Released in 2004, this bottling was aged for around five years before being finished in a quarter cask for several months, the size of the cask is quite small, thus does not require such a long maturation. This remains a truly great achievement from Laphroaig.
Oily and buttery nose, with toffee, nuttiness, hickory, bicarbonate of soda, rum and raisin ice cream and zest.
Big rush of sweetness, in fact it’s an explosion of sweetness, with fiery chilli heat, TCP, sweet cereals and a touch of cola syrup.
Medium-length, but becomes fruity, with custard and cigar smoke.
A very smooth and palatable Islay scotch. Great flavours without being overbearing. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Behind that peat and smokey infusion lies a mouthful of complexity characterized by sweet caramel and vanilla notes with a slight hint of roasted almonds that makes you come back for more. Delicious.
This has become my go to dram. I am a fan of the peaty/smoky flavors, and so end up in Islay for my tipple. I find Ardbeg over the top and need to add water or cube of ice to relax that. I then tried Laphroaig 10 and was quite pleased with that. Moved to cask strength and once more need to add water or ice. I then happened on the quarter cask and found heaven. It has all the smoky/peat flavor, but adds a hint of sweet and does not overpower.
I've always been a fan of the Laphroaig 10. But when I tried the Quarter Cask I found my new favorite. It is everything the 10 year old is - peat and smoke and fire and brimstone and seaweed and Scottish mist and fog - only more "rounder" and more refined. All the flavors that the 10 is known for are here in the Quarter Cask, as well, but they don't punch as hard, and each flavor seems to "bloom" in it's own space. If Laphroaig 10 is a fantastic LP in mono, the Quarter Cask is the same recorded performance... in full quadraphonic sound.
I can see why the fans of the 10 sometimes get upset with this, it is very different. The palate is much sweeter and sharper than the peaty 10, and is closer to that Ardbeg NAS saltiness. Personally I love it, it adds another dimension and just proves that NAS is the way to go unless you want to spend silly money. I prefer this NAS and Ardbeg's NAS expressions over the regular similarly priced AS offering
