Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Here are two exceptional bottles of Lagavulin. It’s been a while since I’ve had either, and I’m dangerously low on one of them, so I’m looking forward to this today. Tasted on 8/28/2020, neat in a Glencairn.
This is the legendary first 21yr from Lagavulin, distilled in 1985 and bottled in 2007. A 70cl bottle for the UK market, at “natural cask strength” of 56.5%. Matured entirely in Spanish sherry European oak casks, unlike the distiller’s editions which are merely finished in sherry casks for a relatively short time. When they released this they said it would be the last fully sherry matured Lagavulin, but that turned out to be a lie (see the next bottle below.)
I acquired this in 2016. When I opened it an unholy legion of sulphurous demons issued forth from the bottle, and I seriously wondered what I’d gotten myself into. This is a dram that benefits from time spent with it.
I moved this to smaller 250ml bottles pretty early on, and the one pictured is not my last. I doubt I’ll ever get another bottle; this was not cheap when I got it, and the price has skyrocketed since. The Whisky Exchange will sell you a bottle for the ludicrous sum of 3,500gbp (about $4,600usd), though the recent auction price is a more reasonable 1,500gbp or so.
I know from experience that I’ll not be adding water to this.
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 56.5%, cask strength
Age: 21 years old. Distilled in 1985. Bottled in 2007.
Cask type: Spanish Sherry European Oak Casks
Non-chill-filtered. #1,087 of 6,642 bottles.
Nose: earthy peat, beautiful wood smoke, sweet sherry, rich dark fruits on cherries, plums, and bacon wrapped figs. Fruit cake, dried fruits, orange peel, marzipan, candle wax, sea shells, a bit of old rope, some eucalyptus, a bit of sulfur (those demons are much subdued), smoked meats, stunning balance. The longer it sits the more is there. It never stops opening up, everything gets bigger: more earthiness, more smoke, those rich fruits. It gets a more medicinal quality, and here near the end of the glass we get more of the sea: shells, seaweed, seafoam.
Taste: damp earthy smoke, peat, salt, sea, sweet dark fruit, ginger, wood ashes, oily, slightly dry. Mouthfeel is medium-thick and coats beautifully. Have you ever had English Christmas pudding?
Finish: fuck me… powerful earthy peat smoke, that sweet rich dark fruit explodes, and orange peel, ginger, sea water, black licorice, salted chocolate, slightly dry on the end. It goes on and on and on. Beautiful in every way.
This is stunning. Seriously. It is one of the best Lagavulin ever, and it is also one of the best scotches all up. It’s big, dark, smoky, rich, beautifully balanced, deep and complex. You don’t want it to end, and a full hour after pouring it I’m still getting new notes off of it. I have about 350ml left and I am hoarding it.
Final Score: 100.
This is the second 21yr from Lagavulin, distilled in 1991 and bottled in 2012. Also a 70cl bottle for the UK market, at natural cask strength of 52%. This was also matured entirely in first-fill European oak sherry casks, and the text on the inside of the box basically says “yea, y’all liked the last 21 we did so here’s another.” As with the previous one, no stated info on color or filtering, with the same assumptions.
This bottle has always been special to me. I purchased it at the distillery in the fall of 2012, and at the time it was the most expensive bottle I’d ever bought. IIRC it was right around 300gbp. (Now it’s going for an affordable 750gbp on the secondary market.) Sadly what you see pictured in the 250ml boston round is all that remains.
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 52.0%, cask strength
Age: 21 years old. Distilled in 1991. Bottled in 2012.
Cask type: 1st Fill Ex-Sherry European Oak Casks
Non-chill-filtered. #2,194 of 2,772 bottles.
Nose: peat smoke, sweet light sherry, cherry, orange, cherry jam, candied fruits, more medicinal with iodine and camphor, more of the sea, spice is very forward on eucalyptus, mint, white pepper, cardamon. With water: similar, maybe a bit of darker cherry.
Taste: tobacco smoke, more citrus with lemon, orange rind, syrupy sweetness, pepper, more herbal in many ways, brighter than the other one for sure, ginger, sea water, medium mouthfeel, a bit oily and coats alright. With water: tones the spices down a bit, perhaps a bit more cherry and fig in there.
Finish: quite a lot of spice forward (pepper, liquorice, ginger), big tobacco smoke, some bitterness quickly on orange peels and raw cocoa powder, sea water, drying. Balance is a bit off with the spice really forward through all of this. Nice length, though shorter than the other one. With water: really all the same notes, just mellowed out a bit and the overall spiciness toned down.
This is exceptional, an excellent old Lagavluin with good complexity marred a bit by questionable balance. It’s quite a sharp, spicy dram where you’d really expect to find a darker, richer expression given the full sherry maturation, but there it is, something a bit unexpected. Water mellows the spiciness a bit, but all the same flavors are still there.
Final Score: 92.
Comparison
Order: 1985 > 1991
This is an entirely predictable result. The 1985 bottle was legendary, and the 1991 was widely regarded as quite nice but not nearly as good. I’ve tasted these side-by-side multiple times and the choice is clear every time. Two amazing Lagavluins to be sure, but there’s a gulf between them.
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.
Malt Runners 