Càrn Mòr Williamson [Laphroaig] 2010 Strictly Limited

The Maker

The Càrn Mòr range of independent bottlings is part of the Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers company. Starting out as Victorian grocers, the Morrison family company has gone through many guises over the years and is perhaps best known as Morrison & Mackay. Over the decades they’ve been involved with several distilleries, from Bowmore on Islay to Auchentoshan on the outskirts of Glasgow. Having sold on those concerns the latest rebrand came in 2020 following their opening of the new Aberargie Distillery.

While we await some releases from Aberargie, the company is pushing forward with a three stage Càrn Mòr range. First, we have the ‘Strictly Limited’ series which includes a wide range of affordable annual releases of small batches all bottled at 47.5%. Next there’s the ‘Celebration of the Cask’ range which includes single cask (at cask strength) releases for those with a budget in the hundreds. Finally, we have the ‘Family Reserve’ series which are likely to be well out of reach of the average drinker as they will be some extremely limited single cask releases.

The Expression

Several months ago, I reviewed Càrn Mòr's latest Caol Ila release, which I described as one of the most enjoyable whiskies I've had in the last year. Following a series of recommendations from the community I've followed it up with this ten-year old Williamson which was also among the 2021 release slate.

The Williamson name might be unfamiliar to some readers as it's the alternative name given to Laphroaig whiskies when their casks have been passed on to independent bottlers such as Morrison. This is a decision taken by Laphroaig's owners - Japanese whisky giant Beam Suntory - to protect the Laphroaig brand from dilution.

This step is in contrast to most other Scotch distilleries which don't seem to mind when companies like Morrison set out to do something a bit different with their casks. But considering the bottle states that it was "distilled at Laphroaig distillery" one wonders at what impact the name change really has other than cause minor confusion among potential customers.

Perhaps more interesting however, is why the Williamson name was chosen. Bessie Williamson was one of the biggest names in Laphroaig's history as owner and distillery manager from the mid 1950s through to the early 1970s. She was instrumental in building the Laphroaig brand into one of the world's leading producers and famously introduced it into the American market. Laphroaig have themselves honoured her in one of their recent 25-year-old release which they subtitled 'the Bessie Williamson Story'. Having tried that once at the distillery I can confirm that it's one of the nicest Laphroaigs available.

While this Càrn Mòr release isn't aimed at that age or price point, it is nonetheless a decade old creation that was matured Sherry Hogshead casks. Hogsheads being an increasingly common cask size at around 240ltrs, a little larger than a Standard Barrel. This has the effect increasing the whisky to wood ratio inside the cask so the whisky tends to take on a more mellow flavour. This is in contrast to the approach taken by Sweden's Mackmyra distillery discussed in a previous review, where their cold climate drives them to use smaller casks with a low whisky to wood ratio so speed up maturation. Laphroaig famously do something similar themselves with the popular Quarter Cask release, which is naturally the size of a quarter of a barrel at 50ltrs.

This Càrn Mòr release is limited to 1052 bottles, and as you'd expect non-chill filtered and all natural colour. As mentioned above this series is all released at 47.5%.

The Neck Pour

Upon opening that classic Laphroaig peat-smoke is abundant. It's one of those unmistakable great whisky smells. It's accompanied by several other familiar notes from the seaside saltiness, smoked fish and burnt hay. But there is a softer side to it too. The whole profile a more mellow than comparable Laphroaig releases from the ever faithful ten-year-old through to the Lore (which is increasingly being seen as the benchmark Laphroaig release). I presume this is the sherry influence as there is a well-balanced sweetness coming through on the end.

The initial taste however does not quite live up to this set of aromas. While not in any way unpleasant the initial feel is as if a note is missing in the flavour. You get the initial smokiness and a long smooth finish, but the middle flavour points seem to be lacking. The only thing I can think of comparing it to if you've ever made a batch of homebrew from hops you have left over and you didn't have either enough flavouring or bittering hops to balance the batch. In this state the whisky ends up being a rather curious beast and not something I was expecting. Perhaps some more time left to breath is needed.

As a means of comparison, I opened this alongside a sample of the 2021 PX Cairdeas release. While the PX gives you a much stronger kick in the pallet as you'd expect from a PX at cask strength, the Càrn Mòr, even in this initial state, still has a lot more subtle complexity. As a result, i'd still much rather be drinking it than the Cairdeas, especially over a whole bottle.

The Body

I've returned to this bottle a fair few times over the past few weeks (which perhaps is a stronger endorsement than anything else I could say) and can confirm that the flavour has filled out following some time to breath - something to bear in mind should you ever find yourself with a dram of it.

That previously missing note has been filled in by a mellow bonfire of peat and something i'm struggling to place. It reminds me a little of an old geology exam I sat in university where a particular rock type I had to identify had a very pronounced taste. I can still remember licking all of those rocks in search of those two extra marks. Maybe an easier explanation is that it's like licking a sea cliff (on the assumption more readers have done that!). Alongside that there's the sweeter vanilla and caramel flavoured delivered by the sherry hogshead.

So far this bottle has matured into something much more expected from a Laphroaig, but with that additional subtle complexity you'd expect from an indi bottler.

Final Thoughts

Finishing the bottle i'm left considering where this would fit into the wider Laphroaig range. Throughout the bottle the taste has been far more mellow than what i'm used to from similarly aged Laphroaigs. But there is also more complexity once the bottle has opened up a bit. I guess that's a natural consequence of allowing a small number of casks (I'm guessing no more than four Hogsheads were used based on the numbers) to form the expression rather than the huge numbers Laphroaig must you to achieve the perfected flavours of their output.

From a price point that can only be a good thing given that to achieve something similar from a standard Laphroaig release you'd be talking well over £100 a bottle when this Càrn Mòr retailed at around £50, but is now very hard to get and is therefore selling for around £70 if you can find it. But if you can find it, it's well worth a try.