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.
Knew it was something special at the first drink. Smokey and peaty to start with a long lingering finish… You simply can't have just one dram. Lagavulin-16 is a staple in my home, I'm never without.
I have a few whiskeys in my collection and i like them all, but if i had to drink only one forevermore, it would be Lagavulin 16. First bottle was given to me as a gift by my other half. We thought we woudld have an occasional glass, and it would be there for years with many of the other spirits we have in the house but it was gone after 3 weeks. Its more than i would usually spend, but as we enjoyed it so much i have vowed to never be without a bottle and so have purchased a few more. Of all the peated whiskeys its easily the most balanced. The peat is strong, but not overpowering like it so often is in these peated whiskeys. it makes itself known, but gets out of the way for the smooth flavours to come through, and boy is it smooth. The hint of iodine is there towards the end but is complementary rather than offputting, and just adds to the character of this drink. For me, as with most whiskeys its best at room temperature with literally " a drop" of water to balance it all out. You need to try this at least once in your life. if peated whiskeys are your thing, i struggle to see how it cant become a favourite.
Such a wonderful scotch to drink with a good book in front of a fireplace on a snowy day....
I am a fan of Talisker 10 but this scotch raises the bar. Smooth with a magical blend of flavors and complexity.
To the boy that thought he opened a bottle of paint thinner...you should stick to drinking Wild Turkey or perhaps Southern Comfort. With that said to those of you that are looking for a Peaty/Smoky finish, this is for you. The quality and long finish is second to none! This is private stock material!
