Laphroaig 18-year-old

At the first tasting, the Laphi 18 had a penetrating glue note, 2 days later... Completely gone. In the absence of an intact sample of the old 18yo, it seems younger and more cask-heavy, the old one was greener, more resinous, fruitier. However, the old bottling had also been bottle-aged for at least 10 years. The finish is quite woody, even at the end of a day rich in whisky.

Starts good on the nose, too much burned rubber towards the finish

aroma Dry smoke, sweet, sherry notes The taste So much harmony, dry taste, sweet, dark chocolate, wood spice aftertaste Long, dry, smoky, sweet, astringent

A revived 18-year-old from Laphroaig, the mature release was put on hold for a while, likely due to a shortage of matured spirits. As before, the spirits were aged in ex-bourbon casks for the entire period, bottled at a generous 48%, information on colouring and chill filtration is sadly missing, which raises some questions. Nose: the aroma is most delicate, delicate, balanced. Peat no longer plays the first violin, but fades into the background. Immediately comes the most delicate vanilla, nutty tones: cashew, almond, peanut. Then you feel flower pollen, muesli with honey, ginger, tar, smoked fish, dried seaweed, bacon, sea breeze, wet wool, spices, neat tannins Palate: the taste is dense, full-bodied, deep with a wave of pepper, sweetness, smokiness. The pepper wave gives way to the sweetness of malt, vanilla, nutty tones, ash, leather, white pepper, ginger, coffee bitterness, delicate woodiness Finish: The aftertaste is bright, warming and iridescent. Cigar ash, leather, malt sweetness, smoked meats, white pepper are felt. The wood is felt in the form of a pleasant tannin binding. Balance: complex, mature, refined, monolithic whisky. There are no typical for distillery bundles and bandages, but there is depth, solidity, development. Whisky plays, lives in the glass, opens with many nuances and halftones. I have not tried the old eighteen-year-old, there are opinions that it was a cut above, but this release also caused a flurry of positive emotions in me. I take the cost of the bottle out of brackets. N23,P23,F22,B22

weaker then expected

For me, a very successful, very dangerously smooth Laphroaig. Unfortunately, the price is a bit high. At least it's back.

Tasted 10/2025

A gentle Laphroaig. Overall a pretty straightforward, easygoing Laphroaig—clearly phenolic, but not poking out in an aggressive way. The balance is good, though I wish it had more weight and body. There isn’t much fruit, and while the finish is long, the herbal/burnt-seaweed direction isn’t really to my taste, so it wasn’t especially enjoyable.

watery

For me, a bit more mainstream than the earlier 18s Laphroaig, and less of a hospital character, which is a positive thing for me personally. Die-hard fans may be disappointed by this. Overall, it's quite tasty and you can tell that it's aged - even if it's not exciting or thrilling - but all in all, it's not enough for the price. A sample is enough.

Nase: Süß, Vanille, Zitrone, Organe, mineralisch, maritim, Rauch, Mango, etwas Marzipan, Malz, Eiche ••• Geschmack: Süß, mineralischer Rauch, Vanille, Eiche, Mango, etwas Marzipan, Malz ••• Abgang: Mittellang, süßes Malz und leicht mineralischer Rauch, etwas Vanille, Eiche und ein Hauch Mango bleiben. ••• Fazit: In der Nase geht es süß mit Vanille los. Etwas Zitrone und eine saftige reife Orange kommen dann. Mineralische und maritime Noten mit Rauch kommen nun. Nach einer Weile kommt Mango und Marzipan zum Vorschein. Malz und Eiche kommen am Ende. Eine tolle Nase. Im Geschmack geht es süß mit kräftig mineralischem Rauch los. Würzige Eiche und Vanille sind am Anfang ebenfalls dabei. Dann kommen Mango, etwas Marzipan und Malz. Ein guter Whisky. Tolle süße Noten, Rauch und helle Früchte gepaart mit mineralischen Noten. Die Nase gefällt mir etwas besser als der Geschmack. Insgesamt ein schöner gediegener Whisky der gut ausbalanciert ist. Fehlnoten habe ich keine. ••• 87-88

tar, band aids, citrus, iodine, kippers, white pepper, quite rubbery indeed but I quite like it

The nose has typical Laphroaig smoke. The peat seems heavy at first, but then becomes more pleasant. A little vanilla and nuts, as well as ginger and salty bacon are added. The peat smoke is also present in the taste. Ashy and burnt rubber, with acidity and floral notes. The finish is medium. There is still smoke and sweet notes. A great Laphroaig that I really like and that goes down easily. I don't really notice the 48% ABV, as it is well integrated. Delicious.

The colour is bright gold/yellow. The whisky hangs on the glass quite well. Nice balanced Laphroaig that is quite subtle. The finish is quite peppery. If you like a popping Islay then you can skip this one.

5cl Sample: A typical Laphroaig nose. The smoke is still dominant, even though it's already showing some more complex notes. Iodine, medicinal, damp, smoldering wood with white smoke. Behind that, the citrus note, also typical of Laphroaig for me, in the form of a yellow Nimm2 candy. On the palate, the smoke is initially present, still very strong, but then good oak and the citrus fruit note come in, which here seems a bit "riper" and leans towards orange. The finish is medium-long and accompanied by oak, smoke, and a touch of fruit. The lingering aftertaste is, of course, mainly smoke and oak. A very nice whisky, but it doesn't exactly blow me away, especially not at this price. I wouldn't necessarily need a whole bottle. I liked it even more on the second tasting, 87-88 points; the base score is a good match.

compared to the 2nd release 16yo quite similar, but less rounded, more woody (virgin oak?) i prefer the 16yo so far

For me, one of the highlights of this year. What an incredibly successful bourbon maturation! You rarely get something of such excellence these days. Add to that the price of around €180 and I'm blown away (in the current price structure). If you like Laphi, you should at least get a sample. The complexity and the juicy softness. Unbelievable. Notes are available once I have had it in the blender glass.

Typical Laphroaig. Citrus drops, light wood, peat smoke and hospital vibes. Still quite smoky and astringent for 18 years. I wasn't that impressed with the old 18 either. So the 15 remains my personal favorite Laphie with only 43%. Compared to the two 16s

this is just Laphroaig to the max!

A dram that makes you pay attention with all the changes and a real mixture of notes - I suspect the CS original would have had a lovely, oily texture the absence of which lets this down slightly. Well worth trying.

It doesn't come close to the old 18-inch model! I actually think the new 15-inch one is better!

[July 2024] Together with seven good friends (and long-time whisky connoisseurs) we opened a bottle right upon arrival, and given our experience with the constant decline of Laphroaig's quality over the past years our expectations were low... ...but this release did not match even these lowered ones. We compared this new release to pre-Beam Laphroaig drams from our sample libraries, and nobody of us found any aroma or flavour that could be associated with the once distinctive Laphroaig profile. Both the profile's complexity and the spirit's quality in terms of mouthfeel and finish are underwhelming, so no one did ask for a second dram. Do not get me wrong: If you like a very simple malt profile consisting just of sweet barley sugars, non-Islay (non-maritime) peat notes and bitter virgin oak flavours you might love this - but still you can buy better quality for a fraction of this price from other distilleries (not necessarily Islay distilleries, because there are no Islay characteristics in this Laphroaig at all), e.g. go for Ardmore instead.

Only 48%, but it’s packing a lovely punch. By far not too much, but considering the age, still nice. Very typical laphi taste. Nice peat. Medium long finish. Worth the price? No. Good? Definitely

The aroma greets you with the recognizable profile of the plant: iodine, salt, minerals, tart herbs, bundles, peaty rubber smoke. Then the tones of burnt sugar, orange peel, herbal balm, fir oil, sour apples and some tablet-like taste (like paracetamol) open up. The taste, in addition to iodine and medicine, opens with caramel, sweet apples, peaches and white pepper. At the same time, it is difficult to call these notes bright, although they are there. The aftertaste is medium in length, with notes of iodine, orange peel, tannins and herbal bitterness. Of course, the sample differs in profile from the basic 10, however, it was not possible to discern a noticeable step forward (perhaps with the exception of the aroma).

Unfortunately, for me, it can't keep up with the previous versions. It lacks the fruit that I used to have. It also doesn't seem as complex and old in general. It's just a bit simpler. So it's definitely not a bad malt, but I won't buy it for the price it's asking for.

The degradation of aged Laphroaig is obvious: rather flat and nondescript, the taste has a slight bitterness, which is present in releases aged in over-charred barrels. Overall, the impressions are rather negative, which is very disappointing.

Heavy peat nose, fruity, spicy. Liquorice sticks, block malt. No smoke, no campfire. It smells subtle and balanced. The taste is a little softer. A lot of harmony here too. I associate flowers, meadow, chamomile. Fresh wood, fresh peat! The older a Laphroaig, the more pleasant it becomes. This one is very successful!

This whisky is nice, sweet, fruity, with smoke and campfire accents. Pleasantly warming, slightly spicy.

Non chill filtered, natural color, according to the destillery

Laphroaig 18 yro ABV: 48% Nose/Palate: Smooth smoked bacon. Not as good as the old 18. But clearly better than the newer younger Laphroaig releases. Score: 86 [Recommend to try]

It has an oily viscosity and its bouquet is of high intensity. I have aromas of intense maritime peat smoke, oak, citrus, vanilla, caramel, eucalyptus, shortbread, hay, honey sweetness and liquorice. Relatively complex. A good balance between sweetness and dryness in terms of taste. The alcohol is well integrated and it has a heavy body.

A thoroughly delicious dram. The nose gives hope for great things. The taste with surprisingly mild Laphia aromas and lovely wood notes is also pleasing. But the finish is very short and meaningless. A shame. Overall, the price-performance ratio is inappropriate.

Gone the days when this bottle was available for 90€. So I've not had it in a while, let's wake up some memories. Cold, salty sea breeze through a fire. Oysters with lemon juice. Honey sprinkled with white pepper. A bit of lemon zest followed by floral notes. All the way accompanied by the trademark smoke. Beauty.

Got this bottle at the Laphroaig Distillery for 90 pounds. A very gentle and easy-to-drink Laphroaig. The colour is light gold.

Yellow. Nose: Bonfire smoke. Taste: Sweetness, slightly sharp bonfire smoke, acidity, sweetness, vanilla, a little sharper impression, it has a little edge. Vault.

From a sample. I had high expectations for this as I often criticize Laphroaig 10 as being a consistently disappointing whisky in my experience. Certainly, the 18 redeems the brand, somewhat. I can appreciate the funky, dry profile with a measured amount of Islay peat smoke. To me, the nose is most intriguing. However, when a whisky's nose is the highest scoring category, it's hard for me to give too much respect to the bottle, because the rest of the journey seems to disappoint. But I really continue to enjoy smelling this glass!

I compared this 2024 bottling with the 18-year-old predecessor bottle (WB42886), which I had in the glass at the same time.

Strong malty character, feeling like a completely different whisky compare to previous version(green tube, white tube).

Tasted from a Glencairn glass. Tasted neat, without water! This new release of the 2018 Laphroaig is truly excellent. Personally, I like it better than the older one I just had for direct comparison. It's fruitier and has a bit more power, in my opinion.

I'm a huge Laphroaig fan, and I mean a huge fan :-) My whisky adventure started with Laphroaig and it will probably end there. The 18 year old distillery bottling was a legend for me. Since before COVID times it was rather hard to come by in Belgium. So I have never ever tasted the old editions. I was very happy to learn that there were new editions out there. Bought and opened this flask during summer 2025. First sniff and sip were rather disappointing- I mean... Was it all about this? I found the nose rather mineral and harsh. The taste was almost aggressive; had a few drams over the past months and now it's time to fully taste and enjoy the whisky. The oxidation helped and the whisky is now more mature, complex and balanced. In my opinion the harsh nose is gone and it transformed into a more elegant and sweet nose. Something that I really like :-) The taste is also a lot better then before, way less aggressive. But I'm still missing something. I mean, the mineral components are still there and the strong smoky campfire vibes are here to be enjoyed- but it all seems a bit too ashy in my opinion and not balanced enough. Don't get me wrong- this is a beautiful whisky, really beautiful. But I really had hoped more- a little bit less ash, a more clever build-up and a better integration of all the different tastes. Anyway, I'll keep on drinking my bottle and I can only hope that time and air will keep on working on the liquid...

No matter how much we love Laphroaig, this bottling is not even close to the predecessor to say the least. One more thing. Taking current Beam price policy into consideration, please… get this thing out of here… moreover, I think I will never come here anymore. Chao.

Well, quite good. Compared to the 16 (2022)... Quite similar. Peat, and a little licorice. A little fruit underneath. 81-85 – Wow, really good one

Well aged, but rather mild compared to the younger Laphroaigs. I miss the heart (seaweed, iodine etc.).