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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Hey. Have no idea what Lagavulin 16 yo tastes like. But I do like a peaty whiskey. I ran across a reference to Lagavulin in a crime thriller I’m reading and hit LOOK UP on my iPad, because I didn’t recognize the reference, and here I am!
J'ai goûté pendant les fêtes une bouteille de Lagavulin 16 ans que j'avais achetée il y a quelques mois. Certes, ce n'est pas un mauvais whisky, mais il n'est plus que l'ombre du colosse qu'il était encore il y a dix ou vingt ans. Lagavulin n'est d'ailleurs pas un cas isolé. Des whiskies tels que Talisker, Highland Park ou Macallan, qui étaient de pures délices, ont perdu leur caractère au fil des ans. La qualité baisse tandis que la production explose, sans parler du prix... Pour revenir à Lagavulin, il est devenu assez fin et léger. La richesse gustative s'est estompée et le rapport qualité-prix est médiocre. Il vaut mieux se tourner vers Ardbeg, Caol Ila ou Laphroaig qui eux ont conservé une certaine authenticité et sont moins chers.
The peat is just right, strong but not overpowering. The finish is smooth and subtle; sweet, fruity and delicious.
Good finish. Peaty. But don’t take vanilla or dates
Best single malt, not easily found in Mexico, but every time I offer a glass to a friend a new fan is created
