Reviews 75 & 76: Laphroaig Cairdeas 2017 & 1998 Cadenhead's 175th Anniversary Laphroaig 19 year old Cask # 700274

I am an unabashed Laphroaig fan, so I am excited for tonight's selection. The 217 Cairdeas is a cask strength of the QC, which I will have a splash of to SbS. I am a fan of the quarter cask so I will be curious to throw my hat in on the mixed reviews. Then the main event, a 19 year old Laphroaig IB, which has the honor of being the most expensive bottle I have bought (though it was a split.)

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2017

Islay - NAS - NCF - NCA - Sample ($80 at the local) - 57.4%

Color - Pale Gold

Nose - Dried shellfish, smoke, lilacs, pear, honey

Taste - Raw wood, iodine, vanilla, pepper - a touch of water brings in some apple

Finish - Medium short - Harsh and a touch astringent, pepper, musty smoke, a touch of water brings it to a more smoke heavy finish

Overall - 5 - This was a disappointment. Instead of being a better and bolder QC, it is an overly young and unbalanced whisky. I have been told that QC is aged 8 years then 8 months in the QC. This tastes no older than 5 years old, raw, harsh, and untamed. As a fan of QC, I would take QC over this any day.

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1998 Cadenhead's 175th Anniversary Laphroaig 19 year old Cask # 700274

Islay - 19 Years - NCF - NCA - $270 at the local - 54%

Color - Ripe Corn

Nose - Honey, Kiwi, aerosol wildflowers, the peat is mellowed, smoke, seashells, there is wood but I am really struggling to pick it out it goes from new wood to vanilla to toasted and back again, I'll just go with rice pudding. Now there is apple skin and sea spray. This is a fun nose.

Taste - Fruit and smoke, tropical fruit, smoked mangoes, honey, floral notes, this is hard, the fruit and smoke are just married so well it is hard to pick out and just evolve in your mouth.

Finish - Long - Bonfire embers, smoked oysters, sweetness and a underlying tropical fruit note

Overall - 7 - Wow, this is a fantastic dram. The nose is complex and evolving. The taste is a great balance of fruit smoke on the palate and a long lingering finish. If you like the teenage Laphroaig, this hits all the notes and is thoroughly enjoyable.

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Rating system is price influenced as it is based on my shopping decisions when buying a bottle.

10 Best in Show

9 Great Dram for Special Occasions

8 Worthy of consistent spot in my collection

7 Worth picking up a bottle if in the mood

6 I would buy a bottle if it went on sale

5 I would drink it happily if offered

4 I would drink it if offered on the rocks

3 Maybe some soda will make this potable

2 I'll Pass

1 Toilet cleaner

Inclusive Ratings

Overall 6.1

Standard Deviation 0.95

Skew 0.66

Kurtosis -0.58

Islay 6.4 (27)

Laphroaig 6.81 (8)