Laphroaig Quarter Cask

[jimlink]

Hi all,

I'm new to Scotch, but not whiskey in general. I just bought a bottle of QC as maybe my 10th bottle of Scotch and first bottle of cask strength anything.

I am finding it undrinkable and want to know if it's a function of my palate, or if maybe I got a bad bottle of the stuff. Is it even possible for a bottle to be off when you buy it? (like wine is sometimes)

When I first opened it, the cork was crumbling, but held together after dropping quite a bit into the bottle. There is no fungus on the cork.

It does not smell anything like any whisky I've tried before. It smells like iodine. I do not mean strong hints of iodine over the recognizable whisky smell, I mean it literally smells like a bottle of iodine, with not even a hint of peat, smoke or whisky.

It also tastes very different to any other whisky I've tried before. It's incredibly harsh, very peppery, but otherwise quite light; not like other islay's at all.

So, is this normal for QC, or should I try and get a refund?

[corbuso]

Iodine is something that you would expect from a Laphroaig and peppery are not unexpected from a quarter cask.
If you have not tried a peaty whisky from Islay before, then this might a surprise from you. Try to give to someone else to taste for a check, if you can.
Some people do not like peaty whiskies and you might be one of them. If so, taste it again in some months.
Whisky is a matter of taste and as you will discover, there is a wide flavour diversity between the whiskies
.......
www.whisky-news.com

[The Third Dram]

It also tastes very different to any other whisky I've tried before. It's incredibly harsh, very peppery, but otherwise quite light; not like other islay's at all.

At the very least, you should be tasting a good dose of vanilla (from the casks) alongside the other flavour characteristics. Have you noticed this trait?

And yes... Laphroaig is its own beast in terms of those medicinal notes.

[dramtastic]

As the other lads have suggested give it a little time.
In the end though, it may just not be your cuppa tea which is fine.

[Knolly]

A good suggestion that I have seen many times over the years is to go find a bottle of Lagavulin 16 year old whilsky: this is a LOT of people's introduction into Islay style whiskies and while super smoky, it doesn't have the medicinal components that Laphroaig whisky has.

So, to me this means it's experiment time for you!

Go to your local neighbourhood whisky bar and pull up these three bottles:

Ardbeg Ten
Lagavulin 16
(regular) Laphroaig 10

Most of us who love Islay whiskies really like the Laphroaig QC because it's a no holds barred good quality islay whisky for a very reasonable price. But the 48% and very ashy / medicinal taste can be off putting to some. Plus, Laphroaig is generally considered to be the whisky that MOST divides whisky drinkers: in fact, their motto has been "love it or hate it" for some time.

So, check out the three basic islay whiskies above and see what you like: if you find one that you like, then experiment more along their lines:

Ardbeg:
Uigeadail (cask strength and sherried)
Corryvrecken (cask strength peaty!)

Lagavulin:
Distillers Edition (Sherried with Pedro Ximenez)
Cask Strength 12 year old

Laphroaig:
18 year old
10year old cask strength (though this is a heavy hitter as well!)

Another AWESOME whisky that you might want to use to transition into Islay whiskies is Talisker. The 10 yo is great and the 18 yo sublime. It has about half - perhaps a little more - of the smoke that the three big Islay whiskies have but is a truly wonderful whisky in its own right. I would venture to bet that a large number of single malt whisky drinkers would pick Talisker 18yo as the ONE whisky that they could take with them to a desert island...

Anyway - good luck on starting a wonderful journey through single malt whisky! I still - to this day - remember my first drinks of Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Lagavulin - all of them magical moments!

[jimlink]

OK thanks all, seems like the bottle is not spoiled or dangerous in any way, which was my primary fear and reason for posting. I was very concerned when I first smelled it, that much iodine is completely unfamiliar to me.

I will keep sipping on it, and hopefully can learn to appreciate it

[Knolly]

OK thanks all, seems like the bottle is not spoiled or dangerous in any way, which was my primary fear and reason for posting. I was very concerned when I first smelled it, that much iodine is completely unfamiliar to me.

I will keep sipping on it, and hopefully can learn to appreciate it

Hum - I' not sure. I think the bottle is probably very, VERY dangerous and in fact you should send it to me so that I can investigate it!

[bredman]

OK thanks all, seems like the bottle is not spoiled or dangerous in any way, which was my primary fear and reason for posting. I was very concerned when I first smelled it, that much iodine is completely unfamiliar to me.

I will keep sipping on it, and hopefully can learn to appreciate it

Strain out those bits of cork with something that won't taint the flavour at all, then find a similarly sized cork to replace the one that perished.