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.
Every time I try any other whiskey I find myself comparing them to this, and so far, without question, no other really compares or makes me smile the way this one does. There's just something about it...
Truly a masterpiece! And its affordable!
Love it 96 out off 100
So glad I bought a bottle of this. I've had very cheap and very expensive scotch before served by people who make over a million dollars a year and this Lag 16 brings your senses to life. People seem to love it or hate it. Having never had a strong Islay before, the initial nose and taste shocked me but was never harsh..always smooth. After a couple sips I really started liking it and experiencing all the nuances.
Usually I buy a bottle of Lagavulin 16 once a year and drink it within a few weeks or so. In the meantime I try all kinds of other whisky and whiskey. From all kinds of continents, though mainly from Scotland, I have to admit :) But the point is: every time I buy that bottle of Lag 16, I open the bottle, drink almost a 3rd of it within the first night and find myself asking: why buy anything else? There was a period when I kind of resented or felt sinful about this whisky, because of its added color. But in the end, I just gave in to the perfection on the palate. I'm being honest to myself: I enjoy drinking this whisky a LOT. And I can still say, without any shame or whatsoever: Lagavulin 16 still is my favourite whisky for enjoyment and there's nothing I can do about it.
