Review by: The Muskox

After a month spent away from r/Scotch and from whisky in general, I’m finally back with a new review! What was I up to, you ask? Well, I was conducting extensive field research into the nature of peat bogs, which I hoped to use to… Not really, I was working a 4-week shift at a dry mining camp in northern Quebec. I certainly did encounter plenty of peat bogs though. Maybe that wet and mucky experience will help me understand today’s whisky.

The 2013 bottling of Laphroaig’s yearly Cairdeas release has quite the reputation, and has been on my “track down a sample ASAP” list for quite a while. I ended up drinking half my sample before leaving for my shift and the other half after getting back, so these notes are from two separate tastings.

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Distillery: Laphroaig.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 51.3%. Cask strength.

Age: No age statement. Bottled in 2013.

Cask type: Finished in port casks.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Light amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Intense sweet-and-savoury. Savoury first: tonkotsu ramen topped with charred chashu, ajitama marinated egg, nori, and sesame seeds. Dried salted whitefish, iodine, minerals, and damp swamp mud. No shortage of port, either: Strawberry jam, cherries, cinnamon, and candied flowers. Baked apple turnover, chocolate cake, maple, ginger ale, and guava. Something like a dank barley note, white pepper, and complex veggies. Lapsang souchong after a little bit.

Palate: Oily texture. Arrives with floral sweet port, orange, white pepper, and ashy campfire. Gradually gets nuttier and spicier. Very rich on the development, with medicinal Laphroaig peat, char-grilled steak, some camphor, sturdy spice, and lots of burnt sugar. The full cabinet of spices: cumin, mustard seed, fenugreek, licorice root, clove, dried ginger, dried thyme, and cedar wood (the cabinet itself?). Rich citrus peels, toffee, and dark chocolate tart. Chai tea and lapsang.

Finish: Long and meaty-spicy. Warm cedar spice, bacon, cumin, and toasted walnuts. Raisins and chocolate caramels. More lapsang, leather, and dry red wine. Fragrant lemongrass, citrus peel, and ginger.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Spicy sauna smokehouse”

Conclusion: Yeah, I get it. This whisky completely delivers on its peat/port premise, and then some. Both the savoury medicinal peat and the sweet fragrant port show up in full force here, but the combination of the two is more than the sum of its parts. I love the cedary floral spice and the meaty savoury flavours that permeate the dram, and the finish is deliciously long and fragrant. Maybe it didn’t quite live up to the hype, as I’ve certainly had better Laphroaigs, but I can definitely see how this bottling has become so sought after for Laphroaig drinkers.

Do I have any new insight into peated whisky after squishing through peat bogs for a month? Not really, but I did pick up a whole bunch of new tasting notes (e.g., swamp gas, spruce twigs, cloudberry, Labrador tea) that I can’t wait to try and find in whisky. I’ve got two weeks break before I have to head back for my next shift, so we’ll see how many whisky reviews I can get done in that time.

Final Score: 88.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.