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.
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I have quite a few Islas in my cupboard, including the Laphroaig 15, Sherrry 10 YO, Bunahabain, Rare Malts Coal Isla, Ardbeg 1978. The 78 Ardbeg runs it close, but the Lagavullin 16 is till my favourite ( bought it 20 years ago, so may be better than current offerings)
My go to single malt. Lovely peaty whiskey. I drink it with a tiny splash of water.
I'm a huge Islay fan and had been waiting to finally try the very highly rated Lagavulin 16...it's really, really great, but I think ever so slightly anticlimactic after so often hearing it heralded so highly. Personally I prefer the Ardbeg Uigeadail and also the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte. Still a solid 4.5 stars though.
This is the GOAT. Not much else to say. Pound for pound the best whisky on the market. It's at the premium end of most casual budgets. But this is the one! If you fall on the 'hell yes' side of the peated whisky, marmite-style, fence - then this is the one. This is not to everyone's taste, and perhaps there are better whiskies out there, but I promise you won't find them at this price. A timeless legend.
Smoke rather than peat on the nose. Bit of salt, but mostly smoke and sherried sweetness. Sherried fruit on the palate with developing taste of tanin, smoke, oak and salt. Very well-rounded with layers of different flavours. Long finish with lasting sweetness. Great scotch, shame it's gotten so expensive (though still not like Japanese brands).
