Laphroaig Càirdeas 2020 Port & Wine Casks

Rating: 15/23 I had this set aside for some sort of modestly special occasion, but I wasn't sure which one. Coming up on my 1300th tasting on Distiller, I was wondering what would be a suitable dram to choose. In the end, I chose this - partially because I didn't have anything that really matched up with the number 1300, but also partially because "Càirdeas" means 'friendship' and I sure have made some friends here along the way to this tasting. So, cheers to friendship and cheers to many more drams! N: Some classic smoke, but it's also sweet. I get a bit of youthful character like seaweed with a dearth of wood, but the wood gradually works its way in with a mellow, restrained profile. Despite the youthfulness on display here, the profile doesn't have any excess sulphur. It's just kind of lighter and more vegetal. I get a bit of underheated ham as well. It's fully cooked, but its fat hasn't really rendered and it smells kind of cool. It's funny that I don't really get a lot of port or wine influence here. There's some rich fruity sweetness filling this out, but it's mostly sort of a young, funky Laphroaig vibe. It isn't too young, but the balance is a bit off, in spite of the nice complexity. P: Medicinal and funky. There's a lot of bandaid and bitter dry numbingness like some sort of gauze wiped with antiseptic and menthol. Big iodine. I get some fruity sweetness too, along with sort of a rich fullness that reminds me of PX sherry. Obviously, I get peaty smoke. It's quite peaty this time, with just a touch of youthful alcohol meatiness. I get some burn off of it, but not an unreasonable amount for 52% ABV by any means. There's a lightness here, with minerality and stony creek water filling in where I normally would expect mellow bourbon barrel characteristics. There still are mild spicy, old wood, and vanilla notes, but there's a gap separating them from the core pf the profile. I do also get a faint hint too much sulphur, but it isn't too bad. There are vegetal, herbal, spicy notes as well that befit the combination of peated scotch and PX sherry - except it isn't PX sherry here. So maybe they make the port and wine taste more like PX sherry? F: The finish retains some long-lived presence, but it's on the light side. the sweetness and other bold flavors retreat, leaving more toasty grain, malty still funk. It's less sweet than it was before, but it's not particularly bitter. I actually quite like this. It's more restrained and balanced than the other forms were. - Conclusion - This is a very nice release, despite being obviously youthful. Side-by-side, Ardbeg 10 (16/23) is much richer with more toffee and caramel, whereas this has far more vegetal-herbal character. There's no doubt that the Ardbeg is more mature and balanced than this. This is obviously younger and more challenging, but it's still worth pursuing. I'm enjoying this, but it is quite challenging. Amrut Peated (17/23) is clearly superior to this. I don't think that this is likely to be better than a lowish 16. I'm really thinking though that it's a 15. I like this, but what a disappointment it is. I hope it's just a fluke among Càirdeas releases, but my impression is that Laphroaig 10 (17/23) is clearly better than this. This just isn't mature enough and it tastes like the port and wind casks are trying to obscure that. Coming back for a final tasting, I'm appreciating this a bit more. The balance is still bad and the youthfulness is still quite apparent, but I like the peat presence. It's brash compared with The Shin 10 (16/23), which I also consider to be fairly brash. The Shin has a really nice mizunara flavor to it that this definitely doesn't have, but The Shin doesn't have the nice peat. In the end, I'm confident that Ardbeg 10 is better than this, but The Shin is closer. I recall the Ardbeg being a high 16 and The Shin being a low 16, so this is still right on the fence between 15 and 16. I ultimately think that this is not quite as good as The Shin, so I'm sticking with a 15.

This is a great example of cask strength peat. A different species than the Laphroig 10...more close to a Coal Ila. There is a nice tinge of red wine on the palate to make sure you know the marketing is accurate; but everything else leans, points, falls down into cask strength peat. 5.0 - go out and buy all of the stock you can find. 4.0 - must buy at least one bottle before you die. 3.0 - solid, must try at a bar, or mooch from a friend. 2.0 - didn't like it, you may. 1.0 - you may have the palate of my dog, and he licks his own ass.

Well made whisky as is always the case with Laphroaig expressions but I can’t get pass the unappealing cherry cough syrup which is the dominant note.