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.
I believe this is a love it or hate it scotch. If you like smoke and peat, this is the one. There is a wonderful brine and salt finish with a hint of vanilla and coffee. Tastes differ, but this is my all-time favourite scotch. But at $125 per bottle in Canada, I don't drink it very often.
As someone who appreciates 'smoother/warmer' scotch (eg. Glenlivet distiller's reserve) I'm having a hard time adjusting to the extreme peat, smoke, and weird mix of dry with subtle sweet notes. Can't say this is a favourite.
Wonderful whisky and good value
I discovered this marvelous whisky when the waiter brought this instead of the one I'd ordered. Never have I been so happy with a mistake. I have shared this with friends after supper, in celebration and in commiseration. I have sipped this rich smoky, full-bodied mix of peat, barley and the distiller's magic alchemy around campfires watching for meteors and getting philosophical. The aroma of wood smoke evokes fond memories of this magnificent dram.
WOW!!!!! Gorgeous
