Laphroaig Cairdeas Feis Ile 2014

Thanks to my good friend Chris Lauriers – whisky ambassador for Belgium – I have the opportunity to try no less than 10 – ten! – Feis Ile bottlings from Laphroaig in a row from 2007 until 2016. This is going to be a trip to remember.

This is the 2014 release, almost 30.000 bottles strong. The yellow tube refers to the finish of 1 year on an Amontillado sherry cask.

The nose is surprisingly (or is it?) sweet and fruity on banana, dried papaya, grapefruit and brown sugar. It even sports a mildly exotic side, but it does not reveal itself fully as it is quickly overpowered by the peat. This translates quickly into bacon on the barbecue with is very, very pleasant.

Good body, mildly spicy (peper, salt and a touch of ginger) and again fruity sweet (pineapple on the BBQ!) but turn umami quickly with a little rubbery note (not too much, luckily) and some resin. Something metallic too. This may sounds strange, but it’s almost as if this was poured from a tin can.

Wonderfully long finish on grapefruit and soft, sweet peat.

Another beautiful Laffie, although I do prefer the previous release on Port.

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