I’m a Laphroaig fan boy. I admit that. I purchased this bottle long time ago and last June also the Portwood bottle (Feis Ile 2013) but didn’t open them yet. But 2 weeks ago I’ve been to a great whisky evening with 4 local whisky lovers and that bottle was present. The liquid level wasn’t too high so we did it a favor and finished it off #evilgrin (Thanks Yori for sharing this one!)

Since 2008 Laphroaig  has been releasing Càirdeas expressions. Càirdeas means friendship in Gaelic and this series is in honor of their Friends of Laphroaig group. Each year the new expression is being released during the Feis Ile festival.

This whisky has no age statement (NAS) but the public information available says that half of it spent seven years in Quarter Casks, and the other half is 13-21yo from refill ex-bourbon barrels.

so how friendly is this one?

Laphroaig Cairdeas Origin 2012 (OB, 51.2%, buy for £199.99 here or €149.90 here)

Nose: Very subtle peat, strong lemon note, all the major ingredients of Laphroaig profile – iodine, salt, brine, seashore, medicinal/iodine, some pepper and in the background we also have subtle honeyed vanilla. Very fresh and very subtle for this high ABV – complex and very enjoyable nose.

Palate: Peat but a bit on the drier side, ashes, Lemon, BBQ, sweetness and barely any oak flavor.

Finish: Long, Ashy, BBQ, brine and salt but also with subtle lemony note, oak bitterness, dry.

Conclusion: Great Laphroaig dram! I can’t wait to the moment I’ll open my bottle. As this was a limited edition from 2012, I don’t recommend causal buyers to buy a bottle at the currently on-going prices. Instead, go have a dram of this at a pub or find some friend with a bottle and share it 🙂 Slainte!