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.
This is my first time trying your Scotch. I had it after a nice meal at a restaurant and decided to try it. Asked if it was better neat or neat with water and was told to try both ways. Definitely better with a dash of water. The vanilla and spices come through the nose and the palate is superb. I may have to invest in a bottle. Cheers!
This is an excellently balanced tipple. Not the crazed, unbalanced madness of Laphroaig or the mezcal notes of Arbeg. This is smooth and easy going.
This is great. Not the best Islay but still tasty.
From the powerful aroma, the taste leaves nothing to the imagination of this scotch . If you like to excite the senses in a little delicate way ... this is your drink. However I do not recommend it for those who like delicate and mild flavors .
This is possibly my favourite whisky: as soon as I've finished a bottle, I replenish it. It's an utterly unique and original dram and I can't think of anything else like it. As the description says: it really is a full mouth flavour: ash, smoke and peat followed by vanilla (almost slightly salted). This certainly isn't a dram I'd give to mates of mine who are just starting to try whisky, but I've recommended it to those who are interested in something big and beautiful. If you're put off by peat, then I'd recommend trying a sample (either from this site, or buying a dram in a bar), just in case it's not for you. Each to their own after all!
