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.
My introduction to single malts and still, by a nose, my favorite. It is Islay in a bottle - peaty, complex yet eminently drinkable. This is the yardstick to measure the wonders of the Ardbegs, the succulence of Caol Ila, the earthy roughness of Laphaoig and the subtle pleasure of Talisker. If God made anything better, he kept it for himself.
At some stage in your journey through Single Malts you will try Lagavulin. It is an experience like no other. After tasting Lagga the rest have to be very good whiskies to remain in the memory! Smoke & peat rich with tastes of the Islay salt it is quite simply unique and treasured amongst Single Malts. Worth every penny!
Always have this at my local, so thought i'd buy a bottle. Smokey, rich, still sweet though, just great balance. love it. from Brian,
