Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak

While Laphroaig had long experimented with different cask finishes in special releases like the Cairdeas line, less had been done with the standard expressions beyond an occasional cask strength release also under the Cairdeas aegis. The Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak debuted in March 2021 as a limited release but soon transitioned into a part of the core range. Starting life along the same path as the distillery’s iconic Laphroaig 10, this whisky is then finished for 12 to 18 months in European oak ex-Oloroso sherry casks, marrying the new with the familiar. Others took notice before too long, as this offering won double gold – what happens when all judges at a competition unanimously award it gold – at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and gold at the 2021 International Wine & Spirits Competition. 

Distillery: Laphroaig
Region: Islay
Age: 10 years
Strength: 48%
Price: $93.99
Maturation: ex-bourbon and European ex-Olorso sherry casks
Location: Port Ellen
Nose: Sweet, heather, smoke, plum, almond, cherry, peat, oak, manuka honey, brine
Palate: Cherry, orange peel, brine, peat, wintergreen
Finish: Smoke, oak, honey

Comments: This was sampled in tandem with the regular Laphroaig 10, to better identify the similarities and accentuate the differences. We recommend.

Adam – The sherry comes through big on the nose at first, wreathed with smoke and brine. The actual delight is the second wave of fruits and honey, offering a charming complexity that isn’t found in the regular Laphroaig 10. Oddly enough there’s even a third layer of scent that is reminiscent of briskett and is the closest a Laphroaig has ever come to smelling like an Ardbeg to me. The palate offers a burst of flavor, rendered by the abv as bold without stepping over itself as a cask strength might here. Some fruits from the nose carry through to dance with the peat and brine, with some wintergreen carrying you into a finish of smoke and honey, again slightly carrying a connotation of meat fresh off the grill. The sour notes in younger expressions is completely absent here and the entire dram is stronger for it. While the Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry is a little more expensive then the regular 10, the addition of a sherry cask polishes away weaknesses and adds a complexity that integrates well with the base spirit. More than worth the exploration.

Henry – Big oloroso on the nose, big enough to seriously integrate with the light nose of Laphroaig 10’s base spirit. A hint of honey, brine, and deliciously warm peat comes through as it opens up. Big burst of mouthwatering flavor on the front of the palate brings molasses barbecue sweetness, candied orange peel, and wintergreen. Finish is lingering and astringent, sweet and smoky, but without any of the sourness which characterizes the 10 year. I’m a huge fan of the personalities of older Laphroaigs. This heads down that path at a younger age and more approachable price.

Ben – I want to say the Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry is sweet like a cherry cough drop but it’s better than that. It’s getting smarter as it sits in front of us in the glass. There’s wood, like when you’re smoking pecan or a walnut. And it’s on fire. The color difference between this and the regular 10 is phenomenal. These are just different animals.

Bill – There’s a covered note in the nose, a peat but it’s gentle. There’s fresh burnt walnut, like when you haven’t sharpened your saw blade and are cutting into it. It’s not the nut but the wood itself. That’s excellence elevated. Everything I like in the regular 10 elevated up. Almost an orange pith in a minced meat on the palate. It’s there but it’s so hidden by all the other stuff going on.

Mike – The nose started out very powdery, grainy but then the sweetness from the sherry. Because the Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry doesn’t have the explosion of a sherry bomb, this makes me actually think the sherry it was finished in was a second-fill barrel.

Kim – Sweet, syrupy heather on the nose.