Dreaming-of-Islay
Laphroaig Càirdeas 2018 Fino Cask Finish
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
June 17, 2018 (edited July 6, 2019)
@Richard-ModernDrinking beat me to the first review of this one! We bought a bottle at Feis Ile 2018, which we then mostly finished on the rest of our road trip around the Highlands, including a particularly memorable experience enjoying a dram of it on a cruise of Loch Ness. My wife loved this one and described it as the best Laphroaig she's ever had. This one is an interesting, unique take on Laphroaig, and maybe the sweetest one I've encountered. I get oatmeal cookies on the nose, and my wife agreed with that but also noted that after a few minutes there is a strong and noticeable scent reminiscent of the barley we sampled on our tour of the distillery. The palate has some of that sweetness, more in honey realm at times, but subsequent sips get drier and smokier, with some lemongrass and cumin. The finish is black Chinese tea and spicy smoke. I agree with @Richard-ModernDrinking that this one bears more than a passing resemblance to 2014's Amontillado.
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@Richard-ModernDrinking I happened to see it sold online on June 11 for a great price ($68) and snapped it up. It was gone the next day!
You beat me to a full bottle! Waiting for the wider US release in a couple of weeks.