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 me it started with that smokey peat and laughably I definitely got bacon, some back palet of fruit and the sherry notes come through nicely. I feel this one is lovely but not rich or bold enough for me. Aberlour a'bunadh and Nikka fr m the barrel have been my latest treats so maybe I have been used to bigger lately but I still feel it needs more.
I love my Islay whiskies and this has taken the reins as the best I have had. The balance is perfect between all the elements and it is wonderfully smooth. I could smell this whisky all night.
One of the best ones
wonderfully rich and smokey, if I had to choose a whiksey that I have to drink for the rest of my life this would be the one.
First experience with an Islay. Found it to be very distinctive and rich. Wonderful peaty-smoke nose and a burst of flavor on the first sip. Definitely will imbibe again in the near future.
