Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/913027
{ SOMMjournal.com } 111 LAPHROAIG QA CASK Available exclusively via travel retail, QA Cask is named after the white oak (Quercus alba) of North America. It's double matured—once in used bourbon barrels and finished in charred American white oak. "Basically, we'll get the casks from Maker's Mark before it goes to Maker's Mark, so this is virgin American oak," Campbell said. "You'll find a fragrant aromatic on this one—a lot of tannins that you don't get in a lot of Scotch whisky just because this is a virgin American cask, and some real floral and grassy notes." LAPHROAIG QUARTER CASK While introducing this expression, Campbell held up one of the miniature barrels used to make Laphroaig's cooperage program a little more tangible. "There are 42 staves in a cask; in a quarter cask there are 28, so we remove a third of the staves," he explained. "The result is more surface area" at 125 liters, as opposed to a 200-liter American oak barrel. Like most Laphroaig expressions, Quarter Cask begins life in a once-used bourbon barrel, but after around five years (the distillery's usual minimum is ten) they move the whisky into the smaller quarter cask for seven months to expedite maturation. "What happens is you get a real wood infusion of fresh American oak," Campbell added. "You're going to get much more vanilla—also, really ashy. After I drink Quarter Cask, I always feel like I've just licked an ashtray, and what's more, I liked it." LAPHROAIG TRIPLE WOOD Attendees' collective favorite (and Campbell's, too) was the Triple Wood. It's aptly named for the triple-maturation process in ex-bourbon barrels, American white oak, and 250-liter (63-gallon) hogsheads seasoned with Oloroso Sherry, Campbell said, once again holding up the largest of the miniature bar - rels. "This is thinkin' whisky; this is not sit-down-and-switch-off whisky. This is not even sharing whisky, I would say," he added with a laugh. LAPHROAIG PX CASK Like the Triple Wood, this whisky is first matured in ex- bourbon barrels, then in quarter casks, and finally in large hogshead 250-liter barrels. It then takes a different turn as it's seasoned with Pedro Ximénez (PX) Sherry. "PX is a very strong flavor," Campbell said. "This is like smoky raisins in a glass." LAPHROAIG SELECT Not just a combination of American and European casks but a combination of styles, the Laphroaig Select was chosen and named by the "Friends of Laphroaig"—a sort of loyalty program that's even involved in some of decision-making at the distillery. "To me, Select is a really different Laphroaig because we've got five different styles of wood, as well as all these different ages, different cask styles, and different oak flavors that will compress some of the smoke flavors, so it won't taste as peaty," Campbell said. John Campbell, Distillery Manager at Laphroaig, visits Wally's in Beverly Hills, CA. Toasts by JOHN CAMPBELL, Distillery Manager, Laphroaig I must go down to the sea today, I must go down to the sky, and all I'll ask is for the Laphroaig Cask and some good friends to drink it dry. Here's to us, there's none like us; damn the rest. There are good ships and there are wood ships. These are ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friend- ships and may they always be. cigar" flavor. Meanwhile, in the distillery, seven bulbous copper stills pass by before finally arriving at the barrel room, where the whisky-filled wooden vessels sleep restlessly to the sound of a tumultuous sea. Campbell was right—it's easier to understand why Laphroaig tastes the way it does after even just a quasi-trip to the island (and I did manage to forget how ridiculous I looked). It wasn't all virtual, though; the most memorable and genuine part of the adventure waited at each place setting in the form of five honey-colored expressions of Laphroaig. No one was more equipped to plot this course of exploration than Campbell, a native of Islay and Laphroaig's first local at the helm of the brand in its 200-year history. Josh Saphier, bartender at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, tells The SOMM Journal, "Laphroaig to me has always been this sort of in-your-face peaty profile, and just tasting the different expressions today made me realize they actually have a very wide spectrum of flavor profiles."