Rosé hue. Appearance unlike any I’ve seen. It is a liquid jewel. The nose is also really special. Salted raisin, orange blossom honey, cardamom immediately, with rich and earthy peat surfacing as it opens up. Overall the nose weds smoky and sweet, presuming smoked game bird altogether. First on the palate is the classic Laphroaig peat punch. The second wave is rather hot, with smoldering cigar and madeira coming through. Hints of candied hibiscus. It took time to realize it, but for me the punchline of this dram is buttery, melt-in-your-mouth empire biscuit (Scottish shortbread with berry jam). This whisky gets sweeter as it goes down, but that sweetness is not a sugary sweet. Like the nose would suggest, it is rather a peppery, meaty sweetness. I will say, though, that the meatiness isn’t necessarily a dominant aspect of this malt in the way that I might characterize the Lagavulin. The richness is more central. To take a more apophatic route, it’s definitely not cloying. The mouthfeel is oily, but not uniformly so. It’s also waxy, but very smooth. It’s really a unique mouthfeel that evokes salivation. Cairdeas 2016 leaves with a maritime finish and a medicinal burn that diminishes to an impressive aftertaste of patacón, Che berry, and musted grape skins.