Exclusive Malts Islay Sherry Cask (Laphroaig)

This is a bottling from the recently-sold Exclusive Malts of a single cask of sherry-aged Laphroaig. It’s bottled at 50% with no age statement.

This is a series of blind tastings from the “The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 5th Edition” advent calendar. I do not know what is in the calendar, so every one of these reviews is 100% no prior knowledge.

1. Macduff 2003 14yo (Single Cask Nation)
2. Wemyss Wooden Chest
3. Lost Distillery Company Auchnagie Classic
4. Glen Moray 2008 9yo #5764 (Secret Spirits)
5. Craigellachie 12yo 2006 Cask Strength (Secret Spirits)
6. Exclusive Malts Islay Sherry Cask (Laphroaig)
7. Adelphi Breath of Speyside 2006 (11yo)
8. Balmenach 2004 13yo (Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask)
9. Glen Moray 2007 10yo (A.D. Rattray)
10. Royal Brackla 2006 11yo (Secret Spirits)
11. Wemyss Delicious Burst
12. Lost Distillery Company Stratheden Classic
13. Auchinderom - Peated Glenglassaugh (Malt Whisky Company)
14. Knockdhu 2009 9yo (A.D. Rattray)
15. Caol Ila 2009 9yo (Secret Spirits)
16. Wemyss Nectar Grove
17. Glentauchers 2008 10yo (Secret Spirits)
18. Glenallachie 2009 9yo (Secret Spirits)
19. Williamson (Laphroaig) 2005 13yo (A.D. Rattray)
20. Stones of Stenness Orkney Aged 18yo (Single Cask Nation)
21. Inchgower 1995 21yo (Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask)
22. Towiemore Archivist (Lost Distillery Company)
23. North British 1988 30yo (A.D. Rattray)
24. Inchmurrin 1996 21yo (Secret Spirits)
25. Glen Grant 1988 30yo (A.D. Rattray)

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Distiller: Laphroaig
Distilled: Undisclosed
Bottled: 2018
ABV: 50%
Age: NAS
Cask type: Refill Sherry Casks
Source: The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 5th Ed.
Setting: Blind

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Nose: Hot cake batter, pine shoots, golden raisins, an apricot note, confectioners sugar, vanilla. A ripe fruitiness that is very enjoyable. (Note the very obvious absence of my detecting any smoke here)
Palate: A mild heat brings forth candied orange, clove, golden raisin and drifts into…
Finish: Long and wide vanilla notes with some heat, an edge of spruce, and some nutmeg and apple.
Overall: Quite an enjoyable (I’m guessing) speyside, with some really nice pungent yellow fruit notes that bring some interest to the classical speyside prettiness.
Rank: 5
Reveal: An Islay? Get the fuck out! I find but a whisper of smoke here, and a much more pungent aroma of embarrassment coming from… somewhere… shit. This is a masterful trick by the creators of SWAC, putting a very peaty Speyside right before the least peaty Laphroaig I’ve ever tasted. I did taste these two back to back, so I suspect some of what is happening here is palate fatigue from the peaty Craigellachie.