Description
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2012 Feis Ile Origin
Fèis Ìle, also known as the Islay Festival of Music and Malt had humble beginnings. It traces it origins back to 1985 and the establishment of The Islay Festival Association after it was realised that an event celebrating Gaelic, music and culture would drive tourism to the island. The inaugural event was two weeks of music, drama and workshops with ceilidhs, concerts and dances in the evening. The first whisky tasting took place as a festival event in 1990, and ten years later the island’s distilleries began to be directly involved, organising their annual open days to coincide with it. Today it is one of the biggest events on the whisky calendar, annually drawing hundreds of revellers, and turning out an increasingly sought-after batch of limited edition whiskies like this.
Cairdeas, pronounced [car-chuss] means “friendship” in Gaelic. These are released annually as distillery exclusives and for the Friends of Laphroaig group. Some early releases were labelled as Feis Ile exclusives and although this is no longer expressly stated, due to the time of year in which they become available, they are still considered as spiritual Fèis Ìle releases.
The Cairdeas Origins 2012 celebrates 18 years of the Friends of Laphroaig programme. Combines some of the liquid used for the first realise of Cairdeas as well as some new spirit fully matured in quarter casks.
Nose: Alcohol, citrus notes, orangey. Peaty ashy smoke. Sweetness of ripe grapes, somewhat floral.
Taste: Full and strong. Light fruits with vanilla. mothballs. Some spiciness, pepper. Mineral, smoke, peaty and a sea breeze. citrus notes.
Finish: Long, smoke, sweetness, citrus, slightly dry.
