LAPHROAIG - SINGLE MALT - IB - GORDON & MACPHAIL (G&M) "CONNOISSEURS CHOICE" 1973

LAPHROAIG - SINGLE MALT - IB - GORDON & MACPHAIL (G&M) "CONNOISSEURS CHOICE" 1973

During the 1970s and 1980s, finding independent bottlings of Laphroaig was incredibly rare because the distillery kept a tight grasp on its stock for its own standard single malt or high-end blends. This release represents a masterclass in mid-century Islay peat evolution.

It opens with old bandages, hospital gauze, and intense medicinal iodine, which smoothly shifts into a gentle maritime breeze of sea salt, ozone, and dried kelp. Underneath the coastal elements is a gorgeous, old-school notes of dusty library books, sweet pipe tobacco, and beeswax. It leaves a lingering trail of kippers (smoked fish), damp campfire ash, and a clean, saline minerality.