Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 - US version. Nose: mostly laphroaigy, intense smoke, peat, some salt, medicinal, orange and lemon zest. Palate: warm sourness like melted lemons/yuzu without the citrus element, orange and lemom zest, backseat sweetness, very unlike laphroaig, medicinal. Finish - very long, intense smoke, salt, slight wood notes. For me this was a pretty complex Laphroaig, (1) I think the aromas were super strong and concentrated because I used a cognac glass, (2) the finish was amazing: prolonged, smokey, strong, and (3) initially I didn't like it, had some of the citrus elements which I can't appreciate, but then I thought/compared to the Laphroiag 10 and realized this Madeira cask is pretty amazing, its like a child of laphroaig that matured in a different environment, learned new things and made it a part of itself. Made me appreciate whisky and Laphroaig more. For some reason though, I suspect the US release is different than the Old World release...
Side note: this dram did not pair well with my cantonese lobster noodle.

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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