Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 Feis Ile 200th Anniversary
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 Càirdeas 2015, a Limited Edition to celebrate 200 years of Laphroaig, in celebration of the 2015 Feis Ile.
Fèis Ìle, also known as the Islay Festival of Music and Malt had humble beginnings. It traces its 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.
Nose: Campfire peat smoke with maritime and earthy notes, vanilla, citrus and oak aromas.
Taste: Strong medicinal smoke, green apple, vanilla, herbs, a tart background.
Finish: Long dense smoky cloud with an acidic plume.
