Laphroaig Elements L2.0 700ML

When discussing a whisky’s flavor these days, often the talk is about the cask: which exotic oak species, or which far-flung wine, spirits, or beer barrel has been used in its creation. For scotch in particular, it’s a long tradition that flavors are engineered through cask finishing and other maturation techniques. But Laphroaig Distillery decided to stand that tradition on its head. With its Elements Series, the mission is to explore how a whisky’s flavor can be influenced not at the finish, but at the start—before it even enters the cask.

This second release in the Elements series focuses on where the magic truly begins—fermentation—dialing up the fermenting period to nearly five full days, twice its normal length. Longer fermentation brings out more fruit notes in whisky, which sounds deliciously appealing, but it was a tricky balancing act for the distilling team. The desire to do something different, and perhaps even appeal to non-peat lovers, runs up against the risk of compromising that famous, smoky Laphroaig profile and alienating the wider fan base.

But Elements 2.0 pulls it off with consummate skill. The signature Laphroaig smoky, maritime, and medicinal notes are all present, but there’s mainly a lasting impression of gentle balance, with fruit flavors of baked peach, orange, green apple, pear, and apricot, as well as crème brûlée sweetness, all wrapped in maritime salinity and peat smoke. This cask-strength whisky offers harmony and power, carrying its nearly 60% ABV impressively. True to the mission, Elements 2.0 has no cask finishing, but is aged entirely in first-fill bourbon barrels.

There’s plenty of X-factor here, but in the end it all came down to the flavor, and our panel reached broad consensus in making it our 2024 Whisky of the Year.