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.
The best whisky in the world. I've tried plenty of smoky, Islay malts at this stage in life and nothing comes close.
As an amateur to single malts, I was unsure what to expect. If you're new to it, the first scent and sip will slap you around and take you off your feet. Give it time. Have a glass the next night (glencairn if you have it.) It's been a few nights, I've enjoyed it very slowly. It's amazing. I can't describe the beautiful leathery feeling and taste. Expensive but worth it.
Tastes like someone has set fire to a toffee factory using wrights coal tar vaporisers, amazing!
Mitico, mitico, il mio preferito...questo Lagavulin 16 anni è veramente un Grande Whisky. Una profondità di sapori speziati, ma sempre equilibrati tra loro, al palato pungente al punto giusto, un Whisky da serata con un bel trancio di salmone in crosta di patate.
Beautiful. Rich, smoky, a subtle sweetness with some spices and vanilla. Close your eyes and be transported next to a bonfire on a cold Scottish beach with the salty wind blowing in your face. I may just have found a new favorite dram.
