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Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Memories of Forest Walking

0 590

FReview by @Fairbairn

26th Jan 2015

0

Laphroaig Quarter Cask
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    90

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This was an overproof so I put a little water in it. It was on sale ($4 off) up here in Northwestern Ontario so I got the bottle for $65.95 and the 48 percentage seemed like a selling point over the regular 40. I love overproofs and I was willing to try this out specifically because it is supposed to be 'peaty'.

Nose: Very musky and woody, it reminds me of being in an older-growth forest where the trees are very tall and there's no underbrush, just moss and low-lying leafy plants, where the light is dimmer and there's much space to wander.

It smells like the first cuts into a tree when I'm chopping down a balsam or spruce.

After tasting I note that the whisky is still imbued within my olfactory for a long period of time, I'm delighted that it lingers after a sip so the experience is everlasting. I think this is what the experts might call 'peaty'.

Taste: Smooth, lingering connection to nature; it breathes in the way that a tall forest negates strong winds leaving you immersed in the wafting, slow and stiff air under the canopy where everything is still and calm.

When I licked a bead off the neck after pouring the first thing I tasted was honey.

Throat: This is one of the most soothingly smooth whiskies I've ever tasted, and despite being so easy to drink it's also incredibly rich and alive with a wholly unique flavor and a long-lasting aftertaste that keeps you in that mysterious forest. After a few drinks it starts feeling as if it goes down thick like syrup.

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5 comments

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I have heard there is batch variation, but I like this expression as well. I have a bottle that was bought in a US Duty free (1L so it will last me a while).

My first bottle I found it became smoother and a little sweeter a long time after the bottle was opened. Essentially, I think this is one that stays good from the first to the last dram.

10 years ago 0

bigmoose commented

Overproof? It's only 48% abv - doesn't overproof for UK spirits mean more than 57%abv?

8 years ago 0

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

I suspect that "overproof" doesn't have any definitive meaning.

I love all the woodsy interpretations on this one. I'll keep that in mind next time I pour from my bottle.

8 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@Ol_Jas, yeah I've always thought that "overproof" is a word that alcohol-sensitive people who think that 40% ABV is a lot of alcohol content like to use to impress other people who are also not used to drinking, or even thinking about, anything over 40% ABV. I've seen such people wince a little when they say "overproof" and look to see a look of menace and horror in the faces of those to whom they mention the word, apparently expecting a big reaction. The thought of anything over 40% ABV seems like a very big deal to many spirits beginners, as though there were something divinely ordained about diluting the spirit down to 40% ABV and selling it at that concentration.

I think that such people are usually not used to sipping spirits for their flavours. Even if I ever did shots, which I do not, I would not want to do a shot of 60% ABV spirit. For that purpose 40% ABV would make a lot more sense.

8 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@Fairbairn, thanks for an enjoyable review. I won't jump on the 'overproof' bandwagon; however, I did chuckle at the comment from @bigmoose. Fifty-seven percent alcohol certainly is Royal Navy 100 proof!

8 years ago 0