Laphroaig Càirdeas 2016 Madeira Cask

Nose: Tropical fruit, papaya, rubber band, white grape Palate: Classic Laphroaig smoke, lots of sweet nutty notes, hints of tropical fruit

Fresh on the heels of my review of the phenomenal 2018 Cairdeas, I've got this one for the 2016 Madeira Cask. This was a pretty lucky find; the store I found this at a couple months back has an entire row of dusty bottles of this stuff. Never seen it elsewhere. Let's see if this one can hold to the precedent of excellence set by the 2017 and 2018 releases. Nose: Lots of typical Laphroaig notes: seaweed, brine, sea salt, ash, lemon, grapefruit, iodine, band-aid, tennis ball, ash, campfire smoke. Custard and chestnut. A nice bouquet of scents that wouldn't work well together in any other context. Black pepper, cinnamon, and oak. The Madeira cask imparts some red fruit notes; notably, it has more impact than the Fino casks in the 2018. Strawberry, red grape, cranberry, raspberry, and other dry red fruits. Also some apricot and a hint of melon. More briny and sweet than smoky. Good start. Palate: Initially, it's a blast of charred meats and peated notes: brisquet, bacon, campfire smoke, ash, and peat. A real peat bomb. Then I'm abruptly hit with a rush a fruity and desert sweetness. It may sound weird, but the burst of flavor is akin to biting into a Gusher; it's an explosion all at once. Citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit combine with strawberry, grape, raspberry, apricot, peach, fruit punch, cola, jam, and dark and mint chocolate, making quite an interesting flavor bomb. Red pepper and black pepper chili and chestnut. Of course, there's more sea salt, cinnamon, black pepper, and oak. Finish: All of the smoked meat, bacon, ribs, brisket carry over. Same with the brine and smoke. Red pepper and black bean chili and chestnut. Some licorice now. Cinnamon, black pepper, oak, and all of the citrus. Long finish. Fantastic. Absolute winner. I will point out that this took the longest to open up out of the 3. I wasn't really blown away by this one until tonight's tasting. But it hits every note. Especially the absolute home run of a palate with that explosion of flavor midway through. So, here I am in 2020, giving Laphroaig the esteemed title of a three-peat champion. 2016-2018, all knockout bottlings. Long live the Cairdeas line. Now I need to go out and buy the 2019 Triple Wood CS. If you're lucky enough to see this, snatch it up. 5/5.

★★★★½ Avent 2019 - 14/24. En ce samedi soir, on se tape une petite partie de Scrabble et on déguste la bouteille identifiée d'un 14. Un Laphroaig vieilli dans des fûts de Madère. On adore! La présence fumée, tourbé et iodée allume nos sens alors que le côté herbeux ouvre notre esprit sur les possibilités infinies de ce genre de produit.

Wow. Not your typical laphroaig. Not much peat. Lots of fruit. Cherry. Long finish. Kicks with the alcohol. Beautiful color with a rose hue in the warm amber.