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.
Nice enough whisky but I found the peat on the nose to be too much and overpowering. On the palate, I thought it was too sweet and lacked depth and complexity. I think the quarter cask thing is a way to offload young whisky and give it some marketing spin. Didn't live up to the reviews in my opinion. Much prefer the Lagavulin 16 or Ardberg Uigeadail on the nose and palate. YMMV.
So I am relatively new to single malts and I have primarily stayed close to the Speyside varieties. I had tried the Laphroaig 10 before so I figured this would be intense. And it is. I would equate drinking this scotch to smoking a nice cigar. Imagine smoking a cigar for about 10 minutes, then turn it around and stick the ash end in your mouth. If you could liquefy a campfire you would have a similar drink to this Laphroaig. Oddly enough with that accurate description I still don't think it was a bad scotch. It was really quite smooth and had no bad aftertaste. It is just unique and targeted to those who like peaty, SMOKY scotch. Once my taste buds return I'll try another glass and see if it grows on me.
I'm a huge fan of Laphroaig and I know quite a lot of different bottlings, but the quarter cask (QC) is my least favourite (don't worry, it's still pretty good). I'll explain why. I sensed a sweet and fruity sensation through the process that doesn't add up with what Laphroaig stands for. It somehow...feels out of place. Nonetheless, it's Laphroaig all the way due to it's complex character, with peat, woodyness and iodine (albeit much less aggresive). A nice touch is the intense pepper blast in the tasting phase. The finish is remarkably bland for Laphroaig's standards. So to summarize it: don't worry too much, you'll get enough Laphroaig for your money, but with some unusual components along with it. (RB)
The long-ago Scottish bits of my DNA perked up and knew at once -- not in Kansas any more. This Dorothy was just perfectly delighted with the funky smell, and the smoky, fiery monster that came after that first sniff. Yayass. Hot damn. More, gimme more, I want more.
A favorite, but I end up feeling that every step is a little weaker than the first; the nose is fantastic, I could sit and sniff this stuff, the palate is solid, but nothing too special, and the finish is only ok. Still, a must try for peat lovers, and a reasonable value all things considered, though too expensive for a daily dram, at least for me.
