Whiskey_Hound
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2021 Pedro Ximenez Casks
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
April 29, 2024 (edited May 2, 2024)
This is my 6th consecutive Laphroaig Cairdeas. If that isn’t an indicator that I quite enjoy these, then I’ll just say it. Laphroaig does a fantastic job with the cask experimentation, and they keep the price down year after year.
They put this out roughly around the time that they debuted the 10 year Sherry Oak cask, which I believe uses Olorosso. It will be interesting to see what PX and an extra 10 and changed % ABV delivers.
Nose: Brine, seaweed, sea salt, iodine, bandaid, and tennis ball. Heavy campfire/pipe smoke and rubbery peat and ash. Black currant and rich plum. Menthol and wintergreen. Dark chocolate and toffee. Mint. Freshly-based apple pie. Toasted almond and hazelnut. Smoked meats/brisket. Red hot tamale. Black bean, red pepper chili. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak.
Palate: Rich dark and mint chocolate, malt, and toffee. Plum, dried red fruit, blackberry, and black currant. The peat smoke, seaweed, sea salt, brine, and iodine remain strong here. Toasted almond and pistachio. Strawberry. Black bean, red pepper chili and more of the smoked meat and brisket. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak.
Finish: Brine, sea salt, seaweed, peat/campfire smoke, bandaid, iodine. Black currant and plum. Dark chocolate and toffee. Red hot tamale. Nuts, bacon, charred meat, chili, and all kinds of baking spice and oak. Unbelievable finish on all accounts.
6/6 on these Cairdeas releases. This happens to be the most plush profile of them all. The PX yields a dark fruit profile, even more so than the Port and Wine Cask release from the year prior. It’s an absolute monster at cask strength, and it hits all the right notes. A coastal peat beast with a healthy balance of rich dark fruit and confectionary sweet, nutty, and meaty notes. Devoid of citrus which I tend to get in most Islays.
5/5. I got around to this one late, so it ran me $100 instead of the usual $90. Well worth the price of admission. I hope they something with PX sherry again in the future after this stellar performance. I believe they do some PX single cask releases. I’ll have to get around to those. As for this, magnificent stuff.
100.0
USD
per
Bottle
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