Today is the fourth day of Feis Ile 2014 – kinda of a midpoint of the festival but I also consider it as a peak as it’s the open day at Laphroaig, and if you know me, you’re probably ware of the fact that Laphroaig is my favorite distillery.

I have a couple of Laphroaig drams waiting for review but decided to go with yet another indie bottling – the Creative Whisky Company (CWC) Laphroaig 1996 14 year old which I got from the folks of @WhiskyCorner when I visited Scotland.

It’s part of their The Exclusive Malts brand, Distilled on 17.10.1996, then aged for 14 years in cask 7317 and bottled at cask strength of 50.8%. I won’t delay you anymore – let’s roll into the tasting notes:

Creative Whisky Company Laphroaig 1996 14 year old (50.8%, 332 bottles, €74.9)

Nose: Fresh, barely feeling the trademarked iodine notes here, peat is bit subdued and gentle, packed earth, sweet lemon peels, melon, traces of herbals and green tree leaves, bourbon vanilla and honey, sweet demerara sugar.

Palate: starts with a big peat taste and then a second wave of sweet sugar/lemon with a an underlying layer of oak wood.

Finish: oak wood, sweet & lemon, oily, bark peels

Conclusion: A rocking Laphroaig whisky. Single cask with a bit different profile. Still can be fetched for decent price in Europe.

(Thanks to the due of WhiskyCorner.co.uk for the sample)