I've been looking forward to reviewing this year's Laphroaig Cairdeas ever since it was announced. I've been a bit of a harsh critic of several of Laphroaig's Feis Ile festival releases as of late, but this one had me licking my chops considering I absolutely love their core, NAS Quarter Cask offering. Here's a bit of info on this year's special, festival release: it's obviously bottled at cask strength 57.2% (versus the normal 48%), it's still non-chill filtered with no additional color added and it's made primarily, if not exclusively, from 5 year Laphroaig stock. I couldn't find any info on whether there's some older malt used, but this seems on par with the regular Quarter Cask. I also sampled this beside said QC juice and it's significantly lighter in color and produces less pronounced legs when swirled in a Glencairn tasting glass. ("Legs" are usually an indicator of the separation of water and alcohol in a whisky and the fact there are less here would be expected since this Cairdeas is cask strength- AKA no water added to dilute the ABV). The lighter color probably means it spent less time in the QC casks to make it available in time for the 2017 festival. The nose contained quite a bit of hickory smoke and freshly churned butter. I was surprised how sweet this one smelled as opposed to the normal QC. The higher ABV also hid the usual smoky character behind a wall of harsh, unyielding sweetness and heat. Even after 20-25min it remained hot, oaky and dry. I actually gave this one a few vigorous shakes in an effort to infuse air into and break down this semi, one dimensional wall, but it still held on and left me perplexed. The palate really screams burnt embers. It attacks your tongue and even when you try to manage a controlled exhale to take the burn away, you can't. The smoke is hidden until the very end of the sip and plays second fiddle to the ABV's presence. On the lengthy finish you finally get that Laphroaig smoke. The oak spice settles in as well and there's a long salty, dry ending that affects the total experience in a way that I'm not really familiar with when it comes to Laphroaig. The oily mouthfeel is nowhere to be found. I'm kind of shocked that an increase of just 9% in ABV has this much affect on the usual Quarter Cask malt. Overall, I'm confused. I don't hate this stuff, but I don't love it either. It's not a typical Laphroaig, which some folks will say is the purpose of the festival releases. I get that, sometimes, and can really appreciate that. It's very interesting because it's so different IMO. I hope that letting some air into this bottle will allow for some subtle changes over time and maybe when I come back around it'll surprise me again. As it is, it's still a solid whisky, I guess I just expected a more perfect QC and instead I got a new take on that exceptional malt. 4-4.25 stars. Cheers.