Port Ellen

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2021 Pedro Ximénez

The Cairdeas line under Laphroaig was created to celebrate the Friends of Laphroaig, with the word being Gaelic for friendship. The Friends of Laphroaig is similar in some ways to other scotch loyalty clubs (e.g. the Ardbeg Committee) but is a little unique in that there are actually membership levels. Those levels are gained by inputting points gained by purchasing – what else? – bottles of Laphroaig and other distillery products. The three levels of membership are, perhaps unsurprisingly, Peat, Smoke and Oak. The Cairdeas 2021 is a cask strength scotch that began maturation in standard ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred to smaller quarter casks for more wood influence and then finished in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry hogshead casks.

By Adam | February 5, 2024 | Islay | No Comments |

Ardbeg is a distillery that loves its marketing. This is not a slight against the distillery, just a fact of the marketplace. But Ardbeg likes to have fun with their one-off yearly committee releases. No two are alike and they are not afraid to embrace a story. Even if it involves flavor dragons and terrible puns. The Ardbeg Scorch is their 2021 committee release and the box is bedecked with artful flavor dragons breathing, presumably, flavor fire. The Scorch in the name derives from the heavy char Ardbeg gave to the barrels this scotch matured in for an undisclosed period of time. Whether you embrace the fanciful story or not, however, the flavor abides.

By Adam | March 5, 2023 | Islay | No Comments |

The first Laphroaig Cairdeas (“friendship” in Gaelic) came out in 2008 and has been an annual release since then. The 2020 Cairdeas Port & Wine represents a way to introduce wine finishes to a smoky scotch, something that is not always successful given the strong elements of a typical Laphroaig. To solve this, part of the initial maturation was done in ex-bourbon casks and part in second-fill ruby Port barriques. These are then combined to finish in red wine casks. Specifics about the time spent in each process is not available but that is relatively common in No Age Statement whiskies.

By Adam | January 10, 2023 | Islay | No Comments |

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