.2%

Size: 700ml

Tasting notes：

Nose: Typical Laphroaig, with smoke, diesel, and salty air. However, I love the earthiness and damp forest here, which is quite distinctive. Heavy, laden with old woods and morel mushrooms. This is definitely on the more complex side as far as Laphroaigs go. I like this a lot!

Palate: A beautiful modern Laphroaig. It's bright and lively, with good mouthfeel. Didn't have that earthiness in the nose, and as a result, I feel this is not as complex as the nose. Still an excellent, excellent dram. If this was around $500 USD, I would get perhaps get a bottle. Since this is close to double the price, this is an easy pass. While this is good, and does deserve a 91 points, is this worth 2-3x the price of a 90-point Laphroaig? Up to you. I tried a 30yo undisclosed Islay released recently side-by-side (a Laphroaig) and this Symington definitely shines brighter. So if you have the money and want an excellent modern day Laphroaig, sure, buy it, why not.

Finish: Excellent from start to finish. An exemplary modern day Laphroaig. No fault detected.