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Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Not much peat, yet sweet, yet sweet

0 787

@GeorgyReview by @Georgy

21st Sep 2016

0

Laphroaig Quarter Cask
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    20
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    87

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

NOSE: a lovely combination of mazut with sweet caramel notes. Slightly herbal as well (think parsley). Surprisingly, there's some warm spices which I usually pick out in sherried whiskies: cinnamon and cardamom with cinnamon really dominating here. With some water it mellows out a lot and its peaty side diminishes dramatically. So much so that you can hardly smell it. The vanishing of peat gives way to very ripe fruity notes with a touch of leather and a tiny bit of menthol.

TASTE: a wonderfully spicy honey arrival with dry oak and some saltiness as well. Hints of nuts. With water it becomes much more peppery. Yet, for a 48% alcohol whisky, it's very smooth. As it approaches the finish it becomes a bit cardboardy.

FINISH: mineral, iodine, ash, medicinal.

The empty glass smells a bit like cola with those lovely warm Indian spices.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: a very interesting whisky which, coming from Islay, really underdelivers on the peat component. It is, nonetheless, tasty in its own unique way. However, if you're looking for a big peat explosion, it's definitely not here.

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7 comments

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

It's come down a bit from its low 90s scores in its early days, but still an excellent bang-for-the-buck dram. I still prefer it to the regular 10 and I would score it right around where you did. Cheers.

8 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

The bottle I have is excellent. This whisky is inexpensive enough (by Canadian Scotch Standards, so less than $100) to drink often (which I don't only because I have so many great scotches to drink) but also great enough to impress any level of peated scotch fan.

Very versatile.

I would easily choose a dram of this over say, a Macallan 25. YES, I would. But not necessarily Mac CS...

8 years ago 0

@Georgy
Georgy commented

@Nozinan Even over Mac 25? I wouldn't know...I've never tired Mac 25. But I guess to each his own. For me Ardbeg 10 would beat this one any day, if we're talking peat and smoke and versatility.

8 years ago 0

@Georgy
Georgy commented

Another additional flavor note: I got one very rare note on the nose that I've never noticed in whiskies before, and that is seaberry oil.

8 years ago 0

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

Georgy, if your goal was to prod someone into Googling "What is seaberry oil?" you succeeded!

The only thing I have to add about the QC is that I plan to make it the monthly bottle for my whisky club pretty soon, and set it against the 10 CS #6, 10 CS #7, and 2016 Cairdeas.

8 years ago 0

@Georgy
Georgy commented

@OIJas =)) Good for you! I still don't get all the fascination with this whisky. It is nice, no question about. The method used to produce it is also interesting and unique, but the result is...OK, if you ask me. Maybe I got a not so good bottle of this stuff, but after a few days of sipping this - I'm getting less and less out of it with very next dram. It is as if all the flavors and aromas were eager to escape as quickly as possible right after I popped the cork. Strange.

8 years ago 0

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@OLJas. That's some pretty stiff competition for the QC. I'll be interested to hear the results.

8 years ago 0