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Laphroaig 15 years Cairdeas

woody
4.5
(1)€175Scotland, Islay, Single Malt

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Facts

Cairdeas means friendship in Gaelic, and Laphroaig means it literally. The distillery's club, running since 1994, hands every member a lifetime lease on one square foot of Islay. Those members get this bottling first. Inside the bottle is spirit from 2002, given fifteen years in first-fill bourbon barrels. That is old for a Laphroaig, and it shows. The iodine and tar are still there, but softer now. Vanilla and ripe fruit sit underneath, with wood smoke drifting through the finish. It rewards a slow half hour.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Laphroaig

The Laphroaig distillery is located on the island of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. It was founded in 1815 and is known for producing heavily peated single malt whiskies that are full of smoky, briny flavors. The distillery sources its water from the Kilbride Stream and uses locally sourced peat to dry its malted barley. Laphroaig has a long-standing reputation for producing bold and complex whiskies, which are aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. An interesting fact about Laphroaig is that it holds a Royal Warrant from HRH Prince Charles, who is a fan of the distillery's whisky.

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About the Laphroaig 15 years Cairdeas

Laphroaig 15 years Cairdeas is a single malt Scotch whisky from Islay, in Scotland. Every year the distillery puts out a Cairdeas edition, and this fifteen year old is one of them. The spirit was distilled in 2002 and filled into first-fill bourbon casks. It was bottled in 2017 at 43% ABV. The name is Gaelic, and it translates as friendship. Peat smoke defines it, as it does everything from this distillery. Donald and Alexander Johnston founded the distillery in 1815, right on the shore near Port Ellen. Water for the mash comes down from the Kilbride Dam. About a tenth of the barley is still malted on site, on the distillery's own floors. Hand-cut Islay peat burns in the kiln beneath it. Pagoda chimneys still sit above the kiln roof. That smoke settles into the grain, and every Laphroaig starts from there. The nose leads with the medicinal house signature: iodine, salt, tar. Bourbon wood pushes back with vanilla and a soft sweet edge. On the palate that sweetness widens into ripe fruit, nutmeg and toasted almonds. The smoke stays warm rather than fierce, held in check by fifteen years of woody maturation. Then the finish turns medicinal again, dry and ashy, and it holds for a long time. Laphroaig dropped its standard 15 year old back in 2009. This bottling brought the age statement back. Most releases in the range are younger, so the extra years show. Time in first-fill bourbon casks trades raw punch for depth and a sweeter core. Laphroaig 15 years Cairdeas landed in late 2017 at 43%. Friends of Laphroaig members bought it before anyone else could.