A CHALKY QUARRY – Rating: 4/10
As is customary each year, Laphroaig treats us to a Cairdeas edition celebrating the festival of the Isle of Islay.
In 2022, Laphroaig bestowed upon us a version aged in red wine and port casks. The 2023 edition continues the Porto theme, this time exclusively using white port.
The result remains rich as ever; one can trust the distillation team to provide us with complex malts. Unfortunately for me, this complexity does not align with my palate.
The typical medicinal peat of Laphroaig gives way to an earthy, even chalky peat. Notes of paraffin dominate, and the finish is too heavily influenced by alcohol, making the final flavors peppery.
In my opinion, this version falls short of its predecessors.
