Laphroaig Cairdeas 2013 Portwood

Fair warning, if you’re not a fan of port or grape forward whiskies, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you do like that style of whiskey, then I think you’ll really dig this. For me, the marriage of peat and port is one of my all time favorite combinations. The sweet spot being when there’s just enough of the previous cask’s flavor profile and that little bit of fruit on the palate and nose to remind you that there’s something else lurking in the background. And this whiskey gives me exactly what I was looking for with that big blast of peat and ash, a touch of that caramel and vanilla, and a light raspberry/grape profile. So good that I wish I had bought more of these when they was still on the shelves. If you’re wondering where you can buy this, you can readily find these on the secondary/auction markets for $150-$160. It’s a great whiskey, but you can find a lot better for that price. Cheers! Thanks for reading!

Bottle Info

Distillery: Laphroaig

Barrel type: bourbon casks - finished in port casks

Age: No Age Statement

ABV: 51.3

How this acquired: A lucky find at a local whiskey shop hiding behind a bunch of newer Cairdeas releases

Cost: $75

Year purchased: 2015

Tasting Notes

Nose: smoke, ash, peat, distinctly laphroaig peppery peat, salt, brine, sea air, pepper, vanilla bean, tar, tobacco, touch of mint at the end, salty-grapy-seaweed with chocolate notes

Nose[water]: salt, brine, seaweed-caramel, vanilla, salted butter, salt water taffy, caramel, oak, fig, cream pudding, peat, peppery peat

Taste: ash, salt, seaweed, caramel, vanilla, pepper, soft raspberries, darker fruits, soot, vanilla salt, fig, peppery peat, smoked salts

Taste[water]: soft salted butter, soot, pepper, jammy laphroaig notes, jelly, cream pudding, bread pudding, grape umami

Finish: salt, berries, figs, peat, ash, clove, fig, cookie, spices, pudding

Finish[water]: mellow, salted butter cookies, light grape jam, mashmellow, salted chocolate, berries and cream, salted almonds, soot, ash

Binary Score: 1

Value Notes

Would I buy this (or if already bought, would you buy this again): Yes

Would I order this in a bar: Yes

Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Yes

Value For Money: When it was $75 - 5/5 easily. Now that it’s $160 - 3/5

My Scoring System

0 | I didn’t like it | It doesn’t mean you won’t

1 | I liked it | It doesn’t mean you will