I’ve been a Cairdeas fanatic for years now. My love for this line dates back to the 2016 release. In all that time, this one certainly has the least sexy name of the bunch. I’m guessing this is a product of their “best” warehouse? It has to be something like that to warrant a release. I’ll judge the whisky on what’s in the bottle. Nose: Sea spray, brine, sea salt, and seaweed. Peat, campfire smoke, and tennis ball. Ballpark pretzel. Floral notes. Irish baking soda. Apple, pear, apricot, and raisin. Hazelnut, salted caramel, toffee, and vanilla. Peanut butter. Heavy lemon citrus. Mint. Black bean red pepper chili. Cinnamon, black/white pepper, and oak. Palate: Heavy salted caramel and saltwater taffy. Sea salt, seaweed, brine. Campfire smoke, rubber, tennis ball. Hazelnut. Vanilla, butterscotch, and toffee. Irish baking soda. Plum, dried apricot, and raisin. Cola. Fig and date. Mint. Grapefruit and lemon citrus. Finish: Ash, campfire smoke, rubber, menthol, and iodine. Campfire smoke. Cola and raisin. Fig and date. Black bean, red pepper chili. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak. Long finish. Very, very good whisky. Laphroaig always does such a great job with these releases. I think the profile seems most similar to the 16 year. It’s more confectionery sweet than fruity—considering a lot of these Cairdeas releases are wine cask-aged, that’s actually a departure from the norm. It’s also more refined and features less gritty peat, another characteristic of the 16. Now, how does this stack up to the other Cairdeas releases? Most of those were mind-blowing, 5-star whiskies. And this one is only worthy of being called superb. At $90, this is exact same price I’ve paid for Cairdeas releases since the beginning, and you had better believe I’m factoring that into my score. 4.5/5.