Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks

This will be a two part review of 5 Lagavulin Feis Ile bottles.

The standard Lagavulin 16yr is good, the annual 12yr special releases are generally great, and the 8yr is quite nice too. But where Lagavulin really shines is in their annual releases for Feis Ile, available directly from the distillery and released during the festival. These end up ranging from very good to excellent, and a few of them can be counted among the best of Lagavulin.

These became an annual release in 2007, and each is produced in a fairly limited quantity, generally 6,000 bottles the past few years but much less the further back you go. They were single casks the first many years. What’s amazing is that these are sold pretty cheaply during the festival: 100-150 GBP. So if you can get to the island and line up on the day (or have a friend do it) then it’s a real bargain.

I finished my 2014 bottle years ago, and my 2020 bottle is hibernating with a buddy in the UK until I can get back over there to pick it up. So I’ll just be reviewing 5 bottles in this series, the 2015 thru 2019. I’ll work backwards, just for grins.

Tasted on 1/17/2021, neat in a Glencairn, then a touch of water.

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Lagavulin 19 Year Feis Ile 2019

The 2019 festival bottling. This one was aged in a few different casks along the way: refill oak casks, then sherry-treated freshly-charred American oak hogsheads, and finally a finish in old European oak puncheons.

Distillery: Lagavulin

Bottler: Distillery Bottling

Region: Scotland, Islay

ABV: 53.8%, cask strength

Age: 19 years old. Bottled on 03/07/2019.

Cask type: Sherry-Treated American Oak Casks

#1,650 of 6,000 bottles.

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Nose: peat smoke, coal. Earthy. Hemp rope. Mineral oil. Sea spray. Medicinal; iodine, cough medicine. Citrus. A bit herbal. Mild pepper. With Water: bigger smoke. Ash, crispy bacon. More herbal. A bit of tar. Overall a few drops of water opened this up a lot, brought out more complexity, and it’s very nicely balanced. With time I feel like I’m getting a very, very mild sherry influence here.

Taste: earthy peat smoke. Seawater. Lemon rinds. Herbal. Machine oil. Medium mouthfeel. Fatty meats. Medicinal. With Water: More fruit. Perhaps a hint of sherry now, but just a hint.

Finish: big, rich, earthy peat smoke. Salted lemons. Mild pepper. Herbal. Seawater. Medicinal. Long with that rich smoke, citrus, and maritime notes. With Water: similar, with added tar and more medicinal notes.

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I don’t get much sherry out of this at all until I add a bit of water to it. It’s a mild influence for sure. With just a couple of drops of water this is beautifully balanced, with big, rich, and earthy smoke, good maritime and medicinal notes. Rather herbal throughout. Water brings out some more tarry notes, especially in the finish. Nice complexity and great balance, with an excellent, long finish. I keep coming back to this one. Delicious.

Final Score: 92.

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Lagavulin 18 Year Feis Ile 2018

The 2018 festival bottling. This one is aged in “refill American oak hogsheads, rejuvenated American oak hogsheads, and ex-bodega European oak butts.” Quite the array of oak there, and as usual no info on whether this is some finishes or what.

Distillery: Lagavulin

Bottler: Distillery Bottling

Region: Scotland, Islay

ABV: 53.9%, cask strength

Age: 18 years old. Bottled on 02/01/2018.

Cask type: Ref. Am HH, Rejuv. Am HH & Bodega Europ Butts

Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. #3,411 of 6,000 bottles.

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Nose: Mild peat smoke. Seaweed. Liquorice, eucalyptus. Lemon. Mineral oil. Salted meats. With Water: bigger smoke for sure. Seawater. More mineral. Iodine. Creosote.

Taste: good peat smoke. A touch dry. Bright lemon, eucalyptus. Oily. Medium mouthfeel. Fatty meat. Seawater. Medicinal. With Water: big smoke. Lemon is brighter still. Solid mouthfeel. Smoked salmon. Ash. Tar, creosote. Candied lemon peel. More spice, machine oil.

Finish: mild peat smoke balanced very well with seawater, lemon, mild pepper and eucalyptus. Mineral oil. A bit ashy. Rather long with the smoke holding strong, seawater, and citrus with some nice medicinal notes in there. With Water: big smoke now, still nicely balanced with the fruits and maritime notes. More medicinal now. Tar and creosote. Just as long. Wow.

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Neat, the smoke in this is mild throughout, but lasts surprisingly well all the way to the tail end of the finish. Beautifully balanced. Water brings out a lot more smoke, fruits, medicinal, and tar/creosote notes for me, which is excellent. More spice, too. A few drops of water is where this one really shines. Beautifully balanced, not the most complex but that’s fine when everything works as well as this. Not an off-note to be found. Superb, especially the finish w/ water… damn.

Final Score: 93.

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Lagavulin 16 Year Feis Ile 2017

The 2017 festival bottling. The label says “Double Matured in Moscatel Cask Wood”, so I’m assuming a sherry finish here rather than some of it being fully matured in Moscatel casks. Sherry and Lagavulin… sign me up!

Distillery: Lagavulin

Bottler: Distillery Bottling

Region: Scotland, Islay

ABV: 56.1%, cask strength

Age: 16 years old. Bottled on 02/15/2017.

Cask type: Double Matured in Moscatel Cask Wood

Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. #2,779 of 6,000 bottles.

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Nose: mild peat smoke. Sea spray. More subtle than the others. A bit medicinal. Machine oil. Eucalyptus. Lemon and lime. A bit herbal. With Water: still really shy, I don’t feel like water opened this up much.

Taste: mild peat smoke, ash. Fruit w/ lemon, nectarine. Medium-thin mouthfeel. Medicinal. Seawater. Mild pepper. With Water: similar, perhaps more spice, a bit dry.

Finish: mild peat smoke, a bit ashy, with bright lemon and nectarines. Seawater, a bit medicinal. Mild pepper and eucalyptus. Medium length with smoke and fruit in front of seawater. The barest hint of sherry under it all. With Water: pushed those bright fruits back a bit actually. More spice. I feel like I get a bit more sherry out of this now.

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Surprisingly fruity on the palate and in the finish which I didn’t get on the nose neat. I don’t get much sherry influence on this one either. Adding a few drops of water pushed the fruit back a bit, and didn’t really open the rest of it up at all, which is surprising. This is a great dram for sure, but not in league with the other two honestly. No off notes at all. Not too complex, and I’d say the spiciest of the three. Certainly the most shy of them.

Final Score: 87.

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Comparison

Order: 2018 > 2019 > 2017

The 2018 and 2019 are close, but the finish on the 2018 is where it’s at. Wow. I don’t want to drink anything else after that.

The 2017 is clearly second-string to the other two. Thinnest mouthfeel, very shy on the nose, mild peat, least complex of them, etc. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great dram. But next two the other two, well, it’s a bit of a let down.

I gotta say that sherry influence is minimal on these. There are a lot of Lagavluins where the sherry is obvious, but not these.

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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.