Laphroaig PX Cask Whisky

It is my second Laphroaig I am tasting this year. Earlier in 2015, I tasted the Laphroaig An Cuan Mor whisky. The Laphroaig PX Cask Islay single malt Scotch whisky and the An Cuan Mor bottling are part of three travel retail exclusive releases from Laphroaig.

I notice that the PX Cask and the An Cuan Mor are now available more widely, even in South Africa.

The third bottle in this series is the Laphroaig Quarter Cask whisky. Laphroaig is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery on the beautiful Islay. It is named for the area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of Islay.

The Johnston brothers founded the distillery in 1810 on what was originally a family-run farm. Laphroaig’s distinctive flavour comes in part from its vicinity to the coast and the high moss content of its peat, which is processed in the distillery’s floor maltings.

The Laphroaig PX Cask single malt whisky is matured in three types of cask. The spirit is aged initially in American oak bourbon casks and then in quarter casks before a final finishing period in ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. It has no age statement, but looking at some of the comments on line, it seems that the release is at least 10 years old.

The three different casks give this Laphroaig PX bottling a flavour profile which ties together the classic, peaty Laphroaig smoke and the sherry sweetness. The distillery and brand are owned and operated by Beam Suntory, the American subsidiary of Japan’s Suntory Holdings.

We took this bottle with us on our escape to the Golden Gate National Park in the Free State. What more can you ask for, the mountains in the back and a Laphroaig in the glass in front of you?

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Laphroaig PX Cask Whisky Review

REGION: Islay

ABV: 48%

COLOUR: A wonderful old gold colour.

NOSE: Hints of sweetness, followed by the traditional smoke and peat that  Laphroaig is known for. There are hints of raisins with bits of seaweed and nuts. The nose is a wonderful balance between the peaty Laphroaig notes and the sherry sweetness.

PALATE: This dram is something else. It is a riot of different tastes. There are smoke, Christmas Cake, oak, seaweed, peat and tar mixed with hints of a coal pit and some ash. Bit of spiciness floats around in between the bare hints of the sweet wine notes.

The sweetness is not overwhelming but also does not disappear in the peat. It has a beautiful balance. Water brings out more of the fruity sweetness and smooths out the peaty notes. But you need to add the water sparingly.

FINISH: Long and lingering with hints of tar, oak, hints of spice and ending in fruity sweet notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

An amazing dram. I did not give this a Divine rating because the flavours seemed a bit disjointed. There are lots of flavours, but it is as if they did not spend enough time together in the last cask.

My regular readers would know, John loves his peaty whiskies while I prefer the sweeter, softer drams. But this peaty PX Cask Scotch blew us both away. We both loved it. The balance is perfect, and the sweetness makes the coal pit, ash and tar taste like something from heaven. Strange but true!

I paired this Laphroaig PX cask with coconut macarons for my New Years Eve celebration. I was hesitant to try this combination, but was pleasantly surprised when the Laphroaig paired beautifully with the sweet coconut.

The Laphroaig PX Cask release is rather expensive though. In South Africa, it retails for around R2400 and in the UK for around £110 on Amazon.

Laphroaig has also released a Port Cask Finish. It is not part of this specific series, but I have managed to taste the Laphroaig Brodir release as well as the Laphroaig Four Oak whisky as well.

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