Lagavulin 9 Game of Thrones – House Lannister

Review by: The Muskox

Ahoy-hoy, Scotchit! Time to break my streak of peated-port reviews, unfortunately. I think I picked a topical whisky to continue with though. Who knows what’ll happen tonight after last week’s episode. How will Dany react to the aftermath of the battle? Does Ghost still exist? Will Grey Worm finally cash in his vacation days? Will Bran finish his audiobook in time? Does any of this matter, or is Tormund ending up on the Iron Throne simply inevitable and unavoidable?

Distillery: Lagavulin

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 46%.

Age: 9 years. Bottled in 2019.

Cask type: Unknown.

Price: $110 CAD locally.

Color: Colour added. Chill-filtered.

Nose: Strong peat smoke. Bonfire, seaweed, and a bit of smoked brisket. Herbs, lemon, and, somewhat surprisingly, tomato and basil. Some candied nuts and caramel popcorn. Some sparkly sweet-sour fruity notes, like nectarines or Sour Cherry Blasters.

Palate: Silky texture. Arrives sweet, with caramel and a bit of vanilla, then gets more savoury-sour. Then more of that (fresh) tomato, mixed with tobacco. Tomacco!! Develops into heavy bonfire smoke, or maybe a bonfire extinguished with seawater. Beach stones, deep savoury oak, and seaweed.

With a bit more rest, I started to get this wonderful hibiscus note, which actually started to show up in the nose and finish as well.

Finish: Sweet, heavy, and coastal. Seashore, charcoal, oak, banana, and cherry. That hibiscus thing again.

Conclusion: Pretty solid. I couldn’t stop giggling when I found tomacco. But seriously, the tomato-y flavours weren’t offputting at all. The peat was nice and bonfire-ish, and that hibiscus note really pushed it up a notch for me.

When it comes to recommending purchasing this, the problem, of course, is why you would get this instead of the standard Lagavulin 8. They’re definitely different whiskies, but to me, the 8 seems more cohesive and focused.

Anyways. I’m thrilled that Diageo decided to present this at 46%. It really helps. Good stuff.

Final Score: 83.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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