Laphroaig Càirdeas 2011 Ileach Edition

How about some festival whisky? The Feis Ile festival plays out on Islay every year around the middle of May and each distillery has their own “day”. They also do a handful of special releases in honor of the festival. Laphroaig does a Cairdeas (pronounced “car-chess”) bottle that’s available at the festival and then slowly released to the whisky market about a month later. This bottle was from the 2011 Feis Ile and is called the Ileach Edition (which is Gaelic for “native of Islay”). There were about 6,000 bottles filled and prices on the secondary market are now going for more than $200 (they were originally $60). The whisky used is 8 year old stock that was fully matured in ex-Makers Mark casks and was bottled at or near a cask strength of 50.5% ABV. That’s it. Clean and simple. It’s a pale, straw yellow in color, oily and makes lots of undefined legs and medium sized drops in your tasting glass. The nose is one of the most floral Laphroaig‘s I think I’ve ever smelled, the smoke is sort of restrained and there’s a creamy, vanilla note mingling with a sharp, minty aspect. The palate releases the charcoal smoke and a highly assertive minerality with hints of burnt oak. The youthful spirit is “in your face”, but it’s still creamy and smooth. The overall mouth coat is on the weaker side, but the finish is medium length and steadily drying with more of the mineral notes lingering on. At its core, this is a Laphroaig-lover’s Laphroaig, if that makes sense. There’s no frills here. I guess it’s aptly named for the Islay natives- they just love their simply peated, earthy whisky and that’s all that this one is. I can appreciate it for what it is, I just wish I could’ve gotten this bottle for its initial sale price because the $225 I paid at auction is way too high. I’m glad I got to taste a piece of Laphroaig history, though, so it’s all good. 4 stars. Cheers.

The second of two Cairdeas samples generously gifted by @LeeEvolved is probably the creamiest Laphroaig I’ve had. How creamy is it? I wrote seven bullet points of tasting notes and four of them say ‘cream’ or ‘creamy’. There’s no hint of it from the subtle peat on the nose, but after that it’s a dairy delight. The palate is creamy and sweet, with a peat level that’s a notch lower than the 10. The finish is - wait for it - creamy, with a hint of citrus and a long delicate spiciness. There’s perhaps a hint of bitterness underlying the creamy aftertaste, but overall this is delightful and different and I would love to add a bottle to my Cairdeas Hall of Fame. Thanks Lee for sharing this unicorn that I never expected to try. My unbroken Cairdeas streak now stretches back to 2011, leaving just three earlier releases to track down. I’m smiling like the cat that got the cream.

This is the most floral Laphroaig that I've tried, which is odd given that it's apparently an 8-year old whisky drawn from first-fill Maker's Mark bourbon barrels. Where are these unusual notes coming from? Vanilla is expected, but I also get some Crunch bar (rice and chocolate), lavender, and pine. The palate is more conventional, medicinal Laphroaig, honey, peat, and creosote. Mild smoke, barley, oil and tar wrap up the show. This is another solid Cairdeas expression, and the floral notes on the nose make it a memorable one.