Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
While the standard expressions from Lagavulin generally range from pretty good (16) to great (the 12’s), their annual releases for Feis Ile are usually excellent and show what this distillery can really be about. They started in 2007 with a bunch of single casks and very limited quantities, and it’s opened up to usually 6,000 bottles in recent years.
Quite some time ago I had a bottle of the 2014 release and I loved it. I finally got a replacement earlier this year so I figure it’s time to sit down and review it.
I previously reviewed the Lagavulin Feis Ile 2017, 2018, and 2019, as well as the 2015 and 2016 bottles. So I’ll try a little of one or two of these alongside this one for some perspective.
Let’s see how it holds up!
Tasted on 6/13/2021, neat in a Glencairn, then a touch of water.
Lagavulin 19 Year Feis Ile 2014
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 54.7%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Distilled on 01/30/1995. Bottled on 04/02/2014.
Cask type: European Oak Sherry Butts
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. #2,539 of 3,500 bottles.
Nose: earthy, damp peat and smoke. Quite medical w/ lots of iodine and some camphor. Tar, warm black rubber, diesel. Seawater, sea shells, hot sand and rocks at the beach. Very mineral. Citrus w/ orange, tangerine. Mint. Black tea. Walnuts and almonds. Fatty meat. With Water: Whoa, just a few drops really brought more smoke out. More camphor and mint. More everything; it jumps out of the glass now.
Taste: deep, rich peat and smoke. Very medicinal w/ that iodine and more camphor. The citrus comes through, with some lemons along with the orange. Rich, oily mouthfeel. Seawater, salt. Nuts. Prosciutto. Tar. With Water: mouthfeel remains excellent. More medicinal. A bit more citrus.
Finish: nice pop of that peat. Medicinal, with the citrus and tar in there too. Salty seawater. Tea, walnuts, a hit of sherry in the background. Long and balanced. With Water: more smoke and earthy peat. The citrus is a little brighter.
Summary: I don’t find a lot of sherry influence on this one despite it being full-term in sherry casks, which is just fine. There’s a hint of it in there. It’s very drinkable neat, but really benefits from just a touch of water. It opens up the nose nicely, mouthfeel remains thick and oily, and the finish gets longer. Great complexity on the nose and beautifully balanced. It’s got some wonderfully tarry/rubbery notes. Very medicinal and big on the rich, earthy peat. This is one of those drams that you find something else each time you come back to it, and you don’t want to drink anything else afterwards.
Would I buy a bottle? well, this is my second one, so…
Final Score: 96.
Comparison
Order: 2015 > 2014 > 2016 > 2018 > 2019 > 2017
I poured some of the 18yr from Feis Ile 2016 to compare directly with. Having had both of these before, I knew this was the sweet spot in the overall ordering of these festival bottles.
The 2014 compares nicely to the 2016, but is less sweet and more medicinal. The 2016 is more citrus-forward than the 2014, too, which is really obvious nosing the empty glasses. Both have a mild sherry influence that doesn’t try to dominate at all. The 2014 is “darker”, if that makes any sense, with more tar and rubber. Mouthfeel on the 2014 is also better, and it opens up well with water nicely while the 2016 remains pretty stable. There’s a fatty meat flavor to the 2014 that I don’t find in the 2016.
Overall, both outstanding drams and I’m splitting hairs to order 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 