Tastes

Nose: strong apple, caramel and wintergreen. Toffee and vanilla. Taste: heavy burnt hay and wintergreen with tobacco. Strong woody and fruity finish of apple and peaches drizzled with caramel.

Nose: Intense dill, peaches, vanilla and light hay / dirt. Aniseed and dill merge into a rye bread scent. Very light chocolate and apple nose. Taste: Very thin and watery open of dirty hay that slowly devolves into heavy rye spice and caramel with a bright dill and menthol finish. Water brings everything out. Light toffee and caramel covered peaches with mint and dill with the dirty hay note buried towards the end and a spicy finish. Maybe needs more time in the bottle but kinda underwhelming at least for my tastes. Would probably be a good cocktail base.

Nose: baked apples. Cinnamon, nutmeg, light hint of chocolate and tobacco. Taste: strong apple and cinnamon with caramel vanilla and oak. Average bourbon nothing too special or weird.

Nose: Light peat, rosemary, charcoal. Peaches, black pepper, light citrus and vanilla. Taste: Mayonaise, black pepper bacon and blue cheese. The malt takes over half way through and it finishes with a spicy black pepper / ginger / cinnamon. Its close to the old curiositas but it feels younger. Will compare soon

Nose: dense fog, date and caramel. Light pepper and lemon with the Caol ila malty note. Taste: dense sherry fig with caramel, vanilla, honey. The peat is in the finish but barely there. Presents as a burnt rosemary floral note. Water opens up the general Caol ila profile with the sherry in the background as figs and a bit of a sour taste.

Nose: ripe grapes/cherries. Burnt brisket, orange Bundt cake, Taste: strong burnt peat with rosemary and floral influences. Strong fruity finish of apples, peaches, star fruit and kiwi. Water immediately calms the beast and brings out all the hidden notes. Thick caramel toffee with ripe Asian pears and cherries with a honey vanilla syrup. Taste becomes same as the nose with the peat moving to the background and adding a deep chocolate finish.

Comparison with the 10 year old sherry finish TL;DR: They are very similar. No distinct difference in the general notes, but they are different in how they present. Nose: Burnt bacon, vanilla, cinnamon, light lemon and faint malt. Figs, raisins, and dates. The nose is definitely the more "laphroaig" nose. The classic characteristics of the 10 show up here strongly as well with the addition of the sherry scents. The 10 year old sherry is far more sweet, with the sweet cherry, date, and fig note overwhelming the base spirit. The 10 sherry is more also far more floral. Taste: Classic laphroaig of burnt bacon, rubber, and iodine. The rubber and iodine notes are extended longer into the finish. Light lemony malt and vanilla towards the finish with a slight hint of very sweetened cherries and dates with the honey floral sweetness to end things off. I would recommend the cairdeas more only because its cask strength and therefore lets you play with the proof a bit more.

Comparison with the 2021 Cairdeas PX TL;DR: They are very similar. No distinct difference in the general notes, but they are different in how they present. Nose: dense sweet honey and violets with date syrup. Vanilla and figs. The classic laphroaig backbone of bacon and peat with a hint of malt does show up on the edges of the taste. Though as it sits in the glass the sherry settles down a lot. The 2021 Cairdeas has the sherry notes in the background while letting the base spirit come front. Taste: Sherry explodes up front with dates and dense cherry. Quickly collapses into the base spirit notes of lemon, malt, and rubber. Slight vanilla sweetness on the finish. I would recommend the cairdeas more only because its cask strength and therefore lets you play with the proof a bit more.

Nose: light apple, peanut butter, very light hazelnut and a vague wisp of tobacco. Light cherry and peaches, vanilla frosting and burnt caramel. Taste: Dill and wintergreen with apple and cherry. Hazelnut and peanut with burnt caramel is present on the finish. Almost like a nut coated candy apple. Slight banana note also comes out after a while. The finish becomes stronger the more you sip. It's a bourbon with a slightly different finish. Not one to impress a seasoned drinker but would be good to introduce someone who has only had Jim Beam or Jack Daniels. Nothing offensive but nothing new or exciting.

Direct Review. Will do another as a comparison with the standard sherry release. Also have to say this is the most syrupy whiskey I've ever had. Nose: Laphroaig peat but its strength has been cut in half by bright cherry candy. Peaches and sharp lemon. Light caramel. Chocolate covered raisins. Extremely faint hint of tobacco. Peat takes over more as it sits. Taste: Laphroaig peat is taken over by intense stewed cherries, raisin, and chocolate ganache. Light lemon, herbal notes, dry tobacco and hay linger on the finish. Water tames it down but removes almost all the sherry notes except for a finish of cherry, raisin and tobacco. This is interesting as it presents oddly as a finished whiskey. The finishing doesn't intermingle on the taste, but is more like you sipped normal Laphroaig for a second, spit it out, sipped some fortified wine, then finished with a sip of Laphroaig. The high proof carries this one for sure.