A celebratory release, and if what I’ve read about a bunch of bottlings from Laphroaig, it will likely be one that should be standard but isn’t. I wonder if I’m right.
Laphroaig 15 200th Anniversary, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV
Minutia: Bottled in celebration of Laphroaig’s 200th anniversary. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Musty, lemony, apple skin. Tobacco, leather, fruit. Gummy bears.
Taste: Vegetal. Honey, Wood. Heat builds, but not to a high level.
Finish: Delicious bitter note into smoke and coffee and sweet grapes. Malt.
Guess: Laphroaig 15
Non-standard indeed. Wow, this whisky is good in many ways. I got notes I’ve never gotten from a Laphroaig and didn’t get some notes I usually do. I thoroughly enjoyed drinking it and it’s such an interesting expression I felt surprised the whole dram. Not necessarily because a new note appeared or anything, but I kept being surprised it was a Laphroaig, and at 43%, too.
Nose: Smoke and ash. Crisp fruit in the smoke. Icing later.
Taste: Musty with spices. Also pepper and heat.
Finish: Must. Leather. Longer.
Guess: It’s tough, but I’m going to say Triple Wood.
So, this is a good whisky and it makes sense that lots of whisky fans were over the moon about a cask strength version of it. Interestingly enough, this scores a tier below the Cairdeas, which checks out – that’s the same whisky but a tier above.
Score: 83
Musical Evocation: Iron Maiden – “Die with Your Boots On”
Hmm, after what was a fine but umtimately disappointing dram yesterday, I’m grateful this one turned up blind as I would not have been too keen on it right on the tails of Lp7. Let’s see how it compares/
Elements of Islay Lp9, Islay Single Malt, 54.3% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at Laphroaig in 1998 and matured in an ex-PX butt for 20 years and bottled on 2018 yielding 714 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Smoke and musty red fruit. Leather, soot. A brightness to it, overall.
Taste: Smoky seafood, pepper, coffee.
Finish: Smoky espresso. Long.
Guess: Octomore, not an X.1.
Damn, what a follow up. The nose of the Lp7 was a bit too gentle, and this makes up for it in all areas. Laphroaig was actually my initial thought, but it felt too robust and flavorful to not be an Octomore. I briefly considered Caol Ila/Port Askaig, but, again, strong notes that are common to Octomore. What a great dram. I liked the PX finish Cairdeas, and really like this full term PX Laphroaig. Excellent cask, excellent dram, and I’m fired up to keep this going tomorrow.
A distillery I like from a bottler I’ve found to be of quality? Let’s do it.
Elements of Islay Lp7, Islay Single Malt, 52.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at Laphroaig in 1998 and matured in four 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrels for 17 years and bottled in 2016. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Barely there. With the glass being black it almost seems empty. Mostly astringent and ethanol vapors, with some ashy hints you really have to search for.
Wow. Wow. Color me surprised. I was thinking the smoke and hints of ash could be Caol Ila, with some pepper from Talisker, and the fact that it’s a low ABV blend hiding the nose. I was thinking Laphroaig for a bit as the palate reminded me of it, but I just couldn’t accept that a Laphroaig would be so gentle on the nose. It’s a shame there’s not more there, as it definitely held it back for me, since the palate is really nice. Particularly those orange notes, they were novel to me and quite a delight. I wonder if it would do better not as a blind review but knowing it’s gentler on the nose. Not a blockbuster amazing whisky, but still a very tasty one.
Please note that this score is one of if not the least representative of the liquid that I’ve given as I believe ultimately it’s better than the score, but the nose was nearly absent and I have to knock points for that. Points for not being aversive, but not as many as if I could tell I had a whisky.
Really quite nice, but fails to live up to the nose. Not because of anything bad, the nose is just that good. It’s pretty much what you want from a peated and Sherried whisky.
This is one I was really looking forward to. In addition to just knowing I’ve enjoyed peat and Port/red wine, the fact that one of the best regarded releases also saw time in Port casks made it all the more appealing. I had my hopes tempered as encore releases are rarely as good as the first one, but still was looking forward to it. Anyway, finally got around to it a bit late, and have the 2021 planned shortly enough where it might still be relevant, and I can review the 2022 when it releases and actually help people decide whether to buy it when it’s on normal shelves.
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2020 Port & Wine Casks, Islay Single Malt, 52% ABV
Minutia: Matured in 2nd fill ex-Ruby Port barriques and ex-bourbon barrels, and finished in red wine casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages. So many comments about how great this is, plus the fact that I simply love Laphroaig, left me pretty eager. I grabbed a bottle, and before even trying it based on reviews I picked up another when it happened to be on a local shelf. As has happened with so many whiskies I’ve bought, it ended up behind others already owned in line and sometimes even got leapfrogged as I work to get my temporally relevant reviews caught up, but finally it got it’s chance to shine. Did it?
Nose: Smoke with a medicinal twinge. Mostly industrial, tar/blacktop, but definite fruit. All behind a musty overlay.
Taste: Big oak, spice, dry smoke. Chemical.
Finish: Musty smoke. Oak. Salt.
Classic Laphroaig. A lot to like. Tastes great, but the nose is the star of the show. Very happy I trusted you fine people and grabbed that second bottle.
The second of the Cairdeas releases I’ve tried after the 2017 Cask Strength Quarter Cask which I enjoyed a ton. That seems to be one of the less appreciated of them and people told me that if I liked that I’d really like some of the other releases so I picked this up at a shop when I saw it there.. I’ve seen mixed reviews on this between OK and great, and my familiarity with Fino casks is limited only to the Oban Distillers Edition which was a pour at a bar so I didn’t know entirely what to expect.
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2018 Fino Cask Finish, Islay Single Malt, 51.8% ABV
Minutia: Matured in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks and finished in ex-Fino casks, bottled at 51.8% to commemorate its release in 2018. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Starts oaky vanilla into medicinal smoke. The medicinal element is slight, at least for Laphroaig. You have to find it a bit rather than it’s usual boisterous presence. The smoke is far more in the leather/tobacco/vegetation family. Coastal air, not on the beach, or even adjacent, but a mile or so inland. Stone fruit syrup and creamy citrus notes come in revisiting after having had a sip.
Taste: Woody, light wine. Iodine. That’s really all I could pick out, but it’s bigger than just those notes suggest.
Finish: Musty, dry, then smoke. Big, tarry, ashy smoke. Not a complete explosion of it, but it really announces itself after a few seconds. An indiscriminate sweetness, perhaps a roasted nut which is sweet. Just shy of medium length.
Damn, I really like this. I was in love from the first whiff. I really regret not trying this sooner so I could have gotten a few more at MSRP. Based on how much people enjoyed it, I’m grateful took some user’s advice here about the Triple Wood Cairdeas to buy two if a shop had it. I have so much whisky to try I expect to have caught up with the Cairdeas releases at or around the time next year’s gets released so hopefully this doesn’t happen again.
I love the 10 year old, and the way people raved about this it put it on my list so it was a no brainer when a local liquor store happened to have some.
This is powerful and flavorful. Like so many drams for me of late, the nose is the star of the show. I’d say I enjoyed all the elements about the same, but something about the nose is more compelling. The 10 will always hold the whisky equivalent of a place in my heart held by my first love but this – without getting vulgar with specifics – is akin to an improved version of that person in all ways. I have too many bottles at the present time to begin following through with this, but once the amount of bottles is under control/amount of space can handle the bottles I’ll be getting at least one bottle of every batch for as long as they make this.
This post is about the Top 10 Whiskies I tried over the course of 2020. It is all about when I took the notes, not when the whiskies were released, and they are in no particular order.
I like Laphroaig enough where I’d buy a sample of anything for the opportunity to try it, but the “Big Ocean” name implying emphasis on maritime elements would be appealing enough to attract me even if I wouldn’t buy it no matter what.
Laphroaig An Cuan Mòr, Islay Single Malt, 48% ABV
Minutia: Matured in ex-bourbon casks and then European oak casks. Reviewed blind, neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Sharp rich fruit, earthy smoke, bit medicinal. Rubbing on hands gives chocolate and an absolutely delightful snuff. The nose gets better as time goes on.
Taste: Musty, leather, pepper. Thinner than nose would suggest.
Finish: Smoke, something savory (never had a fig but maybe that? The bottle says burnt apricot so maybe that’s this?), salty. Medium-long.
Guess: My gut was saying Octomore, but I’ve been fooled by too many Laphroaigs this Advent calendar not to guess Laphroaig.
I was expecting this to be one of the well aged OBs or maybe an older Elements of Islay release rather than a travel retail NAS based on how good it was, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The taste was a step down from the truly excellent nose. I almost didn’t want to sip it at all and just keep smelling it, easily the star of the show. I had a plan to place an order after trying the 24 samples in the calendar if I liked any enough to buy a bottle, and this would make the cut if I wasn’t already getting 2 bottles each just under $200. Could easily see myself tacking a bottle onto an order in the future, though.
Score: 91
Musical Evocation: Alestorm – “Wolves of the Sea”
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
Nose: Red fruit, smoke (saline and medicinal in quality, but not these aromas on their own), sweet.
Taste: Dry, wood, smoke.
Finish: Musty, fruit, smoke, wood.
Guess: Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured.
I continue to be thwarted on Laphroaigs that taste much fruitier than I expect. I know I got a bunch of fruit on the very old ones, but I don’t recall that ever before. Then during these blind reviews I seem to be getting it a ton. Looks like bias of the hospital peat punch that is Laphroaig may have gotten in my way of identifying anything that isn’t peat-related. Gonna have to come at my next Laphroaig 10 from an open perspective. Anyway, this was and overall excellent dram. The nose started out almost blah, but then I just couldn’t stop sniffing it. It evolved and the different aromas danced around each other wonderfully. The taste is strong, but not much is going on. It’s mostly dry and woody, the smoke is an afterthought. The finish brings everything back to form, though. This was a real trip I’m glad I took.
Score: 90
Musical Evocation: Wintersun – “Time”
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
Another Laphroaig sample I picked up when it was available to try as much of what the distilleries I like as I can without having to buy a whole bottle.
Laphroaig PX Cask, Islay Single Malt, 48% ABV
Minutia: Matured in Bourbon, and Quarter Casks, I believe with a finish in PX Sherry casks. The label indicates it’s a third maturation. Reviewed blind, neat in a glencairn.
Guess: Port Charlotte or Ledaig, maybe an Octomore, but seems too low proof for that.
The fruit on the pour had me thinking Bunnahabhain at the beginning, but there was too much smoke when I actually nosed it, and it didn’t feel like a peated Bunnahabhain. Feelings of wine had me thinking Port Charlotte, then the earthiness had me thinking maybe an Octomore, but more likely a Ledaig as it kind of approached that funk they have. As much as I like Laphroaig, I haven’t thought a ton about it before this Advent calendar, but this is the fourth so far, all of which I liked immensely. I’m glad this project served to remind me how good of a distillery that really is.
The nose was interesting. The initial sniff (post what I smelled during the pour, but before anything else I wrote down) had me very unexcited thinking it would be a dull dram, but after that it changed and I felt like I couldn’t stop smelling it. It started to get smoky, vaguely. That increased and it became medicinal, then got earthy without that medicinal quality there. The medicinal note comes back and goes again over the dram. The taste is ok, nothing remarkable, but still nice. The finish is a delight. It’s relatively short, but while it’s there it’s very nice. Reminds me of the Quarter Cask, particularly the finish, though not as in your face. Those casks seem to do something nice for Laphroaig. I’ve now had a handful of expressions which have used them, and I liked them all. I was already looking forward to opening that bottle of the Cairdeas Triple Wood, even more now.
Score: 89
Musical Evocation: Gary Moore – “If the Devil Made Whiskey”
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
A sample I’ve been looking forward to popping up into the Advent calendar for a long time. The only other time I had this I did not care for it, really at all. But that was out to dinner and who knows how long the bottle had been opened, etc., so I reserved my judgement at the time. That experience had me intrigued by its regular praise and I was looking to really check it out for myself in a proper context. Rather than pop out the sample, I decided to wait until it was drawn for an Advent calendar to avoid any bias going in.
Laphroaig Quarter Cask, Islay Single Malt, 48% ABV
Minutia: Matured for some amount of time in quarter casks, presumably at least one other type in the mix as well. Reviewed blind, neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Medicinal, maritime smoke. Bit of dunnage. Chemical quality to the ethanol. The vaguest hint of tropical fruit.
Taste: Earthy, bitter, some smoke. The smoke grows as it sits on the tongue.
Finish: Big smoke, huge. Like the mistake that retail worker made. Takes on an earthy, charred meat quality. This wowed me. Medium.
Guess: On the nose it was either Laphroaig or Caol Ila, with a lean to Laphroaig. The taste solidified that. The finish though, gave me whispers of Octomore, but the ABV was too drinkable to make me change course to that. A Laphroaig, either an Elements of Islay or an OB.
Ok, I get it now. This is a top dram. Something was definitely off either with the bottle or my palate when I had it at a bar. Even if it was bad before the finish that alone would put it into drinkable territory. While nice, the nose isn’t terribly compelling, the taste takes it up a notch, and the finish just really sends it all home. It makes total sense why people recommend this, and why I really enjoyed the Cask Strength Cairdeas release.
Score: 89
Musical Evocation: Behemoth – “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer”
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
