An interesting mix of real creamy and gently fruity ice cream flavours with a dash of salt and plenty of thick peat smoke. Somehow this combination really works for me and is verging on a heavily peated session dram though I suspect either sickly sweetness or more likely peat reek would take over before too long. Enjoyed it while it lasted. 85/100
The Laphroaig triple wood was OK, it is slightly salty and reasonably peaty but the sherry finish feels a little like an afterthought and was not well-controlled or integrated into the whisky. 82/100
Presenting that Laphroaig signature peaty peanut flavour, though a little less sweet and a lot less harsh than the 10 Year Old. This toning down in palate made it much more drinkable / easy drinking, but then I don’t drink Laphroaig to feel ‘safe’… 82/100
no tasting notes. 89/100
A classic ex-bourbon/American oak matured Laphroaig, old enough to have imbued a healthy dose of vanillins which complement that sweet peaty smoke that so reminds me of peanut and satay sauce on meat – what I just love about Laphroaig. Again another sample I would hope is bottled soon! 89/100
Wow, what a dram! Usually in older whisky I find the peat influence mellowed and a lot of wood influence, this one appears to have been slightly rejuvenated by the second maturation allowing the peat to burst out in an array of flavours. The nuttiness is also there but in a variety of guises and the herbal woody notes just seem to really work with everything else going on. I just wish I had so much more of this one… 92/100
This 2012 Cairdeas is now only available at auction and I imagine the price per bottle may have doubled at least, I have heard that this essentially is a souped-up version of the standard Quarter Cask expression from Laphroaig so I expect I will seek this expression out before too long. I will continue to purchase the future Cairdeas bottlings as they represent both great quality and value as well as a little more unusual expressions from one of my favourite distilleries. 88/100
Laphroaig’s no-nonsense intense peaty style actually lends itself rather well to cask strength whisky. I don’t know if the quoted 40ppm phenolics just subtly blend into what I think of as the stereotypical Laphroaig taste or if their distillation process and maturation removes the halogenated [chloro-phenol] most medicinal/TCP-esque nasal offenders? Either way this one seriously warms the cockles! 89/100
The subtlety and smoothness of the finish, the complexity of this in the mouth and the fire with which it starts combine to make this a pretty spectacular dram. I haven’t tasted a Laphroaig that packs in so much, yet finishes so smoothly. 90/100
On the face of this one I would strongly recommend a port finish Laphroaig could easily make its way into their standard range even at a tamer non cask strength, however I wouldn’t want to take anything away from the shine of this bottle. This is my current go to bottle when I either want a kick in the tastebuds or have several hours to sit and mull purely over a single dram. 90/100
