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.
In one word: GENIUS! ~jL
If you like smoke and peat, with a hint of sweetness (sherry), you will love this! It has an outside, seaside savour to it. Don't listen to negative reviews. Can't imagine anyone who really appreciates good scotch not appreciating this. It is a favorite among many long-time scotch drinkers.
I must have been looking for like months before I found this totally awesome whisky. The USA of course makes the most epic whiskies but this is totally not bad. I would give it like 8 out of 10 and rate it as high as like a Jim Beam. Big Jim - Kentucky
Agreed, a mediocre Islay malt. Was great when I starting out in the world of single malts but somehow lacking now.
This is a very smooth flavoursome scotch,but I find it so overwhelmingly smokey,so as to be undrinkable.Deeply disappointed. Can any one suggest how to mitigate the smokiness?
