Laphroaig Càirdeas 2017 Cask Strength Quarter Cask Edition

Earlier this year, I worked my way through a bottle of the standard Quarter Cask. Looking back, that was a superb bottle in its own right. Enter the 2017 Cairdeas edition. I'm a sucker for cask strength whisky, so when @PBMichiganWolverine told me about this one, I was immediately intrigued at the opportunity to try what I am expecting to be the QC on steroids. Let's get into it. Nose: It's undoubtedly recognizable as a part of the QC line. Heavy campfire smoke, iodine, salt, seaweed, ash, sulfur, and damp wood. A true maritime behemoth. It's a direct reflection of what I put in my QC review. True to form, I get vanilla, malt, lemon, orange, pepper, coconut, and almond. Big chestnut note. Following all that, an intense burst of cinnamon heat overtakes my senses. This one noses like a true cask strength Islay. In essence, it's the standard QC kicked up a notch or two, as you'd expect. Awesome. Palate: This one starts off as a medicinal, maritime peat bomb. More smoke and iodine, coupled with seaweed and salt. It's simultaneously leafy and herbal, with spearmint and fresh spinach present. Smoked meats with some black pepper and chili. As the palate progresses, it suddenly becomes much sweeter. Honey, vanilla, toffee, apple, and white chocolate. Lemon and grapefruit. Peppermint. On the tail end, it's darker sweet notes of dark chocolate and cocoa. If I don't cut this off now, this will never end. There's a hell of a lot going on here, and it's all hitting the right notes. Finish: Through and through, this one's a beast. This one goes on for days. Shortly after pouring, the finish is all campfire smoke, sulfur, seaweed, and sea salt. Then it's back to spice. Chili, red pepper, black pepper, and cinnamon. Massive ABV in the best way possible. Beyond 30 minutes the peat and smoke are replaced by sweeter notes. Some of the chocolate, vanilla, honey sweetness carry over from the palate. The spicy notes still take over from here on out. The way this one evolves over time is astounding. Great stuff. I compared this one to the standard QC several times for obvious reasons. This is one of those times when a great whisky is able to reach new heights when bottled at cask strength. In fact, I'd say this one is the epitome of such a phenomenon. Gritty Islay? Check. Cask strength? Check. Remarkable complexity? Check. Reasonably priced? Check, again. I nabbed the last bottle on the shelf, and I'm lucky to have done so. It's since been replaced with the 2018 Fino Cask, which I can't wait to try. I came in a subscriber to Laphroaig, and now walk away a subscriber to the vaunted Cairdeas line. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for making me aware of this one. Absolute must buy if you can still find it. Simply amazing.

This review of the 2017 Cairdeas comes via a sample from @LeeEvolved and is my first review of 2018. For this years release Laphroaig chose a cask strength version of their ever popular Quarter Cask. Bottled at 57.2% ABV, and without a doubt it is non chill filtered and natural color. This is a brilliant golden straw. The nose has all of the typical Laphroaig goodness. Medicinal notes of iodine, and bandaids, just more in your face. Tar, asphalt, cold ashes, soot and smoke from a bonfire that was doused with seawater. Brine, seaweed and salty sea air. It’s sweet and fruity as well. Vanilla, dried apricots, almonds and marzipan. Oak sanded smooth and sawdust. Vanilla buttercream and custard. Caramel apples with a little menthol. After some extended time some light sherry notes appear. Some water reveals a citrusy note and brings out more oak and some ginger. A hot arrival on the palate. Oaky at first, but the peat quickly takes over in the form of smoke and ashes. There is a general fruity sweetness but at cask strength I’m having a hard time discerning what those fruits are. The oak comes back in a big way, like chewing on a bourbon and scotch soaked wood chip. Vanilla and some toffee. Pepper and lots of spice. Water brings out more vanilla and custard, but does little else unless you add so much water that it dulls the palate into submission. A full bodied mouthfeel, very oily and mouthwatering. The finish is long, spicy, oaky, medicinal and dry. I’m sort of torn on this one. It’s Laphroaig, my first love affair with scotch, and the QC popped my Islay cherry, but this is just too powerful for me to enjoy straight out of the bottle. 48% seems to be the right strength for this whisky and adding 9+% didn’t really do much for it. Water helped, but I really hate the NEED for water when enjoying a dram. Still, it’s Laphroaig, and I can’t hate on them. A strong 4. Thanks again for the generous sample lee. Cheers

Cask Strength laphroaig in a different barrel, ok I'll bite. Nose - Alcohol, peat, creme, coconut water, and a bit of youthful new make spirit. I'm a bit concerned but at the same time nothing is sharp or offensive here, just youthful and the abv is high. Maybe we'll be ok. Also getting some spearmint, oak tannins, vanilla, and the very medicinal element of laphroaig. Taste - This quarter cask is an explosion of flavors, I get citrus, vanilla, pine, spearmint, every so slightly soured oak, coconut, and as I often get on younger islay some aspartame. Then we get a nice long finish of medical supplies, lingering classic peat, rubber, ash, fake vanilla candy, and this is different but waxy cigarette smoke. So let me take a step back. I actually really enjoy just drinking this. It's not my favorite and it's not one I'll get more of but I like it. But when I focus on the notes and trying to pull them out, I'm not loving it. It is young and offensively so in some ways. But it's also good in many other ways. It's a whisky to just drink and to get a unique take on big ass abv and peat. I think that's the goal and it does that well. Anyway I'm not the biggest CS laphroaig fan until you get into the older stuff. So keep that in mind but I'm a 2.0 here. This is very average whisky put together expertly for a niche who wants peat to punch them in the balls, abv to kick them there, and then they just want a different cask maturation so they get a new spin on it. For that group this will be a stand out and frankly I would take this over the triple wood and regular 10 CS if I were in that grouping just as I think this one is a bit more unique. Me, I still like the Fino which I don't think is CS but I do think is more complex, nuanced, and well just a better whisky....but it isn't a better shot to the nuts.

I've had this bottle open for 4 months, and finally decided to finish it and write the review. It's not that I dislike it and don't want to tarnish my oft-stated love of Laphroaig. It's not that I love it and was waiting until I'd built a vocabulary adequate for expressing such greatness. In truth, it's because I didn't really know what to think of it, nor how to express what I was tasting. The nose is so hot that I get alcohol and smoke, and nothing else. No amount of time changes this, and it doesn't evolve for me in any direction. The palate also opens hot, but the gritty dryness goes really well with the overwhelming peat smoke, as if you're literally chewing charcoal (or eating the incredibly over burned skin of a natural-casing hotdog that you left in the fire for way too long). it's enjoyable to me, but it's also very one-note, which is very un-Laphroaig. After many small sips, and much concentration, I can get bits of iodine and seaweed, and the slightest hint of brine, before it closes out with more heat, grit and smoke. Water makes it slightly less aggressive, but doesn't really change the nose or palate. I don't hate on the NAS market because if a whisky tastes good, it doesn't matter how old it is. That being said, this isn't as good as it could (should?) be, and would have been better served with a few more years in the barrel. I'll take the standard 10 CS over this any day.

Start playing the bag pipes, i am reviewing this beauty. Every year, Laphroaig releases a special " Cairdeas" expression, and lucky me got to try the 2017, cask strength expression. On saturday i traveled to New Jersey to certify myself as a whisky ambassador and to certify myself in an advanced Whisky production course. My teacher after exam told me i was a good student (OBVIOUSLY WHEN THE SUBJECT IS WHISKY) And took out one of his private bottles; this Laphroaig Cairdeas 2017, which i believe he got as a present. Bottled at 57.2%abv, this one has a yellowish gold color, not dark but not common in whiskies. On the nose it was good but not perfect, laphroaig typical Peat, Toffee, Pepper, fresh can of tennis balls (a laphroaig trademark) and Bonfire. 23/25. On the palate it was simply outstanding. Such a jewel. Vanilla, Toffee with a pleasant and balanced Pepper bomb, hot Sand and vanilla Cupcake. It might be a little straightforward but delicious. Perfect score here. The aftertaste was quite the experience, sand, toffee, pepper, peat (that medicinal / artificial peat from laphroaig) and bonfire. Maybe even gun powder. Amazing. Overall this very well balanced dram, delicious, sweet, peppery, spicy and peaty, is something you just need to try. 95/100 and i truly recommend this one. Slainte Mhath!!!

It was the let down of the night (11 whiskies total). Not the worst of them but the expectations were very high for this one. => Tasting it again today, I completely changed my mind about it, maybe because my palate was worn the other day after tasting other 10 whiskyes (this one was the last), maybe because it opened a little bit or just maybe because today I'm alone and not influencied by my friends' opinions. On the nose I can smell smoked pork with some sweet vanilla background. It kind of reminds me of Rauchbier (that I simply adore) and it is a subtle but lovely nose! :) No sign of alcohol here in spite of the 57,2 abv. On the palate the peat hits hard along with some serious barrel spices, but as a lover of Talisker, I dig some spice! ;) Some citrus sweetness on the background. The finish is spicy and linger for some time... Yeah, I like it! Still don't think it deserves the 94 and whisky of the year that it got from the APP but also not by any chance a let down. A solid 90 points for me and changing my rating from 3 to 4 stars. Cheers!