Laphroaig 30

A couple winters ago, when the economy was chugging along, when everyone in New York, certainly everyone working in finance, thought they were millionaires, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about 30 year-old malts. The idea was that if you needed a special gift, say for a good client, and the client was a scotch lover, then you might think about buying a bottle of someone's thirty to express your deep appreciation. The article reviewed about five or six of these special malts, and I can only remember two things about the article. One: the most expensive 30 was, as you might have suspected, the Macallan. It was close to $750. And two: the least expensive 30, which the author also felt was the very best of the lot, was the Laphroaig. Somewhere in the low two hundreds.

Now flash forward to the spring of 2009. Right now the economy isn't doing so great, and I don't imagine that seven hundred dollar malts are flying off the shelves anywhere, even in downtown Manhattan. Perhaps once upon a time, when that was happening, we wouldn't have even seen any 30s up here in Rochester. But this spring, I noticed that our favorite purveyor was displaying the Laphroaig 30 in the locked glass cabinet, where I had once seen a couple bottles of Hirsch. Not only that, but the price was very reasonable, under $200. Now another thing that happened in the the spring of 2009, in fact it's something that happens every spring, is that I had a birthday come due. I'm not exactly wild about that development any more, as the numbers have now grown close to astronomical levels. But as the day approached, I dropped some very pointed hints, and whaddya know? On my birthday, there appeared a bottle of, you guessed it-- Laphroaig 30. Is that a great gift or what?

I've tasted it twice, and have decided that it defies explanation. I can't imagine there is anything else quite like it. It has a big round flavor, caramel, maybe chocolate, that quickly gives way to smoke, and thenmore smoke. It's clearly a Laphroaig, no doubt, but smoother, richer, much more luxurious, and really without any bite. Jim Murray says it's "sweet peat-reek from distant lumbs", but I have no idea what that means. The other distinctive characteristic is that it has a forever finish. This is only the second time I've tasted a 30 - the first being a tasting sized pour of HP30 at the Last Hurrah in downtown Boston. That 30 had a finish that went on forever also. And this Laphroaig, after you swallow, the taste lingers in your mouth. And it doesn't change. Some whiskies are nice on the palate, but after you swallow, there is an aftertaste that doesn't quite match the whisky. The Laphroaig 30 keeps reminding you of just exactly how delicious it was.

I read somewhere that Laphroaig is going to replace the 15, which I love, but which some critics find too soft, too smooth, with an 18. I figure the 18 will be that much richer, that much more full flavored than the 15. So maybe it won't be the 30, but still I've got my hopes up. Meantime, I need to think of as many special occasions as possible, so I can make up reasons to take out the 30 and enjoy a pour.