Every year, Laphroaig makes its Feis Ile bottling available for the Friends of Laphroaig. This year’s release is tagged “Master Edition” because it’s created by the Master blender Robert Hicks. The recipe is 50% of bourbon hogsheads
(11 years old) and 50% of first fill bourbon (15, 17 and 19 years old).

Laphroaig Cairdeas Master Edition (57,3%, OB 2010, Feis Ile, 5000 btl.)

Nose: in line with previous Cairdeas editions. The smoke and ashes seem a bit more prominent this time. Lemon and salt. Sweet marzipan notes and some banana again, but overall it seems quite a bit drier. The pencil shavings and soft vanilla that I found quite typical for the 2009 release seem to have diminished. On the other hand, the new edition is slightly more spicy and coastal. A hint of peppermint? Mouth: quite dry smoke with citrus. Powerful earthy peat. Iodine. Getting oily and slightly peppery. Overall quite dry and sharp, lacking a bit of sweet, rounder elements in my opinion. Finish: long and dry, evolving on salty almonds and some liquorice.

I find this year’s edition marginally more coastal and smoky, I think peat lovers will love it. It misses the smoothness and complexity of the 2009 version, but I prefer it over the 2008 version. Reasonably priced (as usual): £ 45.

Score: 85/100

I’ve tried to sum up the differences in a little diagram. Note that a triple + does not mean three times more than a single +. In reality the differences are much more subtle.