The third edition, The Beithir’s Tale 15 Years Old is the last of the Anthology has been aged for 15 years in a special designer charred bourbon casks, air-seasoned, heavily toasted and then lightly charged

AGE – 15 Years Old

COLOUR – Pale Straw

NOSE – Pungent, oily and spicy, rich notes of treacle wrap around creosote and smoked herbs. Toasted apples and raisins reveal a sweeter
underbelly. With water, eucalyptus and menthol burst forth as fennel and pine trail behind.

TASTE – Astoundingly balanced, a sizzling mouthfeel leads into peat smoke, coffee grits and currents. Sweet lemon balsam entwines with smoked mandarins, followed by a sharp, smoky tang.

FINISH – Finally, a long, meandering finish brings with it subtle hints of vanilla and smoked butter.

Sweet vanilla and dry cured meat aromas.  Peat smoke undertones are complemented by banana and apricot.

Ripe Banana, kiwi and vibrant hints of fresh citrus, leading to a long, sweet and smoky finish.

The flavour of Islay untamed

No more than 60 casks will make up each batch. Each cask is selected for the notes it will bring to the whisky. Each batch will have a unique code and shows the cask breakdown which enables the recipient, each year, to contrast, compare and explore the different notes that the wood and blending brings to this Islay Scotch Whisky. #01-2023 uses the cask selection to create layers of sweetness, zest intertwined with the classic smoke of Islay.

TASTING NOTES

Bursts of zesty citrus and black pepper, evolving to toasted bread, marmalade, and smoke. On the palate, it’s fresh with salt, lime, and spices, while the finish lingers with spice, smoke, and toffee-like richness.

NON CHILL–FILTERED | NO ADDED COLOURING

THIS ITEM WILL SHIP FROM OUR HAMILTON WAREHOUSE.

In just a fraction of a second, this bottling takes us to Laphroaig to breathe in the particularly invigorating salty sea air. Next, acting as a link between the peat and the other ingredients of the aroma and flavour palette, incredibly smooth dark chocolate brings us irresistibly towards the malting floors filled with the utterly divine fragrances of germinating barley.

Nose: clean, complex. On the first nose, traces of rubber, intense smoke and gentian root dig furrows into an anthracite-coloured peat. Allowed to breathe, this peat becomes more oily and medicinal (band-aid, merbromin), salty and even hot (cayenne). Gradually, the gamy character takes over (smoked fish and bacon). At the same time, the aromatic palette is undeniably jaunty, spring-like and bright.

Palate: powerful, lively. On the attack, blocks of chocolatey peat roll across the palate. Immediately after, iodine tincture and mustard seed bring lots of vitality. The mid-palate is a subtle mixture of herbaceous (hay, malted barley), fruity (pear, Golden Delicious) and vanilla sequences. At the end of the palate, a subtle liqueur of acacia honey and roasted pineapple unctuously floods the entire palette of flavours.

Finish: long, generous. In archetypal Laphroaig style, the start of the finish is peaty/chocolatey, fruity, iodine and phenolic (hydrocarbon, sleet). Rooted in its terroir (gentian, ginger), in a mineral-rich soil. A handful of dried fruits (almond, walnut) and citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit) dominate the very dynamic end of the palate. On the retro-nasal olfaction, coconut milk, ash and aromatic plants (sage, verbena) stand out for their intensity. The empty glass is vegetal (Havana cigar) and chocolatey.

Ardbeg Grooves was released in celebration of Ardbeg Day 2018, and as ever, the Islay-based distillers have created a most intriguing expression. Part of the whisky that makes up Grooves was matured in red wine casks that were very well-charred, resulting in heavy grooves in the surface of the wood. A mellow though flavoursome dram.

Nose: A thick, spiced aroma of iodine, seaweed and golden syrup leads among a herbal note of lavender. An earthy funk from damp bonfire wood, old oak and dried grass is complemented by lighter touches of butterscotch, stone fruits and a little marzipan icing.

Palate: Vanilla fudge, toffee popcorn and tarred orchard fruits rise through a big, salty opening. Savoury BBQ notes of cured Italian meats are percolated by paprika, green chilli and scorched herbs. Antique leather and damp oak form an interesting backdrop.

Finish: Seaside bonfire and smoked salts percolate through a mellow sweetness.

For this release, Ardbeg used more grist and less water in the mashing stage to increase the concentration of the fermentable sugars.

In the subsequent fermentation stage, this created a fruitier juicer wash, and when distilled, it generated a fruitier style of New Make Spirit.


Colour
Bright Gold

Aroma
An explosion of fruity, estery notes, reminiscent of smoked bubblegum, fuse with whiffs of ripening barley and toasted sourdough bread. A splash of water reveals dense, sweet, and aromatic peat smoke, accompanied by gently smoked tropical fruits.

Taste

A rich, creamy mouthfeel drifts into sharp, sooty and spicy notes of creosote, aniseed, and clove. Tempered by the distinct sweetness of muscovado sugar, robust woody notes orbit rich charcoal.

Finish
Finally, in an almost infinite finish, earthy peat moss fuses with sizzling bonfire embers.

This new expression from Kilchoman has seen their spirit fully matured in ex-Cognac casks from Tonellerie Bossuet (France). 

These casks impart a herbaceous, sweet and spicy character that balances against the robust peat smoke character of the whisky. The palate carries a toasted oakyness, with lush fruit laced with crystalised ginger warmth.

 A tang of citrus oil lifts through the smoke and sweet wood in the finish.

This exceptional single cask whisky from Bruichladdich, bottled exclusively for New Zealand, offers a truly unique tasting experience. A careful blend of concerto and propino barley, it has been matured for 8 years in second-fill French oak barrels. The result is a whisky that beautifully balances the influence of the wood with the natural character of the barley.

"Since 1815, each Laphroaig Distillery Manager has been the custodian of the craft to make the richest single malt in the world. Over the years, each has passed on their skills and traditions to the next generation to continue this legacy. To honour this passing of knowledge, our Distillery Manager John Campbell has created Laphroaig Lore, the richest ever Laphroaig. Lore, meaning the passing of a skill or tradition through word of mouth, is the story of how we make Laphroaig, encapsulating the craft passed down from generation to generation over two centuries. ‘Lore’ is a marriage of classical Laphroaig styles and many ages of Laphroaig; some as old as vintage 1993. 

The marriage draws from the peaty power of Laphroaig with the smoothness of double matured stock finished in European oak hogsheads. Let us share with you the crafts behind this stunningly complex expression. To create Lore we used both American oak and European oak. The former smaller barrels give the strong rich peaty flavours and a longer maturation for the large European Hogsheads until all the deep complexities are slowly released from the wood. Stored in our old dunnage warehouse beside the Atlantic the briny sea air replaces the ‘Angels share’ in the barrels over the ‘long sleep’." 

Alc 48%

This unique expression from Laphroaig combines the unforgettable flavour of our 10 year old whisky with the sweet, aromatic flavours from the Oloroso sherry casks.

This marriage of casks creates a rich, full bodied flavour with notes of Manuka honey, bacon and maple syrup alongside the classic smoke, seaweed and hint of salt that Laphroaig is known and loved for.

The European oak sherry casks are carefully selected to compliment the unique and much-loved taste of Laphroaig. The additional sweetness and character of the Oloroso casks add complexity and balance to create a unique and exciting expression, but one that stays true to the character of Laphroaig.

The 2018 entry in Laphroaig's yearly limited edition series is one of the distillery's oldest releases yet ? a 28-year-old whisky. It's a carefully selected mixture of casks, bringing together quarter casks, ex-bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry butts. It's picked up a reputation as being the best yet in the series, combining the distillery's medicinal smoke character with the fruitiness that many of its older bottles show.

44.4% ABV l 700mL

With age comes more character, an incredibly balanced dram. This mature blend has complex spice, gentle peat and tobacco-like notes perfectly balanced with dried fruits and nutty undertones.