Managed to pick this up locally because a distributor's pricing mistake allowed my local amazing store to sell it at $70 a bottle. Really like this one. Getting married in 2 days and a relative was over, I poured it for him and he took it like a shot. Oh well. At least he said it was good.
6 months after release, and this is, in my opinion, one of the best Laphroaig releases in some time (there was the amazing 16 year limited release, but that wasn’t long for the world). Fairly available, and affordable (unlike springbank and glengyle) and (unlike some other releases) natural colored, it may even have been my write in for whisky of the year for the OSWAs, well crafted but also bold and idiosyncratic, as I came to love Laphroaig for in the first place. Seems they took special care in their cask choosing here. The real qualm is that releases like these are not what the core ranges are (but should be). But let’s appreciate what we have, while we have it.
Amen to that! I love the back to basics, no nonsense recipe to this one too and I've mentioned on a few of my Laphroaig special releases videos that it's great that they seem to be the one Islay distillery that can make supply exceed demand. Aren't we all very sick of excellent whisky that you can only buy at auction from flippers? 🙄 It might be different where you are but check Amazon for that Laphy 16. It's been available on Amazon UK pretty much since release. I bought a bottle when it very first came out but haven't gotten around to opening it yet. Review coming soon 😁 Cheers 🥃
Laphroaig, a personal favourite but I echo your peeves.. that being said the distillery stood head and shoulders above the other "Big three" south coast Islays I visited. The Stillmen were real salt of the earth, let us have a cheeky taste of the new make, had a good chat. The tour wasn't hurried and the distillery grounds had some soul. Something Lagavulin was devoid of (haven't purchased a bottle since, can't bring myself , price, quality and the brutal industrialised automated production facility. There was hardly a soul around despite the stills being fired...) Ardbeg was nice, very polished and brand aware, a little too much but the staff were very generous. But yep, they need to bring their core range into the twenty-first century market. Good review, new subscriber but I'm thoroughly enjoying your work.
Hi Joel. Thank you for subscribing 🙂 yes that's pretty much the experience I had years ago on Islay. I met Windy the stillman at Laphroaig. He saw me taking photos of the stills, called me over and opened the spirit safe for me to take a look. Great people. Lagavulin was fine but the kind of thing you expect from Diageo. I had a good time at Ardbeg but I think we were lucky with with tour guide that we got, which helped. Just wondering, when you do the tastings on Islay do they still give you a glass of newmake before the other drams? I think with the exception of Bruichladdich and Kilchoman they all did that when I was there. I think they were trying to get people drunk before making their purchasing decisions 😉 You sum it up perfectly that Laphroaig need to bring their core range into the 21st century. And after that could Bowmore please do the same! Cheers!
One can probably add 1 part of 10CS to 3 or 4 parts of WH1 Cairdeas to bring it up a bit if found lacking in the punchiness. Great review! Thanks for sharing!
You made interesting points about this whisky and in the comparison video. I'm subbed based off your patience of the first video. Your were not trying to be the first out with a video. You gave it time. Cheers from a Laphroaig fan in Texas!
Thanks Daniel! I try not to do neck pour reviews 🙂 usually the problem is more a case of running out of whisky before I get around to the review 😉 Cheers! 🥃
Laphroaig! Take my money. I have two bottles being shipped at the moment. Islay bourbon maturation and I’m sold. I panic during Cairdeas season because they don’t make it to my side of the U.S. often. Looking forward to comparing this,to the 2015 Cairdeas which has been my favorite so far. Cheers!
Ha, my thoughts too. I'd decided on the purchase as soon as they said it was a bourbon matured Cairdeas. Comparing it to Cairdeas 2015 you say? That sounds like an excellent video for next week 😉 Cheers!
Thanks John. I'll definitely be squirelling a small bottle of this one away for future. I hope we see more of these straight forward special releases. Cheers! 🥃👍
Probably not. I think you always pay a little bit of a premium for Cairdeas releases. My main problem with this one is that it's just very similar to the 2015 Cairdeas but not as good 😬
Great review. Definitely going to pick one up. Thankfully in the US at least by me in NJ Cairdeas releases are like $90 and the standard 10 (which I never buy) is around $55 so less than 2x the price. Always felt that despite the Cairdeas releases not always being better than the higher strength core releases, the value is there compared to the ridiculous Ardbeg and Diageo special releases.
At those prices the Cairdeas is looking very good! In the UK I can get the standard 10yo for £28 (special offer) so a Cairdeas has to be good to be worth the difference. And this one is. Ardbeg and Diageo Special Releases can be very hit and miss... and very expensive. I do think that Laphroaig are fairer with their prices.
The Cairdeas at 90 is the max I'd pay for it. You're lucky man to get it at that price. In my area it is $120 plus tax. I was a Laphroaig fan but not anymore. Just too much money now for me.
Hoping to grab a bottle here in the states. Easier said than done - will run me about ~160 USD after shipping and taxes. Worth it IMO although I am envious of the prices you all get in the UK!!!
It's great stuff but $160 does seem like a lot. Maybe 35% more than what I paid? I didn't realise you guys paid that much. Is it because it varies between states?
@@WhiskyLock Yes, it varies due to state import tax laws and general cost of living. I live in the Chicago area so I'll always pay a premium inherently. Additionally, Scotch Whiskey's are generally treated as a premium spirit, and the price is elevated as a result. Have you ever tried the Royal Brackla 12? Just picked up a bottle - thought it was a great bang for the buck. Good Whiskey to leave out for friends who may not be as Intune to the Scotch palette (it's very smooth... sweet and easy drinking)
Hello, Thank you for your review. It was very informative and good to hear. Just carry on. 😊 Speaking about some releases - how does it stack up against Lore to your mind? Thank you for a reply in advance. Peace.
Thank you! Glad you liked it. This is quite different to Lore. This Cairdeas is more straight forward Laphroaig in ex Bourbon whereas Lore has obvious influence from sherry casks (dark fruits and winey grape notes) as well as more spicy, woody oak. In comparison, this Cairdeas shows more of the distillery character. Both are very good though. Cheers 🥃
Sounds like a good one. My only concern would be lower proof than the CS, probably lower age as well, and costs a bit more. Weird right? Any chance you have done a side by side with a cask strength? I’ll get one because I’m a fan of almost everything Laphroaig does but I’d guess it wouldn’t beat CS. Based on you advising us against comparing it to the CS it sounds like you agree.
Hi Erik. Yes it's not great that it's younger (I think so), weaker and more expensive than the 10CS 🙂 and I do think that the 10CS is better value for anyone after value for every last penny. There are reasons to buy this though and in a way I do think that you get your money's worth with this because I think you can tell that the whisky that's gone into this is more interesting and a step up from what goes into recent 10CS batches. It's just a shame they didn't make it cask strength. Head to head comparison you say? That sounds like a great idea for a video being released this Thursday 😉 cheers!
@@WhiskyLock I have an issue with Cairdeas. It's a the equivalent of Ardbeg day and all the other opportunities Islay distilleries have of ripping off and fleecing consumers. There's no reason at all for this whisky to cost anything near its asking price. If we accept that model we accept that tasty whisky must cost £100 a bottle. Distillery Laphroaig is disappointing but that doesn't mean we should pay premium for a decent bottle.
wonderful review. Very thorough and informative. Sadly despite the good review here I can't buy this years Cairdeas. The store that has it wants $140 USD all in for it. Its good but it isn't that good imo.A couple of years ago these were $84 USD. At that price I'd go for one of these. Now I'm leaving it on the shelf.
Hi Dean. Yes, like a lot of whisky the rapidly rising prices are spoiling things. I'd like to think that a lot of people will vote with their wallets if prices go up any more but who knows where it will all end...
Very interesting. Sounds like it's a typical yet good Laphroaig. As opposed to a typical disappointment. Controversial, but not bad in anyway, depending on the price. A gentle 52.2%. ????? Nothing wrong with that. I was not sure how I felt about this year's Cairdeas season but now I'm eager to pick it up. My local shop still has plenty of the PX and batch 13. That PX is to much $$. Not as much as the Committee but one is enough to be on Team Cairdeas.
Exactly that. A typical yet good Laphroaig. I think it's worth a purchase. Lots of people liked it but I was very disappointed with the PX Cairdeas. The 2022 Warehouse No 1 is much more my style.
In terms of value, when I compare the taste of this whisky to the Laphroaig 10 year old they taste very similar. The additional abv does not justify the price differential.
I think it depends on how much you value intensity in your whisky experience. I struggle to enjoy any peated whisky at 40%. The lack of oomph really frustrates me. People who do enjoy the standard 10 have kind of hit the jackpot though as it's much cheaper than most of Laphroaigs higher ABV offerings! And then we have people who add water to 40% stuff to make it even weaker. Each to their own!
Hi! Not surprised to hear that at all. There's little to be gained in chill filtering something this strong and the colour definitely looks natural to me, which is great. The problem is that Laphroaig could easily give us full transparency on everything but don't bother. Half the info or none at all is par for the course with them and I think they do it on purpose. Good that we've got a decent presentation this time though.
i really enjoy laphroaig, although i havent touched their 40% abv expressions. But it always feels like, they could do more. They could for example try to enhance the iodine, dirty note, Laphroag is sweet but it has potential to be dirty and sweet. Use quality refill casks to not overpower the spirit/peat with cask influence, have a european virgin oak finish in there, to get some woody, earthy tones in there. They could defenitely do alot more, but as intriguing this bottle might sound, 100€ for a makers mark refill cask (there are probably better bourbon refill casks^^), without age statement... sounds a bit like lazy cash making
You're by no means the first to say that Laphroaig could improve things by adding in some less fresh, refill casks and I absolutely agree. I don't know if the 100% 1st fill thing is an intentional flavour goal at this point, or if its because they just have so many barrels available from Maker's or if its just to avoid potential QC problems but it would certainly be nice to have some more distillate driven options from them. I'm pretty open about not being a fan of Lagavulin 12 because I feel that 12yrs isn't enough for their house style when using refill. Laphroaig are on the total other end of the scale. Which is why I often prefer Ardbeg.
@@WhiskyLock or they just drift as slowly away into the arms of independent bottlers where we get a hopefully careful selected cask for the spirit. But then again also overpriced if you find an independent lagavulin... to me, the 12 lagavulin is with 120+€ just overpriced... choosing good quality refill casks shouldnt be a 100€+ cost, it should be the care of making good spirit and standard for whisky that is targeted at whisky lovers/geeks.
@@DayKlight absolutely. Lagavulin 12 is a good example of a whisky that no longer offers good value regardless of the quality. I can see why people switch to IB. If you stick to the better companies then you generally get a better presentation and level of quality. Although certain distilleries are hard/expensive/impossible to find as IB as you say. I'm really looking forward to reviewing some IB stuff once I clear my backlog though. I feel like it will be a breath of fresh air 👍
Just drunk a bottle of the Lagavulin 12 2020 and was really impressed but I have the 2019 open as well which is much milder by comparison, I'm also thinking about getting another bottle of 2020 but it is expensive especially when if you time it right you can get lag8 for £38 it's 7% less alcohol as remember lag 12 is usually around 55% so the difference there is a lot less then say if it touching 60%
Also had 2021 Talisker 8 special release and that is awesome and you can get it around £80 This is raw Talisker power without the rum cask interference from the year before The 2021 Talisker 8 is the 1 to get if you love peated power with some finesse and want a special bottle of special release without some of the very special prices lol
Ive been trying to find out what fixed strength is as that's what the website is saying Why are supposed special releases not all cask strength, I just brought 2 bottles of kilkerran heavily peated for £40 a bottle batch 6 the last batch 5 was incredible, also getting 3 bottles of Lagavulin 8 tonight it's £38 again, There are awesome whisky's available still at good prices.
My guess is that it's just the usual clumsy wording from Laphroaig and doesn't mean anything. Remember when they put on the label of the 10CS that they recommend drinking it with twice as much water as whisky (ie well below 40%?). But let me know if you do figure out what they mean 🙂 Those are some really great prices. Especially the Kilkerran. Is that your local independent shop?
How does it compare to batch 12/13/14 10 cask strength because there basically the same whisky style no sherry Do you get those tcp type notes in the Cs because I don't but I only drink heavily peated almost 100% bourbon cask so am a bit immune, This whisky sounds great "why could it not be CS" Hopefully the no colour added will come into the cask strength
I have a video coming out on Thursday comparing this to the batch 14 🙂 short answer; the 10CS seems more intense but has a little less going on. I do get the TCP notes from the Cask Strength but they're not overwhelming or one of the main flavours to me. Like you, I drink a lot of peated whisky. Palate fatigue is definitely a thing with peat and I also think that you just get accustomed to flavours that are very intense and unusual for people who are not used to them. Almost all Cairdeas hasn't been cask strength sadly. Maximising number of bottles from the casks perhaps? To be honest, I think some of them have been a bit rough and young and would have been even worse at CS 😬 But this one is wonderful stuff and would have been even better at full strength. Natural Colouring in the 10CS would be great too. There's just no reason not to. I've had this Cairdeas head to head with the 10CS and the colour difference is shocking.
@@WhiskyLock I have to say that the 10 CS 14 grew on me. It had a stripped back quality that appealed. I think that's why some weren't so keen to begin with. I like the slightly raw distillate note just guided by the wood.
Thanks Charis. I admit that I haven't spent enough time trying this with water. It certainly doesn't need it but I will try it with water and let you know 🙂
@@lxiaspb I'm enjoying a glass of the Cairdeas right now with a couple of drops of water. I think it swims very well. A slight reduction in intensity for a slight increase in peatiness but a rather large increase in those nice malty notes. Good call 👍
Thank you! I was ejoying yesterday night Corry from Ardbeg. 3 different Whiskies, 1) neat 2) two drops 3) five drops. It took one hour, but hey, three whiskies in one. That was a new version of corry.
We both agree that we love and hate Laphroaig. I have to say that Cairdeas is one of the reasons I hate them. It's often hard to purchase in the U.K and always priced grotesquely compared to what our friends on the other side of the pond pay. This bottle is twice the price of the 10 Cask Strength and you have to be a Friend of Laphroaig' to buy it. Folks in the States pick it up in shops far cheaper so why are we being shafted yet again? The 10 Cask Strength is the only distillery release I'm happy to buy. It's 6 years since I bought a bottle of Lore. I bought a second bottle of the 10 Sherry and it's doing nothing for me now. Paying for older Laphroaigs is just idiotic. Laphroaig add colour even to the Cask Strength. What on earth is going on in their minds? A great distillery making stuff I don't want to buy. Independent bottles have been putting the distillery to shame for the past decade at least. I'm sipping on a recent BBR Williamson 8 year old which ticks all the whisky boxes we like and they print that on the label. Cheaper than the Cairdeas and 10% more abv. I'm sure I would enjoy this Cairdeas expression but, as far as I can see, there's nothing to justify it costing more than the 10 Cask Strength. Not really a rant but actually more of a soliloquy for the distillery. Fine review as always. WT
It seems that 'Cairdeas' releases are 'friendlier' to some countries than others... We all know that many of the distilleries favour the American market and see it as more discerning, demanding and more willing to part with large sums of money! Agreed that it's annoying that we have to sign into a website at a certain time in order to have a chance to buy something. Five years ago I was kind of hoping the bubble would have burst (just a little) by now so that this kind of thing wouldn't be required. To be fair to Laphroaig it does seems like they're making efforts to make things like the 10CS available year round though. And yes £90 for a 52% special release is expensive. Although fairer than what some distilleries offer. Which isn't really an excuse... I do think this Cairdeas offers complexity beyond what we're getting in the current 10CS though. Which is infinitely more than what we can say about last year's Cairdeas. Incidentally I have a sealed bottle of Lore (discount) and Williamson on my shelf. Recent purchases. I look forward to opening them and doing a review. Especially the Williamson. Cheers!
@@WhiskyLock I said that about the Lore but I am curious to go back there. Indi Laphroaigs just kill it on the abv though. It's only the CS that competes.
@@WhiskyLock They might favour those markets but they shit on us. We're treated as second class citizens. Poor availability, higher cost, smaller bottles. They take the piss.
