Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Young and perfect whisky […]
The first post on the blog I devoted to my first single malt whisky Laphroaig 10 years old. Then, as well as in a post about a visit to the Laphroaig Distillery, I wrote about the distillery and its surroundings. I would recommend those articles as an introduction to this post. [caption id=attachment_756 align=alignnone width=801] Laphroaig Quarter Cask w otulinie torfowej[/caption] Quarter Cask is the type of casks, which were widely used in the nineteenth century. Their capacity is about 125 litres. As we know the majority of the aromas and flavors come from the cask, so a smaller cask aging process results in greater its influence on the distillate in a shorter time. Currently, apart from Laphroaig, there are other distilleries using quarter casks, it is worth to list here Ardmore (being the same as Laphroaig owned by Beam Global) and Tasmanian Lark. [caption id=attachment_1741 align=alignnone width=801] Laphroaig Quarter Cask[/caption] In case of Laphroaig Quarter Cask, distillates matured in Bourbon casks were transferred to a quarter casks, matured and then bottled (it is the same in Ardmore). Whisky was un-chillfiltered and the alcohol content is 48% ABV. Im not sure if it was coloured with caramel, some time ago I heard from a representative of a distillery that this process was not used, but the box says mit Farbstoff. [caption id=attachment_1742 align=alignnone width=801] Laphroaig Quarter Cask[/caption] Tasting notes: C: gold; N: surprisingly it is not omnipotently peaty and smoky, lighter than the classic Laphroaig 10 years old, very fresh, citrusy, even minty, wet ash, a little oak, in the background there is also something light and sweet, like hard candy; T: now peat and smoke are showing up very clearly, spcicy, espresso, cocoa, oak, the strongest impact of peat is somewhere in the middle, around there are notes of ripe fruits; F: long, oaky, fruits with a high water content - watermelon, melon,...
