Lagavulin 16 Year Old is truly a benchmark Islay whisky. It’s loved for its deep, earthy, and maritime character with rich notes of dried fruit, vanilla, and smokiness that comes from Islay peat but is more akin to Lapsang Souchong tea in profile.
Before Lagavulin 16, the distillery did have a 12-year-old single malt. But when Diageo launched the Classic Malt series in the 1980s, Lagavulin 16 Year Old was introduced and became the distillery's flagship bottling. It received a boost in popularity after featuring in Parks and Recreation as a favourite drink of Nick Offerman’s character Ron Swanson. Offerman has since collaborated with the distillery on several occasions.
If you're looking for a food pairing for this beauty, try intensely flavoured salty blue cheeses, which complement the intense, peat-rich, sweet and salty character of this Lagavulin wonderfully.
More like Lapsang Souchong tea than Lapsang Souchong! One of the smokiest noses from Islay. It's big, very, very concentrated, and redolent of iodine, sweet spices, good, mature Sherry and creamy vanilla. Stunning.
Very thick and rich. A massive mouthful of malt and Sherry with good fruity sweetness, but also a wonderful sweetness. Big, powerful peat and oak.
Long, spicy finish, figs, dates, peat smoke, vanilla.
Absolutely delightful. You can tell this scotch has historic experience behind it.
I never knew I liked Scotch until I tried this. Smoke, vanilla, cherry, and... did I mention smoke?
Simply stunning. I get lots of mellow peppery cigar smoke and a sweetness that borders on wine gums! One of the nicest I have ever tasted and definitely the best of the Islays.
I appreciate all the regions and their expressions but no other whisky comes close for me. Sitting in front of the fire with my dog after a day in Scottish mountains, 2 glasses in to a dusty Laga 16. Can't get much better. Ignore the low star reviews bemoaning too smoky or peaty. This is not a dram for some palates. That said, you can't fairly criticise an Islay for having the characteristics of an Islay in the same way you can't criticise a cat for not being a dog (as it were). If you appreciate Islay whisky, know what you are buying and have half an idea what to expect, then you can do no wrong here... beats excellent Ardbeg and Laphroaig equivalents....King to the Islay princes.
All my life I’ve avoided Europe and it’s multitudes of terribleness, but it turns out, much to my surprise there is actually one place in Europe that is worth seeing. These tiny islands off the coast of Scotland where God’s chosen elixirs are distilled, barrelled and prepared for consumption. This is worth the trip.”
