Distillery: Laphroaig
Age: NAS
Bottled: 2015
Cask: Bourbon barrels, finished in Ruby port
ABV: 48%
More Info: WhiskyBase

Peaty Islay whisky, finished in port casks?? Yeah, go on, why not.

Another travel retail release from Laphroaig, Brodir’s been around a couple of years as you may have noticed if you’ve been through duty free lately. Bottled at 48%, without chill filtering – let’s see how it fares in the glass.

Nose: Coal dust, charred sausages, salty pretzels, wet oil paints. With time, dark cherries and plums emerge through the thick, salty aroma of wood smoke.

Palate: Coal tar soap, orange marmalade, with a kick of chilli calming to reveal chamomile flowers, loose leaf tea, liquorice all-sorts, bitter grapefruit, vanilla pods, and a twist of blackcurrant.

Finish: Soap and smoke, black pepper, liquorice and lingering dry ashes.

Not a bad dram at all, this.

Reminds me very much of the Amontillado-finished Cairdeas from 2014. All the coal-tar and acrid peat you expect from Laphroaig but with an interesting dark fruit influence from the port casks.

Available at Master of Malt for £89.95.