Laphroaig Càirdeas 2017 Cask Strength Quarter Cask Edition

The tide is high, but I'm holdin' on... Man, LeeEvolved was right with the surprising sweet notes on this cask strength (lovely) quarter cask. I have to say though, I am in love with this glencairn. Tropical fruits and a huge ton of mint! Just use a couple drops of water on this guy. Respect that strength! That lovely briny smokiness that brings a vision of a campfire on a beach. The palate, to me, is that extremely familiar quarter cask flavor I just can't get enough of from Laphroaig. The finish is a medium to long scorched earthy ash mixed with some lingering oranges and dried apricots. I appreciate the oakiness, and thankfully, it's not overwhelming here. This kind of dram is right up my alley! It's a 4.5!

I've been looking forward to reviewing this year's Laphroaig Cairdeas ever since it was announced. I've been a bit of a harsh critic of several of Laphroaig's Feis Ile festival releases as of late, but this one had me licking my chops considering I absolutely love their core, NAS Quarter Cask offering. Here's a bit of info on this year's special, festival release: it's obviously bottled at cask strength 57.2% (versus the normal 48%), it's still non-chill filtered with no additional color added and it's made primarily, if not exclusively, from 5 year Laphroaig stock. I couldn't find any info on whether there's some older malt used, but this seems on par with the regular Quarter Cask. I also sampled this beside said QC juice and it's significantly lighter in color and produces less pronounced legs when swirled in a Glencairn tasting glass. ("Legs" are usually an indicator of the separation of water and alcohol in a whisky and the fact there are less here would be expected since this Cairdeas is cask strength- AKA no water added to dilute the ABV). The lighter color probably means it spent less time in the QC casks to make it available in time for the 2017 festival. The nose contained quite a bit of hickory smoke and freshly churned butter. I was surprised how sweet this one smelled as opposed to the normal QC. The higher ABV also hid the usual smoky character behind a wall of harsh, unyielding sweetness and heat. Even after 20-25min it remained hot, oaky and dry. I actually gave this one a few vigorous shakes in an effort to infuse air into and break down this semi, one dimensional wall, but it still held on and left me perplexed. The palate really screams burnt embers. It attacks your tongue and even when you try to manage a controlled exhale to take the burn away, you can't. The smoke is hidden until the very end of the sip and plays second fiddle to the ABV's presence. On the lengthy finish you finally get that Laphroaig smoke. The oak spice settles in as well and there's a long salty, dry ending that affects the total experience in a way that I'm not really familiar with when it comes to Laphroaig. The oily mouthfeel is nowhere to be found. I'm kind of shocked that an increase of just 9% in ABV has this much affect on the usual Quarter Cask malt. Overall, I'm confused. I don't hate this stuff, but I don't love it either. It's not a typical Laphroaig, which some folks will say is the purpose of the festival releases. I get that, sometimes, and can really appreciate that. It's very interesting because it's so different IMO. I hope that letting some air into this bottle will allow for some subtle changes over time and maybe when I come back around it'll surprise me again. As it is, it's still a solid whisky, I guess I just expected a more perfect QC and instead I got a new take on that exceptional malt. 4-4.25 stars. Cheers.

Whisky festival pro tip: There's often a special bottle or two lurking among the core lineups that the distillery representatives are offering at their tables. Often it's something stashed under the table that can be coaxed out after you've paid lip service to the core range and wondered out loud how it compares to that new limited edition you've read about. Sometimes it can be hiding in plain sight, inside the tube of a regular bottling. But if you're at the Laphroaig table, check the Wellington boots. That's where, amid a peat field diaorama, I recognized the red loop of the 2016 Cairdeas just about visible inside one green wellie. And was that a golden hoop I spied in the second wellie? Could it be the new Cairdeas, I asked the kilted fellow filling glasses at the Astor Center Whisky Spectacular, who turned to be none other than brand ambassador Simon Brooking? Indeed it was, he said, fresh from the Islay festival. And what a lovely treat it turned out to be. I've posted two dismissive notes here about the Quarter Cask in as many days, but this cask strength version is a different beast. It's sweet and oily, and the drying tannins of the core version are mostly obscured by the rich honey flavors that linger. It's hard to make nuanced judgements in such circumstances, but this is unmistakably a good Laphroaig and worth checking out when it hits the stores in August.