Laphroaig Càirdeas 2020 Port & Wine Casks

Nose - rubbery peat, tennis ball, spoiled red fruit, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, iodine, vanilla, coconut, caramel, lemon, cinnamon, clove, leather, smoked meat, brine, peach, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - citrusy peat, strawberry, apple, raspberry, cranberry, rubber, cherry, lemon meringue, mint, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, toasted coconut, leather, brine, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with red fruit, mild peat, and citrus flavors. This is the end of my Laphroaig tasting series. I wish I could say that this is the best of the bunch, but it’s not for me. Don’t get me wrong, this is tasty stuff, but not quite at the level of the others I’ve tried. While present, that classic Laphroaig-ness is more difficult to identify here. I feel that they chose to bottle this at 52%, because it would have been much too anemic to sell at 43% or even 48%. The wine finish comes out more than the port on the nose and palate, and I wish that were flipped. The fruit notes are a bit off, which work really well in something like the Longrow Red Cab Sav I have, but it’s more dissonant here. Overall, it’s perfectly serviceable and I’ll happily finish the bottle, but I don’t feel this particular Cairdeas was worth what I paid, unlike the Triple Wood Cask Strength at the same price, which I liked very much. So my quest for an amazing Laphroaig continues. The closest I’ve gotten so far is probably Lore, but it’s unfortunately very far from a good value.

I must say that I generally love Laphroaig... this one I thought would be a treat. To me, the port cask on initial taste is to strong. Wine cask on the back end leaves a bad taste in my mouth. To each their own, well reviewed but I didn’t car for this one. QC or 10y is much better to me.. Side note, I generally like sweet/smoky scotch..