I'm not a fan of Laphroaig quarter cask, so hesitated when it came to pulling the trigger on this. I was afraid that the quarter cask would overpower the bourbon and sherry cask influences, and it did. I found that I had to add quite a lot more water than I usually would to a cask strength whisky. I settled on proofing it down to around 50-52% That really toned down the quarter cask influence, and brought the sherry and bourbon notes to the fore. It created a perfect balance and opened it up significantly. From what I've seen online, most people either adore, or are "meh" when it comes to this particular cairdeas release. I began in the "meh" camp, but by the time I'd finished the bottle, I was much closer to pitching my tent in the adoration camp. I ended up enjoying it a lot. Adding a fair bit of water completely transformed both the whisky, and my opinion of it. This is one of the reasons I love cask strength whiskys. You can experiment and play around with them, and what a roller coaster ride of a journey it can be...