Back in the 1880s, Alfred Barnard, author of The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, enjoyed an eight-year-old Lagavulin he described as "exceptionally fine". As part of their 200th anniversary celebrations, the distillery therefore decided to recreate said eight-year-old! It's bottled at an exciting 48% ABV and was matured in refill European and American oak casks.
This bottle was part of a private collection - if you'd like more detailed photos just get in touch!
Salted popcorn, honey-roasted nuts, tarry ropes and light hints of freshly-chopped cedar. A touch of burnt sugar sweetness lingers.
Smokey peat appears first on the palate, followed by coriander seed, barley sugar, cumin powder, smoked kipper and marzipan.
Layers of apple crumble, toasted almond and ash. Another kick of cooking spices right at the end.
As well as adding gifts to lucky MoM orders, #WhiskySanta is granting wishes on social media every day! Hit the button above and let them know what you'd like. It could be yours!
At 48% I doubt that it's chill-filtered. The 12 year old cask strength doesn't state that it's non chill filtered either but it is pretty obvious that it is non chill filtered.
I have no problem with the age, but I do have a problem with the chill filtration. Sigh
Just got my bottle last night and had two glasses. It's worth double the price. All the quality of the 16 just a little feisty and rounded fruit notes and that regular laga smoke.
Whilst recognising this isn't a discussion forum I can't resist joining the discussion to agree with the "Why all the complaining?" poster, particularly what he or she says about NAS, and the buy or pass option. For accuracy (I've OCD) it's not "...half the age, double the price...", it's half the age of the entry level standard OB (which makes it rare for an OB) and tantamount to the same price. Sounds OK to me. If you're an investor buy one and sit on it, it will appreciate. If you're a drammer that usually buys the 16 then buy one for the novelty and see what it's like.
It's hard to understand those complaining about a release like this. Amongst a sea of pricey NAS releases, Diageo (perhaps the least likely to do so!) has the bottle to give us something with an age statement and at a fairly accessible price. Yes, it's still expensive, but wouldn't you rather have an age statement around £50 than the latest fancifully titled NAS release for double that (..often more)? I would understand if some of the disappointment was aimed at the low ABV, that aside this is an exciting release for a distillery that rarely breaks from its core offerings. As far as the price difference between this and the 16 goes, there's a reason this one says '1 per person' and the 16 doesn't. All the same, there is no right or wrong - your view is your view. Buy if you are intrigued, pass if you are not! Perhaps it would be best to hold off too strong an opinion until we've actually tried it though, it's all about the liquid in the bottle after all and according to early reports it's rather good!
