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Lagavulin 16 yo Single Islay Malt

AVB

Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
Joined
Nov 14, 2003
Messages
22,942
Lagavulin 16 yo Single Islay Malt Whiskey, 750ml, standard bottle, box packaging, 86 proof, about $60-75.

Lagavulin%2016.JPG


One of the most consistently highly rated drams over the last 20 years, Lagavulin is one of the three current peat monsters of Islay and arguements can be made that it is the best.Lagavulin (pronounced "Lagga-voolin") means "the hollow where the mill is" and two ancient millstones survive to this day. Lagavulin legitimately claims to being one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Distilling on the site is thought to date from as early as 1742. In the late 1700s it is believed that there were up to ten illicit stills operating in the district (by a curious twist of fate, Islay was the only place in Scotland where no Excise officer operated between 1707 and 1823). By the 1830s only two distilleries remained in the bay. In 1837 these distilleries amalgamated to form Lagavulin. At this stage the distillery was under the ownership of the Graham brothers and James Logan Mackie. By 1875 Lagavulin was producing 75,000 gallons of whisky and in 1890 it was bought by Mackie & Co of Glasgow. Lagavulin became the distillery of "Restless Peter" Mackie, creator of the "White Horse" blend.

I've always felt that Lagavulin was something to be enjoyed after a fine dinner and to that end, that is when I did this tasting. Steaks on the grill with sautéed onions and mushrooms, potatoes out of our garden, sweet corn from the field down the road and homemade cucumber and tomato salad made for a fine diner out on the deck.

The nose is deep with peat, salt, sherry and iodine all rising out of the glass. It is an olfactory assault but in the best possible way. Tasting is BIG sherry in an almost chewy peat thickness with the well known Islay medicinal/iodine/saltiness swirling around. The finish is HUGE and very long lasting with peat. oak, salt and malt assailing all parts of the tongue until finally a maltiness ends everything minutes later.

Lagavulin has become much better known since 1988 when it was selected to be one of the "Classic Malts" by UDV and if anything it has gotten better over the years. Simply a must have for any lover of the Islay style. An ACE in every sense. :thumbs: :love:
 
Yum!
One of my go to pours!
Ray, thanks for the review as always!

-Rob
 
Considering I had people asking for this review it is pretty quiet here ???
 
Great review! I love the history.

Can't wait to give it a try.
 
Nice review.
IMO this is far and away the best scotch out there, all others seem to fail in comparison. :thumbs:
 
Well it's about time! I've been waiting for this review for a couple of years now and I'm happy to say it was worth the wait. Bravo AVB, bravo. This is my absolute favorite Scotch and your review does it justice. Thanks!
 
Excellent review! I have a glass at least twice a week. This one is not for the faint of heart.
 
The 16 is a definate staple for me, though I love the cask and distiller's edition as much too.
 
Was gifted this bottle for my bday. I give it a two big :thumbs: up. Definitely has a peat after taste that lasts some time with a salty taste. As for medicinal properties or iodine, I dont catch that whatsoever. Just peat and salt.
 
But we all know you can't taste anything, Loren! Nice review Ray. I stole some of this off Loren yesterday! This is fast becoming one of my favorite Islays. It's still hard to beat the Laphroaig 10! Now, where is that other review you got tucked away...
 
Nice review AVB.

The Lag 16 is great stuff. Powerful yet smooth, with all the characteristics typical of Islay Scotch.

I usually don't drink Lag in the summer months, but as the cooler evenings of Autumn roll around, this Scotch seems to be in my glass quite often.
 
Nice review. I first had Lagavulin in 1991. I was in London and the salesman in the liquor department at Harrod's told me to buy Springbank and Lagavulin; he said the Lagavulin would be very different than any scotch I had tried. I was immediately hooked.

Another good Islay malt is Bowmore. The "peatiest" ones are Laphroig and Ardbeg--too medicinal for my taste.

For a "smoky" taste, try Talisker (the only whisky from the Isle of Skye). The basic 10 yr old or the Distiller's Edition double matured in Amoroso sherry casks.

Now, not to make you too jealous: I had a friend find me a bottle of the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition double matured in a Pedro Ximenez sherry cask after the oak. All 6 of the classic malts have a distiller's edition (Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Oban, Cragganmore are the others). However, the Lagavulin is not available in the USA.

DELagandTallbls3x3.jpg
 
I have the Distiller's Edition too and at some point I'll review it.
 
The nose is deep with peat, salt, sherry and iodine all rising out of the glass. It is an olfactory assault but in the best possible way. Tasting is BIG sherry in an almost chewy peat thickness with the well known Islay medicinal/iodine/saltiness swirling around. The finish is HUGE and very long lasting with peat. oak, salt and malt assailing all parts of the tongue until finally a maltiness ends everything minutes later.

Sorry to top an old thread, but I just saw these tasting notes and had to comment.

I first tasted Lagavulin almost a year ago while smoking a few cigars with a great BOTL in Georgia. The very first thing that hit me on first taste was "Sherry!" And I love that combination of sweet sherry flavors and smoky, peaty Islay goodness. I liked it much more than other Islay malts that usually only see bourbon barrels.



But when I mentioned this, a bunch of other scotch drinkers were telling me, "Lagavulin doesn't use sherry casks, they use bourbon casks like all the other Islay distilleries." ???

It didn't seem right to me. I definitely tasted sherry, same as you did. And the color definitely seemed darker than normally achieved by bourbon barrels. I figured, "Maybe they're using first-fill bourbon barrels and I must be mistaking that for a sherry influence."

Obviously, a lot of distilleries won't share what barrels they use...but does anyone know the inside story on the barrels used for Lagavulin 16?
 
BP,
From what I read they started using sherry casks from Pedro Ximenez in 1997-98.

This has become a favorite of mine.
 
The nose is deep with peat, salt, sherry and iodine all rising out of the glass. It is an olfactory assault but in the best possible way. Tasting is BIG sherry in an almost chewy peat thickness with the well known Islay medicinal/iodine/saltiness swirling around. The finish is HUGE and very long lasting with peat. oak, salt and malt assailing all parts of the tongue until finally a maltiness ends everything minutes later.

Sorry to top an old thread, but I just saw these tasting notes and had to comment.

I first tasted Lagavulin almost a year ago while smoking a few cigars with a great BOTL in Georgia. The very first thing that hit me on first taste was "Sherry!" And I love that combination of sweet sherry flavors and smoky, peaty Islay goodness. I liked it much more than other Islay malts that usually only see bourbon barrels.



But when I mentioned this, a bunch of other scotch drinkers were telling me, "Lagavulin doesn't use sherry casks, they use bourbon casks like all the other Islay distilleries." ???

It didn't seem right to me. I definitely tasted sherry, same as you did. And the color definitely seemed darker than normally achieved by bourbon barrels. I figured, "Maybe they're using first-fill bourbon barrels and I must be mistaking that for a sherry influence."

Obviously, a lot of distilleries won't share what barrels they use...but does anyone know the inside story on the barrels used for Lagavulin 16?


BP,
From what I read they started using sherry casks from Pedro Ximenez in 1997-98.

This has become a favorite of mine.


AVB's review is for the Lagavulin 16, which is not finished in sherry casks. The Distiller's Edition is the one finished in Pedro Ximenez butts. BP, it's quite possible you tasted sherry, but you may have been drinking Lagavulin DE instead of the 16.
 
No, it's the 16. I now own a bottle and I taste what, to me, tastes like sherry.

Wouldn't rule out that maybe I'm mistaking the taste for first-fill Bourbon barrels, but I see AVB was tasting the same thing I was. I LOVE that mix of peaty smoke and sweetness, kinda like the Scottish version of Kansas City BBQ. :love:
 
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