Laphroaig Cairdeas 200th Anniversary Edition
Much like Ardbeg, Laphroaig celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2015, and offered many celebratory offerings (many of which we tasted here), including this No Aged Statement whisky they put out every year. The “Cairdeas” is tailor made to suit the situation, and the creative brain trust at Laphroaig have sought to offer the essence of what makes their distillery so renowned in this anniversary malt. Made using 100% floor malted barley and using the smallest, oldest stills at the distillery, then matured for around 12 years. This also marks a first for Scotchology, returning to a Scotch we explored in February 2014, one of our early selections. While we’ve reviewed Scotches from the same distillery, this is the first time we’ve revisited the same whisky, even if the purposefully different yearly releases do not make this completely comparative.
Ardbeg Perpetuum
2015 was a big year for the Laphroaig and Ardbeg distilleries, who each celebrated their 200th year. Such a landmark was cause for celebration and Ardbeg did not disappoint. Much was made about the whisky they sent into space, yet the Perpetuum is meant to capture the essential expression of the Ardbeg spirit and thus makes a laudatory dram. The text on the box wraps into itself admirably: “…times change but Ardbeg remains which is why no synthetic nose or tastebuds will ever come close to replicating the skills of our whisky creators and no man-made machine will ever be capable of producing man-made whisky because…”
Arran Amarone Cask
It should be no surprise to our frequent readers that we’ve tried our fair share of whiskies with different finishes. Finishing allows distilleries to impart a different set of flavors through aging the spirit in casks other than the usual ex-bourbon barrels. We’ve tried finishes with Sherry, Port, Rum, along with Shiraz, Madeira and Burgundy wines so far. We have a scotch with Cote du Rhone and Clos de Tart on the docket. Heck, the last Arran we reviewed had a Sauternes finish. Therefore, it may not surprise anyone greatly for us to be interested by this Arran aged in Amarone casks. We came by it honestly, though, through a tasting at Ace Spirit’s. The fact that the Arran Amarone stood out over several other whiskies should be enough to pique your interest, as it did ours.