Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I’ve reviewed every bottle of Lagavulin I own except for two. So here they are, finally, a couple of rare Lagavluin from their 200th anniversary in 2016. The 25 year old anniversary bottling, and the ~25 year old 1991 Single Cask charity bottling. Both matured entirely in sherry casks, both cask strength, both stunningly good.
Tasted on 1/23/2021, neat in a Glencairn to start, then with a few drops of water.
Lagavulin 25 Year 200th Anniversary
In 2016, for their 200th anniversary. The bottle has the names and years of every distillery manager since 1816. It was the second ever 25yr from Lagavulin, the prior one having been released in 2002. Seems fitting for the occasion.
We got a little preview of this one in the brilliant 2015 Feis Ile bottle I think. See my review of that here.
This was bought from The Whiskey Exchange shop in London in 2016, right after it was released, for the suggested retail price of 800 GBP. A hefty sum to be sure. I’ve since moved what remains to a 250ml bottle and sadly it’s getting low. This is one of the few original bottles and packaging that I’ve kept after re-bottling.
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 51.7%, cask strength
Age: 25 years old. Bottled in 2016.
Cask type: Sherry Casks
Non-chill-filtered. #2,613 of 8,000 bottles.
Nose: smoldering peat smoke. Damp earth. Very medicinal w/ iodine, camphor. Sea spray. Orange, lemon, mint. Raisins, figs, fruit cake. Strong black tea. Chocolate. Motor oil. Walnuts. Tar. With Water: Bigger. More smoke, more sherry, dark fruits, nuts. More medicinal too. Leather. Some liquorice. And everything else.
Taste: massive peat smoke. Ash. Earthy. Medicinal. Seawater. Thick and oily mouthfeel, perfect. Candied orange and lemon peel: sweet with that bitter rind bite. Mint, camphor. Chocolate. Machine oil. Nuts. Tar. Raisins. Sherry. Walnuts. With Water: amazing mouthfeel. A bit more fruit, sherry, hazelnuts.
Finish: big, earthy, damp peat smoke with some soot. Quite medicinal. Nice seawater. Machine oil, tar. Lemon. Mint. Dried fruit, raisins, fruit cake. Very long with most of the notes hanging on. With Water: wow, smoke got much bigger in the finish. Coats the mouth and lasts forever. More sherry now, too.
Sherry and classic Lagavulin turned up to 11, perfectly balanced with big smoke, peat, medicinal, and maritime notes right in there with the sherry. Incredibly rich and complex. You get something else each time you come back to it. Benefits from a small splash of water which opens it up and brings out more smoke and sherry. Just brilliant.
This is a beautiful expression of a sherried Lagavulin and it’s on-par with the 2015 Feis Ile bottle. Which is better? It’s hard to say, and I’ll bet I’d pick differently over time.
Final Score: 100.
Lagavulin (1991) 200th Anniversary Single Cask
They were a little slow on the draw, but when they finally got around to the last bottling of their 200th anniversary it was worth the wait: a single sherry cask of ~25 year old Lagavluin, bottled at natural cask strength of 52.7%. A treasure from Islay for sure. This was allocated via lottery through The Whiskey Exchange in February 2017. I was lucky enough to get number 104 of just 522 bottles.
Note that they don’t actually call this “25 years old”, instead they say distilled in 1991 and bottled in 2016. This suggests they likely just missed the 25yr mark, but hey, who’s counting?
Proceeds from the sale were distributed to seven Islay charities. I suppose that took a little bit of the sting off of the original 1,494 GBP price. At least it was after BREXIT was announced, so the pound was in the toilet and I got a break on the conversion.
I moved this to 250ml bottles fairly early on, and happily I have much more than what’s shown in this picture squirreled away for the distant future, because this one is indeed special. Like the “regular” 25yr I’ve kept the bottle and packaging of this one.
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 52.7%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Distilled in 1991. Bottled in 2016.
Cask type: Sherry Butt
Non-chill-filtered. #104 of 522 bottles, from a single cask.
Nose: smoldering peat smoke, soot. Earthy, damp forest. Sweet citrus w/ grapefruit, lemon, tangerine. Very medicinal again, w/ iodine, camphor. Liquorice. Sea water, seaweed. Wet rock and sand. Mineral. Raisins, fruit cake spices. Cocoa. Engine oil, tar, creosote. Fatty, meaty. A bit floral, too, perhaps lavender. With Water: perfectly balanced. More seawater, tar, iodine, lemon, spices. Smoke is a little bigger still. Cough syrup.
Taste: big, rich peat smoke. Medicinal. Seawater. Candied lemon and orange peel. Thick and oily mouthfeel. Mint. Camphor. Liquorice. Fatty smoked meats. Tar. Raisins, fruit cake. Eucalyptus. Old rope. Walnuts. Black tea. A touch floral. With Water: fatty and meaty. Hazelnut chocolate. Savory. More sherry, too.
Finish: rich, earthy peat smoke. Medicinal. Seawater. Engine oil, tar. Lemon, orange, rind, mint. Raisins, fruit cake. Fatty meats. Bitter cocoa. A little floral. Very long with everything lasting. With Water: oh damn… more of everything, it just gets bigger and opens up more with water.
Powerful, rich, sherried Lagavulin. This is giving the 21yr from 1985 a run for its money. Amazing balance, great mouthfeel. Very, very long finish with all of the flavors lingering. The sherry is integrated perfectly. Wonderful maritime and medicinal notes along with some tarry and oily flavors. The smoke is big and there’s a nice mineral component, too.
My wife said this reminded her of these excellent chocolates with lavender in them from Charbonnel et Walker, and I have to agree. There’s a slight floral note in this one which is really excellent that I don’t get from the other one.
This is one of the best Lagavulin I’ve ever had, and one of the best Scotches as well. Perfect. A fitting final bottle for their 200th anniversary.
Final Score: 100.
Comparison
Order: 1991 SC > 25yr
These are both incredibly good, but the 1991 SC wins out for me for a few reasons. The finish is longer and bigger. It’s more complex, which is saying something given how wonderful the other one is. It has that nice floral component, and the fruit is a bit brighter. It also has a bit more of a mineral component which I often like.
Both of these are from the era where Lagavulin was still peating their malt to 50ppm, instead of the 35ppm they do today, and it shows. The smoke in both of these is outstanding.
What gets me with these bottles is the complexity of them. Looking back at other excellent bottles I’ve had, from a variety of distilleries, what’s notable here is just how many flavors you can find throughout, their balance, and how well they work together.
These are expensive bottles, and I know what you really want to know… “are they worth it?” It’s an easy answer for me: 100% yes, at their original prices. The 25 is still worth its current secondary value, too. Sadly the secondary on the 1991 SC is too high, as you’d expect, and while I’ve recently acquired another 25 I won’t spring for another 1991 SC.
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 