Laphroaig Cairdeas 2023 (White Port, Maidera)

 

It's been a light, slow July in terms of reviews over here - I have run out of room to store bottles, so I'm very slowly making my way through what I already have. 

One of the few exceptions is this year's Cairdeas ("Car chase" or "Car chess" or "Gorgeous" are the closest pronunciation guides I've heard) from Laphroaig, one of the big Islay distillers. Released yearly as a treat for the Friends of Laphroaig (the hardcore fan club), it always has interesting casking and a high ABV.

Auchroisk 15 Year (SMWS 95.58 "Sunny Beach With Hot Sand")

The fourth of six samples offered at the June 2023 outturn event of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC. This was a 15 year port-finished Auchroisk (a favorite of mine), bottled at 59.1% ABV. 

Edradour Ballechin Discovery Series #3 - "The Port Casks" (NAS)

 

When Edradour - the smallest operating distillery in Scotland - peats their spirit, they release it under the label Ballechin, honoring a long-dead distillery of the same name that operated from 1810 to 1927. The original Ballechin was one of the original seven distilleries in Perthshire, Scotland - now, only Edradour is left. 

They only started this heavily peated project in 2003, and this bottle is their third official release, from 2008. It's aged an unknown number of years, matured fully in port casks, bottled without coloration or filtering at 46% ABV. One of only 6000 bottles. 

Glen Moray Port Cask Finish (NAS)

 

Glen Moray is one of those distilleries I first encountered in turbocharged single cask independent bottles - they are rich and sweet and full of interesting flavors, in that setting. But their official bottlings mostly seemed geared at the lower end of the market, and this Port Cask Finish bottling was only $28 - half the cost of most other standard bottles. Thanks to Rob Martin for this delicious sample!

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (12 Year)

This was a total shot in the dark. I was at the liquor store with a million sales going on, and I had to either choose to revisit an old friend (Oban, Ardbeg, Aberlour, Glendronach) or try something totally new. 

The blog demanded fresh blood!! I have had about half of the current offerings from Glenmorangie, but not the port finished Quinta Ruben (the word means Ruby Farm, in a combination of Gaelic and Portuguese).