Kategoriarkiv: Lagavulin

Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin 18 YO Feis Ile 2018

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ABV: 53.9 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and ashy. At first there’s a mix of a very round honey and vanilla sweetness and an ashy peatiness which also has a savory side to it. There’s a fresh oakiness in the back as well as some assorted fruit notes which are too thin to separate at this point. The whole has a nice mix of old and new and feels quite approachable. When it settles there’s a menthol layer on top and a campfire smokiness overall. A thin layer of lemon and raspberries is detectable with time in the glass. It feels slightly brittle and it could use a bit more body for it to really shine. This is a great nose overall though.

Mouth: It starts out with a bitter espresso note in the back and a big spicy sweetness up front. In between lies notes of age and sherry with old oak, leather and some raisins. Everything comes with a dusty coating. It tastes quite different from the nose and it really doubles down on all flavours except the sweetness. It’s not as sweet as on the nose at first but grows sweeter with time. The ashy side of the peat has almost disappeared and the peat is hiding behind the other notes. The lemon/raspberry notes remain as a thin layer and it’s now closer to the front with some coconut flavour added.

Finish: The transition starts with a spicy kick and it feels warm and powerful. When it settles down there’s a mix of old oak and lemon. It’s dusty overall and feels a bit astringent. The leather and espresso notes reveal themselves once again. The peat is quite hard to pinpoint at this point. The old oak takes over and is joined by a fresher oakiness which isn’t as nice, but adds to the whole. It’s a very oaky late finish with a hint of walnuts peeking through. This is a great whisky which feels like it could be amazing, but it’s slightly off-balanced throughout.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of refill ex-bourbon, rejuvenated american oak hogsheads and ex bodega european butts. 6000 bottles where released.

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Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin 12 YO Special Release 2020

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ABV: 56.4 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. A big hit of ashy and vegetal peat, with the ashy notes on the outside and the vegetal notes in the center, is the first thing to come through. There’s a vanilla and oak sweetness in the center which contrasts the rowdy exterior. There is a coastal side to it as well with notes of the ocean and just a hint of seaweed. It feels young but settles nicely in the glass. There isn’t much of a journey to talk about in this one, it stays nearly the same throughout. The maltiness do move forward a bit and a tiny hint of lemon breaks through now and again. This is a solid nose but it could offer a broader variety in sensations.

Mouth: It starts out with a a sour lemon note in the the back and a black pepper spicyness up front. In between, the peat and the vanilla are joined by a beer-like maltiness. It almost feels like an IPA with an ashy peat layer surrounding it. All the flavours seem to move forward and increase in intensity as a whole. It’s not as vegetal and coastal in taste as on the nose. The lemon note in the back sort of shift towards other cirtus fruits like grapes and oranges, but never as much as needed to keep the notes in focus.

Finish: The spicyness sort of rolls through the palate as the citrus notes fills the background. It takes a few seconds before the beery maltiness returns in the middle. The vanilla is still in there but it’s less detectable in the finish. The peat is now a top note and it’s once again more of a vegetal peatiness. The oak arrives at this point, mostly because the other flavours start to subside. It’s a so-and-so oakiness which neither impresses or deminishes the overall journey. This is a very good whisky. It’s a lot more interesting in taste than on the nose though.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 2007 and aged in refill ex-bourbon barrels for the whole maturation period.

Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin 9 YO – Game of Thrones Limited Edition: House Lannister

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is savory peat and honey sweetness. At first, the peat shines through with savory honey-glazed meat and ashes from a burnt out campfire. There’s a fruitiness coming through from behind. It’s a mix of green apples and ripe green grapes. There’s an overlay of vanilla which makes it feel very desserty even though the peaty flavours are present. The vanilla grows more intense as time passes in the glass. The contrast works and it feels quite balanced.

Mouth: The vanilla and the fruitiness are the first things to come through, but they are soon replaced by spicy notes and ashy peatiness. It’s less savory and sweet in taste than on the nose. It’s a little bit dry even though the oakiness is hidden behind the peat at this point. It’s a touch bitter and a touch dusty, but the main features are intact.

Finish: A dusty start goes by and then it goes back to the savory peatiness. There are vanilla, honey and black liquorice sitting in the back and the finish is not fruity at all. The oakiness is maintaining and adding to the dry mouthfeel. It’s a very nice oakiness which is intertwined with the peatiness all the way to the end. It steers towards a leathery note in the finish. This is a very good whisky and the tie-in to the GoT series was worrying, but they executed it in a good way.

Additional information
This Lagavulin 9 YO is a limited edition from the Game of Thrones whisky range. It’s been aged in first fill american ex-bourbon barrels.

Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin 16 YO

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: The fruity and sweet notes from the sherry is well balanced with a very refined yet thick vegetable peat smoke. There’s an array of dark fruits with ripe plums and raisins up front combined with vanilla. The smoke is ashy with a touch of rubber, tobacco and leather. There’s also notes of seashore, salt and a whiff of smoked salmon coming through.

Mouth: Fresh red berries, raspberries and strawberries, is first in line in this crowded space. A speck of dust is detected just before the big burst of peat smoke takes over with ash, tobacco and leather. There’s vanilla, chili fruits, rubber and salt and an astringent oakiness. It’s a complex and very very interresting mouthful.

Finish: Sweet chili fruits mixed with both ripe and fresh red fruits. They stand up very well to the thick, ashy leather and tobacco smoke. The oak comes off as very astringent and somewhere in the middle there’s a hint of hazelnuts, but the peaty and ashy flavours cover the mouth. The sweetness from the sherry, vanilla and the complexity follows through all the way to the end.

Additional information
This is a part of Diageo’s ”The classic malts of Scotland” series. It’s aged in american ex-bourbon barrels and finished in european ex-sherry casks. The peat level sits around 40 ppm.

Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin 8 YO – 200th Anniversary Edition

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ABV: 48 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: Very ashy, warm and sweet. There are big honey, vanilla and butterscotch flavours and the oak is surrounding its sweet heart. There’s a salty, seaweed, ocean note coming through from the distillate. A hint of lemon is the only fruity contribution. There’s also a fresh minty breeze. It has some fresh youthness to it, but not in a harsh way. It complements the ashy notes and makes it pop from the glass.

Mouth: It’s honey sweet and spicy. The peat still shows up as ashes, but not as dry as on the nose. The lemon finds a friend in some green apples. It’s still salty. There’s some vanilla cream in the background. It’s very viscous and oily.

Finish: First comes a big spicy burst before it switches to ashy and sweet again. There’s a savory bacon note coming along with the salty notes. The cask influence is strong but the oak is laid back, It’s not dry nor astringent. The honey, vanilla and butterscotch show up, stay a while and then fade away to give room to the ashy peat, which stays long after everything else. It’s a very pleasant finish.

Additional information
This was a special release in 2016. It has since then been added to the core range. It’s aged in refill american ex-bourbon oak barrels. The release is an homage to a statement from journalist Alfred Barnard in the 1880’s, referring to an 8 YO Lagavulin as ”exceptionally fine”.

Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition 1999/2015

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
No taste notes were recorded during the tasting.

Additional information
All the expressions in Diageo’s ”The classic malts of Scotland” series have their own distiller’s edition. This is aged in american ex-bourbon barrels and then finished (with a double maturation) in european ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.