Most of the reason people are resistant to peated scotches is, let’s face, it the flavors are abrasive to the untrained palate. When we first encounter them we’re not acclimated to them. Bourbons are sweet, ryes are spicy, sherry finished scotches are sweet. Islay scotches, peated whiskies are in a class all on their own. My children are curious about why I drink coffee. Here you want to taste it? I say. Ew, coffee’s disgusting, they say. It's bitter and abrasive. Um, it's delicious, I say. In my youth up until my early twenties I thought the taste of salmon was nasty, now it’s my favorite fish. It’s amazing how the palate changes over the years. It’s amazing how, even as the palate changes, people with refined palates still can’t agree on what they like and what they don’t like. Take this Lagavulin Charred Cask 11 Year Old. It seems that people don’t like it as much as they liked the previous iteration finished in Stout Casks. I can see that. The Stout Cask had such a chocolate malt milkshake kind of thing going on that it favored the sweet tooth. And we crave sugar, don’t we. Bitter is harder to acclimate to. Char is difficult to enjoy unless you’ve tested your palate repeatedly with char. A few weeks ago I have my uncle and aunt over. Funny to say that, my aunt is only 3 years older than me. My “uncle,” her husband, is a year older than her. They are my contemporaries, my peers, but by some fluke they are my aunt and uncle. They had come to see my daughter who’s recovering from an accident and they arrived during an Eagles game, during which my dad and I drink whisky. I asked my “uncle” if he wanted to partake with us, and he pointed out that, although he doesn’t often drink, he wouldn’t mind a dram. So we started with New Riff’s Balboa Rye. Both my dad and I took the hundred proof rye and said, um, that’s good. Craig, my “uncle,” coughed and said, that’s some strong stuff. Now, you can take this one of two ways: you can poke a little fun of that guy for being a novice, or you can acknowledge he’s not acclimated to the ways of the whisky drinker, give a nod to the fact 100 proof is hot, and welcome him in. Guess what we did? Second one: we welcomed him in. When we all finished our round, about the end of the first quarter, I broke out the Laphroaig 10. And I asked if he wanted to try it, warning him it was a refined taste, it was smoky and medicinal and that, most whisky drinkers don’t start there. To his credit, he took a pour, didn’t complain and seemed to appreciate, having been warned, what it was. But he did comment on how smoky it came off. And I was like, it’s funny, there’s a point at which, the flavors that are new to you don’t come off as odd to me or abrasive or in any way unpleasant. This Lagavulin—the 11 Year Charred Oak—reminds me a bit of the Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength in how smoky it is. The Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch 15 to be clear was so smoky and ashy that, without water, it reminded me of licking the bottom of an astray at certain points. In other words, you really did have to cut it with an ice cube. It reminded my brother-in-law of fried electrical components, which, when pointed out, I couldn’t un-taste, but with an ice cube, it mellowed and was quite lovely. This Lagavulin is like the Laphroaig 10 CS Batch 15 with an ice cube. There’s a lot of ash on the nose and palate, and it’s maybe too much for the uninitiated, but to me there’s little hints of vanilla and chocolate and caramel in the background that make it an elevated scotch. On the palate, the ash diminishes, and it reminds me a lot of the stout finish in how creamy it is. It’s full of chocolate and char mixed together, almost like a burnt s’mores. The ash really comes back on the finish, but it’s not overpowering or overwhelming but delectable and really long and even a little nutty. Overall, I don’t think there’s a drop in quality between the Stout Finish and the Char Cask. It’s really a matter of perspective. This one was developed to be eaten with steak, and I don’t eat steak often anymore (I will steal a piece of my wife's plate, but I'm pretty much a fish eater when it comes to meat), but I could see how this would be good with a steak. This is good all on its own. I don’t think anyone who likes Islay has been hating on this. I think they’re just a bit let down since they don’t think it’s quite as good as the last one? But maybe I’m wrong. Can’t deny it though: Lagavulin makes good whiskey.