So it's been a while since I last blogged anything! I really should change this, so thought I'd jot down some thoughts on my latest whisky purchase!
First though, a mini rant... I live about 300 miles by road (with a ferry trip) from the Laphroaig distillery. I forget if they bottle on the island, but it's certainly done somewhere in Scotland. So can someone explain why my whisky did a journey of nearly 2,500 miles to get to me!? The tracking data from the courier firm shows that my order started its journey in... Berlin! I assume Beam Suntory must use that as a central distribution point; but I can't help feel it's somewhat decidedly non-Green! It also means the shipping costs become stupid,
Anyway, the whisky... This is the 2020 Cairdeas release which is made available exclusively to the Friends of Laphroaig. You're not that special - it just means you've bought a bottle of their whisky and registered the unique code that came with that bottle. It also gets you a square foot of land on Islay. Not that you can do anything with it apart from visit it and get your ground rent once a year of a miniature of Laphroaig 10 year old (which you have to claim in person - it is worth the trip though!) This year is a whisky that, according to their website, has been "rested in second-fill Ruby Port ‘barriques’ along with whisky double matured in ex-Bourbon barrels followed by ex-red wine casks." Sounds interesting, but what's it like.
First thing to note is that this bottled closer to cask strength at 52%abv, so needs treating a little differently to your standard 40% bottle of whisky. Neat, the nose is a classic Laphroaig - PEAT! Very little evidence of the port or red wine casks there. On the palate, it's pretty intense. Hints of dark chocolate, but otherwise it's just firey; which you'd expect from something of a higher abv. The good thing is that the finish really hangs around. This is a dram that will last you a while if you savour that finish. And you need to to start to get a hint that the whisky spent some of its time in port and red wine casks.
Add just a few drops of water though (and remember - you can always add more water, but you can't take it out so go easy) and it quickly changes character. The nose becomes a lot softer - the peat is mostly gone and the wines start to hint that they exist. It becomes a lot easier to drink. This whisky becomes sweeter and again the wines start to hint, although there is still that peat bite that is characteristic of an Islay. The finish still does a good job of hanging around with those wines again become a little more prominent.
Overall... It's not a terrible whisky, but I don't feel it's worth the £90 they're charging for it. I've had better for less - I'd put it closer to the £50 mark. I'm also a little disappointed that the wines are so subtle given that is the main selling point of the whisky. At some point I need to sit down with this and my other 2 Laphroaigs, a Triple Wood and a PX Cask, to see how they compare.