Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Laphroaig Quarter Cask starts out life like any other Laphroaig. After distillation it gets lovingly placed in to an ex-bourbon barrel where it lives a quite life. Then, right as it’s getting comfortable in it’s American Oak home (around the 5 year mark), along come the distillery crew and they evict the liquid from it’s spacious bourbon barrels, split it up and force it into specially made quarter casks for the final 7-8 months of it’s maturation process.

The smaller cask means that it has 30% more contact with the wood which helps it mature more quickly and gives it a deeper, woodier and more complex flavor and aroma than is normally found in a 5-6 year old scotch. The inspiration for this unique approach, in case you were wondering, did not come from the growing practice of small barrel maturing in craft distillers. It came from the past. 200 years ago these small casks are how farmers and bootleggers were able to easily transport, and hide, their casks of whisky.