Is this their best bottle? | Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch 14 REVIEW 

Yeah the value for this one is pretty off the charts in most markets. Amazing bang for buck!

Hah 100% me!

Great! 🥃

High praise to be included in such a group! Obvs I'm a big Ralfy and Roy fan, but as far as smaller channels go, Whisky Lock is a personal favourite. Very knowledgeable and offers well-formulated opinions. An underrated gem of a channel!

A suggestion maybe: if you review a whisky with higher than 46ABV, you could present us two versions of it; one without water and another with a couple of drops. Many good whiskies, like Kilkerran cask strength heavily peated, have the tendency to present themselves very differently, in terms of adding water, or not. A comparison video but with only one whisky.

Thanks Charis 😎

Good point. This is totally the whisky that would convert someone into liking this brand. Worked on me! 🥃

Hah thanks Jeff. Welcome! 🥃

Yeah like you I only have limited experience with previous batches, so I'm happy to simply take it for what it is without any extra context. And for what it is... it's fantastic! Cheers! 🥃

I have a bottle of the 12 coming soon hopefully it delivers the goods.

Agree. Off-the-charts value if you're in the west!

Hah yeah I have to reign myself in from getting too excited and overspending, too! I'm sure the 15 will be fantastic, though. One I might pick up if I can get it for the right price. 🥃

Very glad to hear you're enjoying it, Rick! Cheers! 🥃

Fair enough. I'm personally really impressed. This is a whisky I'd buy if I came across any of the batches if the price was right. Cheers!

Fantastic stuff. I'm sure you'd love it. Best value Laph imo! 🥃

Thanks for the info! More active casks sounds about right! As for your last statement... 100% agree. This brand really does shine with a proper age statement, yet they seem extremely preoccupied with putting out NAS or 10 year olds. I miss the old 18. I've currently got a bottle of the 16 and the 25 on the go and they're both fantastic! 🥃

@@Gwhisky that 16 year limited release was one of the best whiskies I’ve had in recent memory. Sadly, long gone now. There are shops in my area where I can get a 25, but at $600 USD, let’s just say I’m holding off for now. Laphroaig actually does youthful malt pretty well, in my opinion, but in previous times 10 years was considered young, and these days it’s commonplace to see whisky bottled at less than 5. At least in the 15-18 year range you’d have the option of tasting the Laphroaig punch with a bit more complexity. I enjoyed the Lore, but to me the maturity of whatever aged distillate is in there is masked by the first fill sherry cask influence, which is not, to me, what Laphroaig does best.

I agree, Laphroaig does young whisky well. But for every good young NAS release they give us (QC is my favourite budget Laph), there are two or three lesser releases that simply don't work for me. Stuff like the Four Oak or the Select.. I wish the ratio of NAS to aged whisky was more balanced and more effort was diverted toward the quality aged stuff. I totally agree about the 16. Really impressive stuff! 🥃

@@Gwhisky totally agree with you. Quarter cask is solid. But the Select? What were they thinking? To my mind, at such a small price difference from the regular 10 year, it diminishes the reputation for quality. And wouldn’t entry level buyers be starting with the vaunted 10 anyway? Then again, both the 10 and the QC have been rising in price lately, but so is everything else…sigh.

Yeah I'd love to try some of the older stuff. I've tried an earlier batch but I don't remember which one. Generally I'm told the older ones are better!

Glad you've turned around on Laphroaig, VImal. I'll admit they haven't always been a favourite of mine, but I have a couple of their expressions on the go right now and I'm really enjoying them!

Thanks Hans! 🥃

Yeah I'd be interested to try a Laphroaig with limited cask influence. Could be epic! 🥃

Good call, Tom. I might just send them a message myself. Glad you're enjoying the newer stuff as well. I haven't tried enough of the old stuff to comment, although my limited experiences with it were also good. All in all I have a good feeling about the CS10 in general. Cheers!

Hah! Thanks for watching, Dave. 🥃

The Cairdeas is good stuff, but this was cheaper, and personally, I like it more. Excellent bang-for-buck.

To be honest I'm still a bit suspicious about batch 15. They do say non-chill filtered. It would be so easy to mention the lack of colour, if it's true. I'm sure you can tell from the liquid itself. Even in the video you can see how dark the batch 14 is. They were... generous with the colourant. I'm sure once we get our hands on our own bottles of 15 and give it a pour we'll find out pretty quickly.

@@Gwhisky I haven’t tried batch 15 as yet but I’m also suspicious re added colouring. The wording they use might be an example of the disconnect that can occur between the production folks and the marketing folks.

@@langtoun8235 Sadly, 15 is also colored... "Mit Farbstoff" on the back

Shame it's hard to get in your market. In most western markets it seems to be well-priced and quite available. Sounds like yours is the outlier, unfortunately. Like you, I don't mind the sweetness in modern Laphroaigs, but I know it's going to bother a lot of people. I can't say I have any complaints about this whisky. Cheers!

Hi Kushi. That's a great idea and something to consider if I ever happen to have all three of those bottles at the same time. Cheers and have a great day yourself!

I can't say much about the cork or label on your QC, but as far as value and quality goes this is by far my favourite affordable Laphroaig. I like the QC but this stuff is next level.

How did you like batch 10 and 11?

@@steveno7058 10, 11 is regular good, the 2 ones that i think is a little better is 7 and 9. Had the opportunity to compare 5-12 in one session😋

@@primewhisky cool thanks

Yeah it makes sense. But at the same time I can't complain about any of the notes in the 14, even though it's on the sweet side by Laphroaig standards. Cheers.

Fair enough. Laphroaig is random here in Taiwan. Sometimes very fairly priced, and then there are a few odd exceptions, like this one, that are way more than other markets. Glad I ordered this one in. If you ever do manage to see it at the regular UK price point, I'd recommend it highly. It's a huge step up from the Quarter Cask and it's the best value Laphroaig imo. Sadly that's not the case in either of our markets. Cheers!

I don't have that many Taiwanese whiskies on hand right now, but I'm sure I will down the line. It's a great idea for a future video! Cheers Lee!

Awesome! 🥃

Hey Dan. Totally agree. I even mentioned in the video that a lot of Laphroaigs lose their punch after a while. I've had a lot of their stuff go flat on me after too much air. So far so good with this one, it's been about 5 months and it's still fantastic. Shame to hear it's expensive in your market, too. Same. It cost me less to order it in from the UK than pay the local price for it here. Cheers!

Damn... haven't had the 18 in a long time. That stuff was fantastic! I've got the Cairdeas and the CS10 batch 14. I finished my last QC a while ago. I don't mind it, but then again I don't have a soft spot for Laphroaig. I totally see why a lot of people don't like the new direction the brand is taking, but personally I'm neutral. All I can say is that from a value and flavour standpoint I thoroughly enjoy the CS10. Cheers Salty!

@@Gwhisky I got lucky for once with those 18s. I’ve missed on quite a few bottles while trying to decide if I should buy. Those however I saw some of the green tube ones and bought 3 at $95. Then I spoted one white tube for $110 and bought that one. So I’ve only opened the white tube one and decanted the last bit into 3 sample bottles. I’ll add that it pays to be decisive when you see something special. I most recently missed out on Glendronach 21 for $120, instead purchased the 18 year old twice and now they’ve pushed the 21 over $300. The other time was the 2020 maiden release of Glenturret 12 sherry cask. Held in the cart for too long because I have two of the 2021. It sold out. So there’s something to be said in pulling the trigger on things you likely won’t see again or at least for some time. By which the bottle could have gone way up. Another was the Glenallachie cask strength for $75. Now it’s @ the $120 range IF you find it.

Daaaaamn... CAD$230 for LORE??? Less than HALF THAT in my market. What are they thinking?

Ill grab it if I get the chance. I'm curious to explore more batches now. 🥃

No I haven't. Apparently it's smokier?

And more sherried!

Worth it imo. Great stuff! 🥃

13 and 14 at the same price where I'm from but at $106. I have to say I'm curious if the 13 is better as well

@@m.andre824 Very interesting...

Older releases always cost more than newer releases as there is less of them available on the market

@@jameseverett9035 For a whopping $40?..

Tasting is believing. These are both under $85 by me in NY area. I'm fighting the compulsion. I gassed my first bottle, Batch 11 never opened 12 or 13 and then I found a 10. I bought another 13 when 14 hit the shelf and opened that. It's really good. I was following the negative reviews and planning to pass on 14, until today. I'm collecting for my kids. You have to start somewhere and I started with 11. My liver will never filter all the whisky I have but a collection is worth more if it's complete. Right? I was drinking a Kilchoman 9 year cask strength last night and it's ashtray peat. One good fresh cigarette and your licking the tray clean. With work and a lot of familiarity, it's a mildly complex whisky, totally lacking any sweetness. So I miss that. It's clean and strong and perfect but maybe a 89, and $40 more than Laph10 CS. The only problem I have with steady collecting of$100 bottles I never get to spend big money. Like on a Laphroaig 25 to see what that's all about. Age does matter but with availability of this every year it's hard to argue with. If I had just one peated cask strength I'm good. But then they come up with Cairdeas too....... The batch variation is fascinating because the subtleties are there but the maturation is the same.

it tells you on the tube and bottle. Batch 14 June 2021

I've tried it but I don't have a bottle. It's delicious, though! Sadly overpriced here. Hopefully I can get a bottle of my own to review eventually. 🥃

@@Gwhisky hope you're in luck!

I agree with everything you said. Silly to add colour. So close to being natural. Not only that, it makes no sense to add colourant to your whisky when the bottle's green and your customers won't even see the liquid until they take it home.

Awesome!

Jeeeeez. Ok, you win. Wtf Australia?

Haven't had it myself, but MA really knows his stuff! 🥃

Lol yeah the white backdrop of the sleeve just makes it more obvious. Not exactly subtle...

Laphroaig 10 cask strength is still great value for money. Especially when compared to other cask strength Islay whiskys, both NAS and AS. Ardbeg Corryvreckan is NAS and more expensive. Uigeadail is NAS and the same price. Lagavulin 12 CS is twice the price.

@@FEWGEE1 Well logically I get your point. But it's kind of an emotionally driven principle. I don't see the justification in prize climb and in comparison to the standard expression. That's why i never would buy the Laga CS, although i loved it years ago. The Ardbeg NASs i get cheaper (where I'm based) and the increased price compared to the 10 is stable and reasonable. Cheers

😂