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.
Because the are from Texas !! I am enjoying both the Lagavulin-16 and the Laphraoig-18. I have chronic sinus issues so I miss some of the nose and aroma. But I do get the aftertaste and these are very smooth to me.
I had this at Chicago Restaurant in Marietta, Georgia. GREAT!!!!! If you like a "smokey scotch" then you will love this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...but the MOM description seems a bit outdated. The current bottlings actually come across as s bit thin for a 16, and far from the most powerful Islay on the nose. That said, it's beautiful and the bottle gets better as the level descends below the shoulders. The sherry influence - for my tastes - is just about perfect, eliminating entirely the sulphurous pitfalls of many such finishings. But the price!...at $90-$100 in the Carolinas, it's not practical for 'everyday' enjoyment. And...for me the power and glory of Lagavulin resides in the 12 year which unfortunately has crept to $130ish most places. Here's a tip to enjoy them both: Pour off 1/2 of the 16 and add 1-2 tablespoons of the 12, or for the risk adverse, pour 6 ounces into an empty 1/2 pint and add 3/4 tbs. Don't dare call yourself a Lagavulin freak unless you try this...add a little of the 12 or 16 as needed to reach your optimum profile. For times when the staid, diplomatic beauty of the 16 could use a nudge of invigoration, you can now date her red-headed sister. She'll even encourage you - hip, hip! At the $65ish price in the DC area, picking up a case there makes the 16 ia stone-cold winner and currently the best standard bottling of any distillery, IMO.
The only real mans drink, clear alcohols are for rich women on diets
This is not really a review, I'm just completely baffled by one of the reviews on this page - why the fuck would anybody want to mix a $60-80 bottle of Islay malt with coke? Its like getting a fine piece of toro and dipping in ranch dressing. As far as the drink itself, its a masterpiece, IF Islay is your thing. I know many seasoned scotch drinkers that can't palate anything from Islay. I've wasted many fine drams on such drinkers :).
