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.
For my money, this is, simply, the best whisky in the world for under $100, perhaps the best period. Most readily carachterized by intense smoke, PEAT, iodine, and sea spray; it smells and tastes like a campfire on a beach -- pure ambrosia.
I had wanted to try Lagavulin for almost 20 years. Honestly, the $100 price made me nervous. When I got my dream job- CIO of a hospital I decided to treat myself. However, I checked here and it seemed the 15 year old Glenlevit in French oak kegs rated slightly higher (at 2/3s the price). Last month I turned 60 and bought the Lagavulin. It is the smoothest single malt I ever tasted. However, I won't buy it again. I suppose my palate is not sophistcated enough, but it tasted like someone took the words smoothest whiskey and then poured in half a bottle of liquid smoke. I think it gave me heartburn. The peat is a little strong too, bit it's the smoke that ruined it for me. As I say- its likely my lack of sophistication. At least it did not set off the smoke detectors.
I finally got my hands on this and opened it up last weekend. The nose is very very concentrated, almost overpowering everything else with the seaweed/iodine flavors. But wait... a definite whiff of vanilla sweetness emerges? The palate is more raw seaside than other great Islays - has an edgier feel, more briny, seaweed-y. Then the smooth sweetness takes over with the peat lurking in the background. A hint of meat? The finish is spicy, smoky. Aaah...if on a winter's night a traveler... walked in tired and weary, put his feet up beside a fire and savored a dram.... Compared to the Ardberg 10, this is more "wild ocean"...the 10 is sweeter, fruitier if you will. Compared to the Ugi - the Ugi is more quicksilver with all the coffee, cocoa, and brown sugar notes. This seems to be the perfect balance between a Laph 10 (which I find unrefined beyond a point, sorry) and the Ardberg 10. 4.5 solid stars
Very balanced smokey leathery sweetness, I've never tasted anything like this.
A perfectly balanced single malt , smooth and has a great finish! So glad someone recommended it.. Getting hooked !
