Islay scotches are generally not drawn to much experimentation with cask finishing as much as distilleries in other regions, especially the peat/smoke heavy ones along the southern coast of the island near Port Ellen like Ardbeg and Lagavulin*. Laphroaig likes to dabble into the alternative maturation waters, though mostly with their Cairdeas series. This Laphroaig QA is a travel retail exclusive in a liter bottle. The QA stands for Quercus Alba, the Latin name for white oak, a native hardwood found in eastern and central North America. The whisky is aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in charred QA casks.
*The Islay exceptions to this are currently Bruichladdich and Kilchoman, who frequently experiment with cask finishing.
Distillery: Laphroaig
Region: Islay
Age: NAS
Strength: 40%
Price: $61.49
Maturation: Charred American white oak casks
Location: Port Ellen
Nose: Smoke, peat, pine, resin, varnish, caramel
Palate: Peat, spice, caramel
Finish: Spice, peat, sour
Comments: Adding water to the glass does not help. Adding better scotch might.
Adam – This scotch is legitimately bonkers. I’m not sure if the Laphroaig QA is super young or not well blended, but it is very hard to pin down. Letting it sit and open up in the glass allows a whole litany of smells to come out. The first is a hit of smoke but then it’s gone and doesn’t reappear. Then there’s a revolving door of pine, caramelized popcorn and resin. Strike that, it is more like varnish, a smell that is unfortunately rendered on the palate occasionally coupled with a greasy mouthfeel that can be a little unpleasant. But even the palate is uneven, dancing with very light peat and spice in one space before switching to a sour wood finish note on the next that is a reminder of why I don’t care for younger offerings from this distillery. Thankfully this is a very mild scotch in general so the unpleasant aspects are not strong enough to make me set it aside. The Laphroaig QA will be one I sip with care, however, and purposefully little focus.
Jenny – To be honest, it’s not really doing it for me. There’s not much complexity beyond coating my tongue with spice.
Meghan – This scotch has the strangest nose. For lack of better imagery, it reminds me of the “horse of a different color” from the Wizard of Oz movie, the horse in Oz that keeps changing colors. This is a nose of a different…aroma? At first, I picked up a touch of smoke and peat. Then, I was getting pine resin. As time went on, I got wood varnish. Sometimes overpoweringly present, other times more of an after scent, like being in a room filled with old, well-treated wooden furniture that has decades of wax and varnish lacquered on it. Then, I got some sweetness of caramel and overripe stone fruit (peaches about to turn to mush, fermenting cherry). These smells just rotate across the nose of the whisky so each whiff is a bit different. Sadly, the smoke and peat are aromas that never seemed to return. The mouthfeel is decidedly greasy. Kinder terms like “oily” and “silky” do not apply. It leaves a greasy, waxy feeling on the roof of my mouth. The palate is weak with a strange sourness. It tastes like a generic whisky. If someone gave it to me, I would not think of this being a single malt, let alone Laphroaig. There is almost no finish. To be honest, the scotch is not as unpleasant as I seem to be stating. It is really so muted in flavor it almost tastes watered down. I have to dig a bit to find flavors and I’m not a fan of the ones I find easily. I do wish I could send a dram back in time a few years ago to see what I would have thought of it when the number of whiskies I’d tasted was a lot lower. Though I still probably wouldn’t love it. I didn’t love my first Laphroaig Cairdeas by any means and I note similarities between those two. Oh well. Generally, I quite enjoy Laphroaig’s catalog but every family has that weird, boring cousin your mom makes you invite to your birthday party. The QA is Laphroaig’s.
These smells just rotate across the nose of the whisky so each whiff is a bit different.
Michael – On the nose, it reminds me of a smoked, cured meat. I get some bacon on the nose. I’m not picking it up the same way in the palate. Coating the tongue, it seems more durable. I’m not getting that same meaty quality from the nose.
Peter – Complex. Watery peat on the outside, followed by a stronger smoke.
Mary-Fred – I’m not a huge smoke and peat fan, so it felt predominant for me. But since the palate is less dominant than the nose, it is one I would drink.
Ben – In addition to it being muted, you have to do extra work to get the most out of it. It’s not hard work – just swishing it around in your mouth – but if you didn’t know to do that, you’d miss out. I don’t think that’s a fair offer from a distillery that usually punches you in the face. There’s a fruitiness to the Laphroaig QA, rather like a compote or a syrupy version of fruit. Maybe apple or pear? This is like buying a Guinness and expecting a Guinness but you’re getting the light version: a Harp.
