Laphroaig Quarter Cask (NAS)
ABV: 48% ABV
Price: £36.75
Distillery
Owners Beam Suntory
Location Port Ellen Islay
Water source The peaty Kilbride Reservoir
Stills 2 x wash stills and 2 x spirit stills
Capacity per year 3,457,000 Litres
1815 = (205y) by Donald Johnston - leased 1000 acres of from the laird of Islay, for rearing cattle. = built distillery
To raise cattle you must grow “feed” barley for the long winter months. And, what do you do with the surplus barley? If you are English, you ferment beer. But for an Islay Scotsman there is only one thing to do: distil whisky.
1877 - Died – fell into vat
1994 – Royal Warrant by Prince Charles
2014 – Suntory merged Beam & Bowmore firms = Beam Suntory
Cut their own peat by hand – too wet to burn immediately, they dry the peat out for three months; Islay peat bogs different to mainland – much higher ratio of ‘sphagnum’ (peat moss) = medicinal taste.. Their own Glenmachrie peat bog has a particular mix of heather, lichen and moss than others
Whisky
Double maturation in two casks made of American oak.
Released in 2004, this bottling was aged for minimum of five years before being finished in a smaller, quarter cask for several months - just a stone's throw from the Atlantic shore.
The use of the smaller cask size, which ensures increased contact with the oak, creating a soft and velvety edge to complement Laphroaig's distinctive peatiness.
Colour:
Nose: Oily and buttery nose, with toffee, nuttiness, hickory, bicarbonate of soda, rum and raisin ice cream and zest.
Palate: Big rush of sweetness, in fact it’s an explosion of sweetness, with fiery chilli heat, TCP, sweet cereals and a touch of cola syrup.
Finish: Medium-length, but becomes fruity, with custard and cigar smoke