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.
hated it at first, very smoky and errr.... But wait, after after a few weeks, you might like it, seriously. It takes time to get use to the taste and once you do, you will love it too!
I've heard great things about the 16, and so for my birthday my brother inlaw another Scotch drinker brought me a bottle. We cracked it open and couldn't wait to enjoy it, but when we took our first drink, Neat, it had the taste and smell of Campho - phenique. So we waited about 30 minutes to give out taste buds a chance to change, but it was the same. We drink all brands and types of Scotch but nothing like this. So down the drain it went just like our plans.
I'll always remember my first experience of Lagavulin 16. Blew me away, truly. Sadly, the last two bottles I've purchased have been a real disappointment. They have seemed much more one dimensional than the first bottle and somewhat fragile when adding water. Maybe my palate has moved on. Who knows. Still, not a bad whisky just below its historical par at present. I might wait 5 years before buying another LG16. I would recommend Laphroaig's Triple Wood & Old Ballantruan Peated Malt as worthy present day replacements.
I don't typically rate scotches. Just like a painting, a sculpture, or even a fine cigar, the ratings is based on what we perceive and not the artistery of the creator. As another comentor below mentioned, Lagavulin and Talisker are two of the finest representations of great single malt scotches. I would add, for those who enjoy the unique characteristics of each. Lagavulin 16 is truly a masterful work of art, even if it isn't your palate, appreciate the artistery in crafting.
Been trying various malts , just turned. 69 years old, getting a good taste for whisky. Really liked this 16 yr lagavulin, will definately buy it
