Laphroaig An Cuan Mor

Everyone's into this whole travel retail BS. That's where the big bucks are I suppose. Ignorant travelers with fat wallets who will buy anything that's sitting on a well lit shelf. Usually surrounded by ill-informed staff who are hell bent on selling you what ever it is that makes them the most commission.

And it seems like most distilleries are quite happy to package their mediocre NAS spirit and sell it at a lovely profit. I won't give you any examples - you know very well what I'm talking about.

So when Laphroaig decided to do a Travel Retail exclusive I was quite curious even though I'm not a fan of this marketing gimmick, as you must have guessed by now.

The PX was the first. Quite nice, I must admit. The QA was next. Quite dreadful, actually. Which left the third and final installment in this lineup wide open. Was it going to be worse than the QA or better than the PX?

Well, it was not only better than the PX it knocked it's socks right off. This is a beautifully crafted spirit. Put together from some of the finest first-fill 18 year old bourbon barrels the spirit was then re-casked in European Oak for a period of time.

The result is an exquisitely textured malt which is quite delicious.

Nose: Quite sweet, mandarin sweet. Raisins and black currant. Followed by eucalyptus. The 18 year old maturity starts coming through next on the back of leather and peaty almonds. Finished off with a musky, iodine nutmeg. Lovely.

Palate: Subtle peat and smokey black pepper on chocolate burnt orange. All smeared on an oaky brown bread sandwich.

Finish: That all to familiar iodine with traces of chocolate.

This is by no means simply a marketing gimmick. This is the real deal.

Nose: Wow - this is intense even by Laphroaig's standards. A whack of barbecued orange immediately hits, followed by oaky astringent dried fruit. As we delve further wood smoke starts emanating mixed with a sweet fruitiness - tinned apricot or peaches in syrup is the closest I can think of. A bit of vanilla too. Images of campfires in woodland are springing to mind. There is a lot going on here.

Palate: Quite amazingly smooth for Laphroaig. Intensely sweet and smokey in equal measures. Vanilla is much more apparent now. Orange is not nearly as noticeable but the dried fruit flavours remain. However, I also feel like I have charcoal smoke wafting through my nasal passages and whole head. This is really intense and takes you in all sorts of directions.

Although very smooth, the palate gradually becomes astringent leading to a very dry, long, lingering, lasting finish. Sweet fruit wrapped in a coating of dry charcoal.

I've tried so many expressions of Laphroaig - the 10, a 10 CS, Quarter Cask, Triple Wood, 15, 18 and several indie bottlings. This is my favourite and quite easily. At one time I didn't think the 15 or 18 would be beaten but this has done it. The balance of sweetness and smokiness has been made almost to perfection. Both aspects are intensely delivered without either dominating. Truly a breathtaking malt.

As a Laphroaig fan I always get suckered into their special releases. The Cairdeas summer releases such as Origin and Port Wood are hard to get hold of and unless you act fast you miss out. When I got the email saying that they were making 615 bottles available online of this travel retail exclusive I knew if I wanted a bottle I would need to make a snap decision. I then tucked it away as a Christmas present to myself.

I am a huge Laphroaig fan and so have been excited and delighted to have a bottle of this.

An Cuan Mor means "big ocean" and describes the fact that these first fill ex bourbon casks are stored right on the Atlantic Coast. This is then re-casked in European oak. This is non chill filtered and there is no age statement.

You can always spot a Laphroaig by its nose. This one has many of the trademarks and is smokey, salty with rounded vanilla sweetness. There is also pepper, cinnamon and spices stewed apples. This is a big Whisky with more rounder flavours and levels than normal.

The 10, QC and QA cask tend to hide big flavours behind a more muted nose. Take a sip then you get the Laphroaig punch. Not that they are small Whiskies but I poured a small glass of each to compare. The cask 003 2011 batch is closer but has a sweeter almost grain-like note by comparison that this doesn't. It has the sweetness of the batch 003 cask strength but is more oak and a deeper richer sweetness.

The palate... Guess what! Peaty smoke, salty brine, seaweed are of course present. Less iodine than the 10. It's peppery, spicy with a deep sweetness which is hard to pinpoint as it gets masked by smoke. It could be orange peel and you get some oak but less than the triple wood and QC.

The finish is smokey, long, with spicy liquorice and salt.

It's a classic Laphroaig but bigger. I really like it, it's what I had hoped it would be. Top drawer from the clever people at Laphroaig. It's a bit more expensive than the standard expressions but then It is a bit more special.

This is Laphroaig's latest 'travel retail exclusive' and is first matured in first-fill bourbon casks, before further maturation in European oak casks. It's un-chill-filtered.

On the nose, there's the usual Laphroaig seaweed and peat smoke, with frankincense, black pepper, a sweet brininess and vanilla. In the mouth, it's full-bodied, with a big hit of spicy peat smoke, followed by waves of liquorice, cola, pepper and raisins. The finish is big and smokey, very peppery, and then vanilla pokes through to soften the smoke a little.

A great Laphroaig.