Up next in 10
2022 Laphroaig Càirdeas ’Warehouse 1’ Review and the First Booker’s Single Barrel Bourbon!?
May 10, 2026
I'm reviewing the 2022 release of Laphroaig Càirdeas, Warehouse 1. This Scotch was aged in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels from Maker's Mark in the iconic Warehouse 1 that bares their namesake on the Islay Coast. Coming in at 52.2% ABV and $90, how does this year's Cairdeas compare to last year's Cask Strength PX Sherry release? I'm also sharing the news of the first Booker's Single Barrel Bourbon from the Jim Beam Distillery. This 'Second Chance Batch' is a collaboration between Fred Noe and the Medicinal Whiskey Charity to support the UK Transplant Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites Podcast, I'm reviewing the 2022 release of Laphroaig Cargis and talking
0:05
about the very first single barrel of Booker's Bourbon. Say what? Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bites Podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming
0:22
twist. I'm your host Clifton and today we are drinking a whiskey that comes to us from
0:27
Scotland this is the latest release of Laphroaig Cargis which is their limited release bottle that
0:33
comes out every year so for 2022 they came out with Warehouse One this release is a tribute to
0:39
the iconic warehouse sitting on the Islay coast that bears the Laphroaig name so when you look
0:44
at photos of the Laphroaig distillery you see the big warehouse with the big black letters Laphroaig
0:49
this is Warehouse One so all the whiskey from this release came from Warehouse One but not only
0:56
that this was all aged in x maker's mark barrels now typically lephroig is aged in x bourbon barrels
1:02
so it's not necessarily a special finish other than the fact that these are exclusively maker's
1:07
mark barrels so we might be seeing some of the influence of a weeded bourbon compared to some
1:11
of what we typically see from an x bourbon cask this is also released at 52.2 abv so i believe it
1:19
doesn't necessarily say cast strength on the label here but it says it is a fixed strength so we know
1:24
this is significantly above the 43% of the standard LeFroig 10, and it's also a little
1:29
bit below the typical LeFroig 10 cast strength edition. So I would say this is pretty close to
1:34
cast strength. By the way, the PX release from last year is one of my absolute favorite peated
1:40
scotches in existence. I actually tried a little bit of it earlier today just to kind of get my
1:45
palette set for that one. I know it's going to be pretty different since that one is a PX Sherry
1:49
finish, but I kind of wanted to remind myself what I loved about that one. And unfortunately
1:53
that one didn't place in my top 10 of last year when I made a list for YouTube but thinking back
1:58
I almost feel like it should have at least been like on the list I definitely included it in my
2:03
runners up but I think it should have at least um been in the top 10 because it is absolutely
2:09
delicious as someone that really loves a peated scotch with a really strong um finish on it like
2:14
the sherry finish I fell in love with the PX cask last year so this one has a big reputation to
2:20
stand up to. Of course, it's not going to be anywhere nearly as fruity or rich, and sherry
2:27
focuses that one. But hopefully this is a pretty dang good whiskey from Lafroig. So let's go to get
2:33
that poured. Now I do want to mention that this is a sample bottle that I may have snuck out of my
2:41
local whiskey group's meetup. Just kidding, I did ask permission. This comes from my friend Sally
2:46
who goes by WhiskeyGal on Instagram. She was one of the first people I ever saw with this bottle
2:51
so you knew I had to ask for a sample to review. So thank you, Sally, for the sample
2:57
Now the description here on the website says that this is aged in first fill, ex marked barrels and it dials up the quintessential Laphroaig taste It says classic flavors are elevated by a coastal character that can only come from sea spray and storms It a match made in Islay So I know it kind of a debated topic
3:13
of whether the ocean elements actually do affect the whiskey. I think that's kind of, you know
3:18
a lot of marketing teams like to say, oh, this was aged right on the coast of Islay
3:23
But does that actually influence the taste? I will say, a lot of time
3:26
I do get a briny note out of peated scotch. And, you know, you could say it's just, you know
3:30
the grains or how they age it but i don't know i think there is some truth to that now whether or
3:36
not this warehouse being a little bit closer to the coast compared to the rest of the little
3:39
foray warehouses is is the issue i don't know for sure i have a strong connection with the smell of
3:45
just like ocean air i grew up going to the beach every year we love to just walk on the harbor
3:50
so i'm very very familiar with that kind of briny ocean sea smell and i love when i can find it in
3:56
of whiskeys. So hopefully I find it in this one. Let's go and give it a nose. I don't know necessarily
4:01
that it brings out the briny element, but it does smell like a really good Laphroaig. Now
4:06
we don't have an age statement on this one. I would assume it's older than the 10-year Laphroaig
4:10
but with it not having the age statement, it actually could be younger. That could also
4:14
attribute to the fact that it's amping up the flavors. Typically, younger peated whiskey
4:18
are a lot more peat forward. So this could be a younger release. I wish I had some clarity on that
4:23
But pricing-wise, you know, regular LeFroig 10 is about $55 in my area
4:27
The cast-trength version of LeFroig 10, which is, again, 10-year age-dated, that one's $80, and this one is $90
4:33
But, of course, it is a limited release. It does have some special characteristics about it, like the X-Makers Mark Barrels and the specific warehouse at age
4:40
So that also attributes to the price. But at $90 for a limited release, I think that's a pretty solid deal
4:46
The peat on this definitely reads earthy. It kind of leans towards the kind of mossy element
4:50
that's not something I traditionally find on Lafroaig normally I go in the more iodine kind
4:54
of direction but to me it has a bit of like an earthy woody characteristic that is most likely
4:59
coming from those X Maker's Mark barrels but all in all it's a lovely dark peaty nose and I can't
5:05
wait to give it a sip so cheers wow very different from last year which is a given it has sweetness
5:14
though I wasn't expecting so much sweetness and it's almost like a honey sweetness on this one And that's a note that I've never gotten on Lafroigue
5:20
That's kind of freaking me out a little bit. It's like a wildflower honey, not necessarily like a generic honey
5:26
but the actual floral elements that impact the honey. I'm a bit of a honey fan, so I can pull out wildflower honey versus typical clover honey
5:35
But man, is that a flavorful whiskey. That peat definitely hits up front, though
5:39
It is a big, bold Lafroigue. And I think it definitely tastes like more traditional Lafroigue up front
5:45
but it's the finish and the mid-palette that have these different characteristics I've never noticed before
5:51
Now, in general, with Scotch, I'm not the biggest fan of ex-bourbon casks
5:55
I much prefer, I mean, of course, you know, use some of them for things, but I prefer, like, further maturation in, like, sherry cask
6:01
I think that really brings Scotch to the next level for me personally. So this though it really impressing me with those sweet honey elements that I never had on a peated Scotch before I really trying to find that briny that sea air note that they really highlighting in the description I don necessarily
6:18
pull that out more on this whiskey. I've definitely noticed that more on other peated scotches like
6:23
Lagavulin or even Talisker. Those are definitely a lot more sea air briny for me. But this though
6:30
it's just a really solid Laphroaig. I think the finish really makes this one. If you would have
6:35
told me this was using some kind of honey barrel, I probably would believe you with that finish
6:39
I didn't mention, but color-wise, I mean, this is a stark contrast to last year, which was
6:42
one of the darkest whiskeys I own. This is very light, very traditional Laphroaig
6:47
and it makes sense with those ex-bourbon casks. Although we are seeing that this is first fill
6:51
so it's a little light in terms of my experience with those, but it's still a really nice color
6:56
It's like a very light pale yellow. It's almost like a Chardonnay. The card just line just has
7:01
impressed me year over year not necessarily saying this is better than the past couple years because
7:05
in my opinion i really preferred those over this one but i still see it as a really solid whiskey
7:11
my rating system here is out of eight because we love all things eight bit so i would probably give
7:16
this one considering price considering you know availability i would give this a six out of eight
7:23
for me personally now if you are a big fan of ex-bourbon casks you don't like the sherry finish
7:28
stuff that I'm a fan of, you would probably give this a 7 or 8. But for my palate, this is a 6
7:33
maybe leaning towards 6.5 just because of how good it is. And the fact that it's 90 bucks
7:38
it's pretty available. I could see myself picking up a bottle of this. I would rather seek out a
7:43
bottle of last year's release, the PX, which on my scale would have absolutely got a 7.5 or 8 out
7:48
of 8, I'll be real. I definitely feel like I have more experience now than I did back then in terms
7:53
of tasting peated scotches. But yeah, this is a really solid release. And if you love an ex-bourbon
7:58
cask, especially with peated scotches, pick this one up because you will not be disappointed
8:03
So thank you again, Sally, for the sample. I always love trying new things and finding a local whiskey
8:08
group is really important and getting a chance to expand your palate a bit. I love meeting up with
8:12
these guys. But if you don't have a local group and you are looking for a community to share your
8:16
love of whiskey with, you should consider joining our Whiskey and Gaming Lounge Discord server. I
8:20
know I mentioned a lot but this is where I hang out with my community on a daily basis we do random
8:25
hangouts we do our patreon hangouts there's a VIP lounge for our patrons so much fun go to
8:29
bourbonbites.com see a link to it down at the bottom everyone's welcome to join such a fun
8:34
community I know I've been plugging it a lot lately but I really love growing it and it's just such a
8:38
great community so shout out to all of the members of the discord server y'all are the best all right
8:42
so I'm going to keep this episode light just because this is a really busy week for me I've
8:47
been interviewing with a company that I'm really, really hopeful that I can get the position with
8:51
them. It definitely would be a really good next step in my career. So I am pooped. I've been
8:56
interviewing for five hours over the last two days. It's a lot. So I'm just going to give you
9:00
one piece of news that I think is kind of breaking the internet right now. And that is the very first
9:04
Booker's single barrel release from Jim Beam. Now, don't get too excited. This is a very
9:10
very limited release There are only 175 bottles of it And it was done for a charitable cause So this release is called the Second Chance Batch It is a collaboration with the Medicinal Whiskey Charity which is a 501c3 organization and it is a tribute from Fred Noe
9:26
to the UK healthcare system there in Kentucky. So he says on the bottle that this is a first for my
9:31
dad's bourbon. We picked it specifically for my friends at UK Health Center who gave me a new lease
9:37
on life. They're some of the finest people I know. So we collected a single barrel of the finest
9:42
Booker's bourbon we could find. So apparently Fred No went through a medical procedure where he had
9:47
to get a organ transplant from the team at UK Health and he was so grateful for how well the
9:53
team handled it that he wanted to give back. So he partnered with the Medicinal Whiskey Charity
9:58
to auction off this bottle and the funds raised will go to support the UK Transplant Center. So
10:04
let's talk about this bottle. First of all, it is a blue label, a first of its kind in the Booker's
10:10
line. It's kind of reminiscent of a Booker's Rye, of course, just blue. And the label on it says
10:15
this is called Second Chance Batch. And it features an illustration of Fred Noe and I believe his wife
10:21
on the label. This one comes in at 61.8% ABV, 123.6 proof. It is a seven-year-old, six-month
10:29
and 17-day barrel. Now, you know with Booker's, it's normally a batch. So we're normally seeing
10:34
the youngest whiskey in here. So right now, we are seeing one of the oldest Booker's releases
10:39
in a long, long time. I mean, this is a seven-year, six-month release
10:43
I think the latest batch for 2022 is seven years, one month, and that's the oldest one
10:47
in a while as well. So this is a pretty dang old Bookers. This one comes from Warehouse D Floor 4, and like I said earlier, it is one of 175 bottles
10:57
So I love a whiskey with a good cause. So reading this story definitely was inspiring
11:03
It was great seeing the Jim Beam Distillery supporting healthcare workers with this bottle, but I'm a little jealous because I really wish I could get my hands on it I'm sure this is going
11:10
to go for thousands of dollars like I said for a good cause so no no hate there but dang I wish I
11:16
could taste a single barrel bookers I mean bookers is kind of I've been a conversation topic for here
11:21
on the podcast and just among my friend group with the rising cost and the lowering age but this of
11:27
course is a different story I love me some Knob Creek single barrel picks I love me some Baker
11:31
single barrel. I can't imagine how good a booker's select single barrel would be. So you can learn
11:38
more about that in the auction itself on the Medicinal Whiskey Charity website. It's also on
11:42
their Facebook page, which is where I saw this news. But you know what? Good for them and good
11:47
for using whiskey to support good causes. I hope we see more of that. So with that, that does it for
11:52
this week's episode. Thank you for your patience with the shorter episode. I promise to get back to
11:56
longer. I mean, not long. Y'all know my episodes are typically, you know, under 20-ish minutes
12:01
So thank you for dealing with this shorter episode. Make sure to rate and review on your favorite podcast platform
12:06
But until next time, this has been the Bourbon Bites Podcast. Cheers, and I'll talk to you next episode
#Food & Drink
#food