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.
Until I've tasted my first sip of Laga 16 YO ( it was 15 years ago or even more) it's stil the best. Only a little bit better than other whisky from Islay, but still first place...
I was never a Sctoch drinker until I had my first sip of Lagavulin. I always considered myself to be a bourbon drinker; I thought I liked the sweeter flavors that bourbons had to offer. Much like another reviewer stated though, I picked up a bottle on a whim courtesy of my new friend, Ron Swanson. Kind of an expensive whim but well worth it. I took my time with it and really tried to understand it by sipping it slow and trying to appreciate the flavors it had to offer. I was blown away! I discounted scotches before because I had always tried blended scotches or lower grade highland malts and was turned off by the peat taste. Big mistake! I've been missing out on so much for a while now! I've been exploring scotches ever since and this is quickly becoming one of my favorite!! Ironically, Islay malts are by far my favorite, despite the considerably stronger smoke/peat flavors!
If you like peated whisky this is the best in my opinion. It is smoother than many and I like that. Its very well made and I would fully recomend it. Johnny Norfolk
I like Islay malts... I like them all... they are like beautiful women each with their own charm... this one was the brunette that curls up under your arm in from of the fire... and the finish is quite memorable...
If you like something a bit different then this is it. The moment I opened the bottle I was immediately struck by the smell of something I haven't experienced in years - medical plasters! Hoping I hadn't purchased a dud, I persevered, and am happy that I did. Make no mistake, the iodine really is pretty powerful - at first it reminded me of the doctor's surgery and wasn't sure I wanted to put my lips to the glass. However, things get better, and the complexity of the liquid really comes through, with serious amounts of smoke, vanilla and some sherry too. To my mind, it ends up smelling more like being at the seaside but it needs some time. The palate is lovely - very creamy but also very hot, with vanilla and peat. You can't deny the medicinal aspect, but that's ok. The finish is extremely long and very oaky. I'm currently giving this a 7/10 because it is so quirky and such a shock to the taste buds...and yet I know this score will increase over time. I'm already filling another glass to check I'm not missing something and am constantly lifting the bloody thing to my nose. Really nothing quite like it and this is definitely not for everyone. Tip: if you want to try it but are concerned about not liking it, I'd recommend picking up a 20cl. Small enough not to hurt the bank account but enough of a bottle to give the taste buds a good exercise.
