Laphroaig Càirdeas 2024 Cask Favourites

Comparing with Càirdeas 2024 Cask Favorites to see how Pedro Ximenez influence interacts in each release. PX is noticeably much darker and reddish/maroon in hue while Cask Favorites is more a rose gold. Nose: PX Cask: rich, sweet, spicy. Sticky/syrupy dark and dried fruits. Craisin, dried plum/cherry, dried vanilla bean and baking spice. Earthy sherry. A touch of charred oak. Strong salinity, coastal/maritime peat fire. --The 2024 Càirdeas in comparison is noticeably more vanilla and charred oak forward, but still retaining a nice element of the sticky PX influence. Palate: PX Cask: dark, sweet, fruity with a nice underlying robust medicinal and phenolic Laphroaig peat. Black cherry, dried dark fruits, a bit of a dark mixed berry/currant jam. A touch of vanilla and nice overall Christmas spice character. Drying tannic charred oak and bitter cacao as it transitions to finish. --Càirdeas 2024 has a noticeably stronger cinnamon/spice element as well as vanilla and more robust oakiness. Finish: PX Cask: The peat really shines here, ashy, phenolic and with a nice strong salty sea spray. Charred oak warmth here too. -- Càirdeas '24 remains spicier and more warming, much more oak, less maritime character on the finish. A bit more dark chocolate.

Rich, deep, dark and phenolic. Heavy peat smoke dominates at first, but doesn’t overwhelm. Nosing sees the smoke dissipate, coaxing greater sweetness and woody spice from this nuanced aroma. Notes of dark honey, vanilla bean, Plumeria/Frangipani, red berries/grapes, candied lemon-lime citrus, fig, and crystallized ginger intertwine with peat phenols, toasted nuts, plus slight saline and sulfur. Tasting radiates hot peppery spice and citric acid first. Then the complexity of the flavor unfolds as the heat gives way to luxuriant dried fruits in dark syrup. Apricot, pineapple, coconut, and prunes. Next comes a cooling spearmint. Medium-full bodied with good viscosity. Legs are quick but thick, starting off a bit disorderly, but immediately falling in line, descending evenly spaced and in unison. The finish is dry, phenol forward, almost mentholated. The fruit and syrup sweetness fades to vegetal, somewhere between cavendish and mint. Oak tannins are pronounced, even for its age, suggesting lightly salted mixed nuts. Finally, ginger takes the farewell bow. Aroma: 10 Taste: 10 Body: 9 Finish: 8

The 2024 Feis Ile edition of Cairdeas, Laphroaig's yearly release for the Festival, is called "Cask Favourites", a mixture of two popular Cairdeas expressions from previous years: the 2019 Triple Wood and 2021's PX cask (wonderful whisky by the way). Bottled at 52.4%abv, it is a 10yo dram, that celebrates 30 years of Cairdeas expressions. On the nose, i get crazy notes of stinky wet socks dipped in PX sherry, if such thing even exists. Fishmarket; its like Strawberry marmalade with fish. Very fishy actually. Super interesting. On the palate, i get red fruit syrup, marmalade and of course, Laphroaig's classic note of a fresh can of Tennis balls. Aftertaste is all about Laphroaig's magestic peat at its finest. Peat, sown land, fishmarket, Pedro Ximenez sherry. Overall, this was a great dram, that feels perfectly balanced between the two expressions that compose it. You can actually tell exactly that this is the child of the Triple wood and the Px Cask. My score for it is 92 over a 100.

Nose: Sweet jammy smoke, oily smoked herring, mineral and wet stones, lemon, seaweed. A stunning nose. Palate: Full-bodied, oily smoke. Barbecued meat, smoked fish, iodine and sweet wine. The texture is rich and has excellent weight. Reduction brings the sweet notes forward and adds soft complexity. Finish: Medium. Smoke, sweet at first veering to sour lemon and tannin in the aftertaste. The tannic notes diminish with water. This has a really satisfying Laphroaig nose with the signature maritime peat being enhanced by deep ex-bourbon vanilla and sweet sherry aromas. The neat nose is stunning and while water makes it more approachable it loses little from dilution. Water also works wonders with the palate and for my taste this whisky could not be fully appreciated when neat. It is an unfinished symphony without just a dash of water, but a work of creative genius once reduced. Tasted at Laphroaig Distillery, April 18th 2025. “Excellent” 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Oh my god is it good! Tried the quarter cask, sherry finish, Lore, elements 1.0, 16y, and cask stenght, this is my first Cairdeas, but its my favourite Laphroaig by a long stretch. Drinks like an order whiskey, more complex and refined, but reminds you of its age with the high peat, could spend an hour with it between nosing and tasting. Darker taste, but not dull. Sandalwood, dark cherry, charred beef, cinnamon, even some smoked paprika, PX is very present, not sure how much time it spent on that barrel, but it was more than a year or two for sure. Aroma is delicate for a Laphroaig, finish is long and sweet, smokiness fades a little and leaves you with a sweet and fruity taste. My 3rd favourite Islay, only behind two Octomores. Buy two bottles, youre going to go through it much faster than you think.

Take two favorites, age them up to a proper 10 years and proof them down to 52.4. Sounds like a pretty good idea? Well, it is. While you can't expect to be impressed with a 10 year note, the rest of this bad boy is fire. Deep red fruits, berries and clean wood smoked BBQ pork dominate this. lifting ever so much to allow in hints of winter green mints, rich chocolate, fudge, and some of the finest oak you've ever tasted. Compared to the PX this had more refinement and more juicy fruit notes. Compared to the triple wood...this is well aged (got the triple wood next to this drinks YOUNG). We have simply imo the best Cairdeas if not ever, at least in close to a decade. Buy with confidence.