The place where Lagavulin is located was already in the 1740s a very active distillery area mainly due to its advantageous location if one wanted to avoid taxes. Lagavulin was officially founded in 1816 by John Johnston and the distillery was built nearby Dunyvaig Castle in the south of Islay, sitting comfortably between Ardbeg and Laphroaig.Â
The name of the distillery is an anglicization of lag a'mhuilin, which is Gaelic for "hollow by the mill." The water that Lagavulin uses comes from the Solan Lochs. In the early history of Lagavulin there was a literal war with Laphroaig over the water source, something I covered in my latest article on Laphroaig. Since 1974 Lagavulin has been purchasing all its malt from Port Ellen Maltings. The malt is smoked to 35 ppm, compared with Ardbeg that usually smokes its malt to 50 ppm. Nearly all of their whisky is matured on bourbon cask, with the exception of The Distillers Edition which is finished on Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Today the distillery has a capacity of nearly 2.5 million liters and the 16 year old we'll be tasting today is the most popular expression.
Lagavulin 16 Year Old
Region: Islay
Age: 16 years old
ABV: 43%
Price: ~50 USD / 0.7L
Chill-filtered and colored with E150
Appearance: Dark gold.
Nose: A really complex scent. A rich peaty smoke with a heavy dose of iodine-saltiness. Underneath the heavy smoke there is sherry sweetness as a counterpoint. There's also plenty of licorice and tobacco. In the background some fresh mint and leather. Overall a wonderful nose that transports you to the campfire next to that tarred rowboat.
Palate: Holy smoke! Like sitting in the wind direction by a campfire. Thick and woody smoke becomes ashy after a while, and as your palate has become accustomed to the ash and smoke, you can discern sweet-salt licorice and sweet tobacco notes together with seaweed. The mouth-feel is not as oily and fat as other Lagavulin's or Islay's, but rather dry. There is also a quite hefty dose of white pepper that tickles the tongue.Â
Finish: Medium-long with salt licorice, sweet tobacco, coffee and vanilla. The last thing that leaves your mouth is ash though.
Conclusion: A great dram, but probably not recommended for beginners or as an introduction to Islay. Although, for a smoke giant as this, it's pretty darn delightful and drinkable due to its high sweetness. Goes down well with fat fish, such as salmon. I would probably rate it even a little bit higher with a longer finish. Lovely stuff and a well deserved score of 90 points out of 100.
