Smoke and salt and sherry. Such a combination. When it hits, it hits big. Many try for this but few seem to have the patience these days to properly execute it. Rites of Passage reracked this cask into first fill sherry in 2017 and waited a long 5 years to bottle it. Well worth it. The sherry is so beautifully integrated and is a cask worthy of the intensity of Laphroaig’s spirit. With the color of used motor oil, you can’t help but be excited as you open the bottle. At first pour, that classic smoky iodine that wafts from your glass is unmistakable. The typicity is perfect. Layer in line after line of classic Oloroso notes, like a perfectly baked croissant, each layer distinct, but beautifully part of one whole. Candied citrus peel (lemon and orange)- check. Dusty cocoa – check. Raisins – check. Dried palm fruits – check. Toasted nuts – check. Then BAM, Laphroaig again, smoke, salt, roasted seaweed, BBQ sauce. Molasses, cotton candy, malt balls, all there. It sits thick on your palate like cough syrup or a spoonful of the elixir surrounding Luxardo cherries. In a world where OB subpar 7-8 year old single casks in lack luster wood are going for $350+ this takes my hard earned cash. Every. Single. Time.