Introduction
Last year, after following Feis Ile vicariously through other blog posts, I ordered some festival samples, including the Laphroaig Cairdeas [car-chase] 2009 release, which I did a post on here . I went to do the same this year for the 2010 release, and discovered that whiskysamples.eu had a few extra samples of the 2009 Cairdeas in stock as well, so I ordered both. I decided to compare both of the Cairdeas cask strength releases with the standard Laphroaig 10 CS Batch 001 release to see how they stacked up.
The 2009 Cairdeas release was a 12 year, specially selected by John Campbell, distillery manager for Laphroaig. The 2010 release was created by Master Distiller Robert Hicks, and is a vatting of first-fill and refill bourbon casks ranging from 11 to 19 years old. All three of the sampled cask strength Laphroaigs fall between 57% and 58% ABV.
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2009 and 2010
Tasting Notes
10 year CS Batch 001 (57.8%) – A phenol-lover’s delight. Iodine, campfire smoke, tar, and cedar wood stand out on the nose, contrasted against a sweet background with a little bit of fruit (apples?). Plenty of tar on the palate, with a good pepper and alcohol kick. The finish is long and smoky, with the tar and cedar wood coming through loud and clear. 88 Points.
Cairdeas 2009 12 year (57.5%) – Start with the traits of the 10 CS, but add more wood influence, with an especially striking helping of vanilla on the nose. It also seems to have slightly less smoke/tar. The palate and finish are again similar to 10 CS, but with more pepper. Just the right amount of pepper, in fact. My mouth is tingling just thinking about how this one went down, and how alive it made my tongue feel. Great balance! 90 Points.
Cairdeas Master Edition 2010 (57.3%) – Surprisingly close to the 10 CS again, considering this one was made from a vatting of different aged and types of casks. The main difference being that this Feis Ile release is more fruity. Citrus and/or apples are present, taking a bit of the edge off of the phenol attack. Not as much vanilla as the 2009 Feis Ile bottling, and not as much pepper, either. 88 Points.
Bottom Line
The Feis Ile cask strength Lapharoaigs are excellent, and totally worth the festival asking prices of around $60-$70. I especially like the 2009 bottling, and kind of wish I had bought a bottle for $100 when I had the chance last year. The extra vanilla and the brilliant mouth feel, combined with the fact that it’s a limited release, make it worth seeking out. The 2010 version, while a bit more fruity than the standard 10 CS, didn’t strike me as necessarily “better.”
While I think the 2009 Cairdeas is worth a little bit of a premium, I would not consider paying high eBay prices for either of the Feis Ile releases. The standard 10 CS is more than good enough to satisfy my cravings for a cask strength Laphroaig experience. I also find that I can get a little bit of additional complexity (vanilla/fruit) by vatting 2 parts 10 CS and 1 part Laphroaig 18 year. It’s not quite on par with the 2009 Feis Ile experience, but still very good. Not sure if I’m venturing into heretic territory by suggesting such a home vatting, though…
Other Opinions
Check out these great reviews of the same expressions on two of my favorite whisky review sites:
Whisky Fun – 10 CS Batch 001 (Great point about the medicinal notes being “whiffs” rather than in your face); Cairdeas 12 2009 (and 10 CS Batch 001)
WhiskyNotes.be – 10 CS Batch 001 (87 pts); Cairdeas 12 2009 (88 pts); Cairdeas master Edition 2010 (86 pts & comparison with ’08/’09)
Cheers, Jeff
Scotch Hobbyist's Blog 
Very comprehensive Jeff, on the money once again. love the writeup.
I think you are probably right. I do have 2 full bottles of those beauties. the 2009 is yet unopen… and also the 2010. but i did get a very nice sample of the 2010 (70 ml) and i can definitely agree with you that it’s much fruitier and less medicinal then the 10 CS. but it’s very enjoyable.
I brought some of it to Kfir when we dined in a sushi place to sample, and he forgot it there… poor chap 😉
How much do those 2009,2010 versions go for on Ebay? it’s interesting. i never sold anything online….
Waiting for your Laga comparison. i’m going to do one of my own.
Sadly the Laga FE 2010 i didnt put my hands on. I ordrerd it from the same place, but due to customs issues, we had to cancel the transaction.
luckily i secured some Bunna FE2010 but i want to taste the Caol Ila FI 2010, i think u got it.
Hi Gal,
Thanks for the feedback!
I don’t see any of the Feis Ile bottlings on eBay at the moment, but it seems like they were going for well over $100. Actually, it looks like you can get a 2009 bottling on the UK eBay for 65-75 GBP…I’d certainly consider a bottle for that (not the 2010, though).
Took my first sip of the Laga Feis Ile bottling. It’s AMAZING! Looked it up on WhiskyAuction, and current bidding is up to 355 Euros. Doh!
Cheers,
Jeff
Nice post.
Did you try to comapre also with the Cairdeas 2008?
Thanks Shai!
No, I haven’t had a chance to try the Cairdeas 2008, although I provided a link to WhiskyNotes.be, where there is a comparison of 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Jeff
By far I feel the 10yo Cask Strength neat is the only way to have Laphroaig. I love cask strengths and I have had some absolute shockers that ruin the pallet but the Laphroaig always pleases. Buy it when you can get it (here in Aus that is usually duty free only).
Wait a minute…are you telling me the Quarter Cask is too “tame” of a Laphroaig for you?
How much is the cask strength at duty free if you can recall? I’m going there in 2 weeks to get some ardbeg but i was thinking of buying the CS off the site (total price inc. shipping is about $115).
Is it cheaper than that at dutyfree?
I like the manner in which you finished your review by adding other opinions. Nice touch. Gives your readers lots to consider!
Thanks Jason,
When I first started writing “reviews”, I always linked to a bunch of other opinions…then I got lazy and stopped going through the effort to compile the links. I think part of it had to do with the explosion of whisky blogs/sites…more links to find, and do I include all of them?
I’m trying to get back into providing those links, if for no other reason than I would hate for anybody to stumble upon my posts and take my word for how “good” a whisk(e)y is. 🙂
Cheers,
Jeff
Now that we are a few years down the line – can you comment regarding of the 2012 Cairdeas Origin compared to these and to recent batches of Laphroaig 10yr CS? These three keep popping up in various auctions, but I am wondering whether they are actually better, or just rarer than current expressions…
Thanks,
Yori