Millesime 2019. Alors je savais pas mais le Laphroaig est un whisky fumé/ TOURBÉ. Ducoup, cette bière ne ment pas. Fumé, tourbé, poudre a pétard. Pas trop fan de ces notes. Ni dans le whisky, ni dans la bière. Les goûts et les couleurs. . .

Vintage 2018. Turbid, chestnut brown beer with rather eager carbonation unleashes a cappuccino-colored head that melts rapidly to a gossamer lace ring having attained its maximum height of half a finger. Some haze floats on the top for a longer while. The nose receives rather strong Scotch with its lingering smokiness and oppressive barrel nuance. Peat is relatively moderate in the scent but anticipates a heavier slam later on the tongue. Remains to be seen. Malt is dark and roasted. The olfactory provision is very straighforward. Single-malt Scotch is unbeatable on the tongue. Peat, smoke and alcohol can't be missed. I can easily imagine low-rising mosses and shrubs in boglands, and the aroma of wet and rottening sphragnum in the air. Dark malt, a tiny injection of syrup and a touch of brown sugar seal the package. My conclusion is that the concoction meets its objective of being aggressive and unapologetic extraordinarily well. This is not balanced at all but I appreciate it the way it is since that's what it was meant to be, right? The body is medium-full. The beer finishes with colossal Laphroaig. Peat and smoke are like firecrackers shooting sparkles in all directions. A very thin note of vanilla disappears amidst penetrative oak barrel, bitter syrup and burned brown sugar. Strangely, the sweeter syrupy elements step forward now that the tasting advances. I can also see that the beer becomes less offensive, the more I taste it. Maybe the 10 % ABV has something to do with it... The aftertaste tramps the Scottish boglands and moorlands up and down for a long time while the tastebuds sample beautifully aged Scotch single malts next to live fire. The mouthfeel is strong, intense and rather arrogant. It's heavily barrel aged, woody, smoky, somewhat alcoholic and warming. The mouthfeel is, furthermore, a bit lip-glueing, straighforward and definitely not layered. Not very balanced either. In all its boldness and offesiveness, appeals to me nicely in this wintry evening.