Laphroaig Quarter Cask

As the name already suggest, quarter casks are small barrels, that were used for transportation on horseback or mule back in the day. Much later, the industry switched to larger vessels and the use of these casks dissappeared. Laphroaig changed that. Their young whisky got a second maturation in these smaller casks, after their initial stint in regular bourbon barrels. This implied a faster maturation, of course, because the spirit and wood got in touch more easily. Since the whisky is bottled at an ABV of 48%, chill-filtration is redundant.

While I get the classic traits of Laphroaig on the nose (peat, salt, iodium), I had expected more oak. I'm happily surprised that this one is quite creamy and sweet. I get some coconut, butter, tea, banana and - after a few minutes - some white chocolate. Complex and formidable.

It's very creamy and mouthcoating and starts of with a powerful burst of peat, followed by salty seaweeds, before release the vanilla and citrus. Some charcoal and cloves as well. Elegant!

The finish, which is long and starts very smoky, offers some oak at last, making the end transform from sweet to slightly bitter.

This is probably (I'm not entirely sure, though) younger than the 10 Year Old, but the quarter casks give it more depth and a longer finish. Those casks may be small, but they are brave. In short, this Laphroaig is wonderful and better than the 10 Year Old.

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