Laphroaig 1960 40 Year Old Official Bottling 42.4% + Forgotten Bottle

I never thought I would meet it again. Laphroaig LAPHROAIG 1960 40yo OB 42.4% The aroma is light and fresh fruity, passion fruit, faint peach or loquat, floral, dry grainy glassiness, sea breeze, gentle iodine, matured earth and mellow old peat. When drinking, it starts with a smooth mouthfeel that spreads, a texture that seeps into the tongue, extremely fruity, passion fruit and grapefruit, a refined sweetness and pleasant acidity like freshly squeezed juice, slightly briny, earthy peat. The body is light but the finish is surprisingly long. 【Very Good/Excellent】 The 1960 vintage, said to be the longest maturation in Laphroaig's official bottling history, has dropped down to 42.4% cask strength. This time, a senior malt enthusiast and also my senior in Laphroaig Legacy brought it to our gathering at home and opened it for us. I had brought most of the bottles from Laphroaig's bicentenary 15-32 years, but even so, this bottle is exceptionally rare. While the aroma feels surprisingly fresh rather than super long-matured, it has a rich variety of fruity notes with remarkable maturation. In particular, I strongly felt nuances more akin to Bowmore's passion fruit rather than the typical Laphroaig grapefruit citrus. There are also floral notes, dry grainy and straw-like dried grass nuances, and the old peat with a mellow iodine feel from maturation gently asserts itself. Due to its low alcohol content, the mouthfeel is smooth yet surprisingly not dry. Like the aroma, it's extremely fruity with passion fruit included, having a refined sweetness and acidity like fresh juice. The old peat is also present, giving a texture that gradually seeps into the tongue. Although it lacks thickness, the finish is long and intoxicating. It contains a delicate fragility beyond its peak but never feels dry no matter how it's consumed. Actually, I had previously been served this bottle at another event. While I didn't drink as much this time, back then I felt it was light and dry, unable to grasp its depth. Without this second encounter, I would have continued evaluating it as a mere dry bottle. That would have been shameful even for a Laphroaig Legacy member, and I'm truly grateful to have tasted it this time. That day, we held an event at a friend's home to open and drink all the bicentenary bottles of this year's Lagavulin and last year's Laphroaig. Although the plan for Laphroaig had been in place since last year, it was difficult to coordinate members' schedules until the end of the year, finally making it happen. Being able to drink such a remarkable bottle in one go, including this longest-matured official bottling, was truly a blissful time. Finally, I realized that I had forgotten to mention one bottle that left an impression this year in my recent reflection article. Though it feels a bit late, I'll write about it this year. This is Longrow LONGROW 1994-2016, a 21-year-old official bottling for Springbank Distillery's Open Day as part of the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2016, at 46%. One of 216 bottles, Refill Bourbon Cask. This was also an official special single cask released for the event. I wrote extensively about it, excited by its aroma reminiscent of Springbank and Longrow from the early 1970s. I was moved by the fact that such a whisky can still be produced even in recent distillations. I hope there will be many more such releases that give us a sense of the future next year. Wishing you all a wonderful New Year.