Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I haven’t reviewed in a long time, but what better way to get back into the swing of things than with three IB Lagavulin. These are all from the Elements of Islay series, two fresh bottles and one sample.
For those not familiar, Elements of Islay is a series of small run, no vintage, no age statement bottlings of each of the Islay distilleries. They started in 2006 and seem to release a few per year. Each is usually a vatting of a handful of casks, presented at cask strength w/ no filtering or coloring. For Lagavulin, they’re up to Lg11.
I’ve had good luck with some of these in the past so I’m looking forward to this. Let’s see if they hold up!
Tasted on 05/05/2022, neat in a Glencairn. I may add a bit of water at some point to see what happens. No resting in the glass BS; I experience the whole thing over about an hour.
Lagavulin Speciality Drinks Ltd Lg5 Elements of Islay
From the bottler: “As whisky from this distillery gets older, the smoky notes mellow and a core of fruitiness is revealed. In Lg5 we focused on the fruit, but without losing the peat and smoke. The result is an ashy and tarry dram with a core of orchard fruitiness.”
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Speciality Drinks Ltd (SMS)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 54.8%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2015.
Cask type: Refill Hogsheads
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: lots of bright citrus. Earthy peat. Sea water. Iodine, tar. Quite malty. Ash. With Water: wow. More seawater added. Orange. More peat. Warm, malty bread. Still w/ those medical and maritime notes. Really nicely balanced.
Taste: lots of earthy peat. Sweet, a bit hot. Some pepper. Sea water. Nicely medicinal. Malty. Nice mouthfeel. With Water: sweeter. Heat is gone. Tar. Mouthfeel is much thinner.
Finish: malt, peat, smoke. Bright, sweet citrus. Still with the seawater and medical notes. Nice length, lingering on smoke, citrus, and a bit of bitter tar. With Water: some camphor now. More malty and still smokey. Sweeter. Longer still on smoke, camphor, sweet citrus, and that bitter note is gone.
Summary: This is really very good. It’s clearly a young one, and it shines with a few drops of water. Great balance throughout, w/ citrus, smoke, maritime, and medicinal notes all working together. Some sweetness in there, and some tar, too. Nice length on the finish. The mouthfeel is harmed by the water, though, sadly and that’s a real shame. I wouldn’t call this “complex” either. Overall a great dram, if a bit simple, and I’m really happy I own this one.
Would I buy a bottle? I have one now, but I’ll skip another. Not that it’s bad, but it’s not easy to acquire and I bet I’d be happier with some of the standard 12’s out there. I’d also try more Lg’s based on this alone.
Final Score: 88.
Lagavulin Elixir Distillers Lg7 Elements of Islay
From the bottler: “Lagavulin whiskies are known for their meaty style, balanced by touch of sweet fruit. Lg7 is matured in refill bourbon barrels, and is everything we have come to expect from Lagavulin: Islay in a bottle.”
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Elixir Distillers (ElD)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 56.8%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2017.
Cask type: 4 Bourbon Barrels
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: more subdued than the Lg5. Peat, damp earth. Iodine, camphor. Seaweed. Very medicinal. Orange rind. Malt. With Water: more earth. Even more medicinal.
Taste: earthy peat. Rather dry. Seawater. Lots of camphor, iodine, eucalyptus. A bit hot for sure. Very sharp. Oily. With Water: still a bit dry. Camphor, camphor, camphor. Still a bit hot.
Finish: sweeter. Peat smoke. Camphor. Seawater. Rather long on smoke and camphor. Some slightly bitter, leathery note on the end of this. With Water: a bigger pop of smoke, then it’s right back to those big medicinal notes. More mineral now. Still long on that smoke and camphor. Leathery note is gone.
Summary: this is quite good, and dominated by big, simple medicinal notes for me. Some nice smoke and an earthy peatiness that I really like. Water improves this, though it remains a bit hot. The balance is off overall, which isn’t necessarily bad but notable. Low 7 or high 6? I’ll go low 7 for now since what it has is right up my alley.
Would I buy a bottle? nah. I have this one sample which is enough. There are many better, readily available options here.
Final Score: 85.
Lagavulin Elixir Distillers Lg8 Elements of Islay
From the bottler: “That classic mingling of sooty fires, barbecue meat and sweet fruit characterise our eighth bottling from this Kildalton distillery, making for a deliciously comforting dram.”
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Elixir Distillers (ElD)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 59.5%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Distilled in 2006. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: 2 Bourbon Barrels
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: wood smoke. Citrus. Camphor, liquorice. Brine. Warm damp sand. The most subtle of the three, without the malt of the other two. Marzipan. With Water: no change.
Taste: lots of wood smoke, ash. Camphor. A bit dry. Quite hot. Some sweet citrus. Oily mouthfeel. Spicy. With Water: not as hot for sure, more dry. Mouthfeel is thinner..
Finish: camphor. A bit of fatty meat. Ashy smoke. Rather hot. Sweet citrus. Quite long and dry on ashy smoke, camphor, citrus and brine. No off notes at all. With Water: heat is reduced just a bit. Even more dry, otherwise the same. (Later I added more water and it got even more dry. Like “holy shit” dry.)
Summary: this is a pretty simple dram. It’s hot and spicy, even w/ water, and surprisingly dry. Somehow it gets drier the more water I add. It is really good, but kind of a one-hit-wonder. Water makes little difference beyond the dryness, and pulling the heat down slightly. It is the most subdued of the three for sure.
Would I buy a bottle? nah. I’ve got a bottle, and it was relatively cheap, and I have friends who will help me drink it I’m sure 😉
Final Score: 82.
Comparison
Order: 5 > 7 > 8
This was a fun flight. They’re each different, and IB Lagavulin is always a treat. The ordering is clear, with the Lg5 being an easy favorite in this lineup. Clearly the youngest of the three it’s really nicely balanced, the most complex of the three, and has some great notes in it. I’m really glad I have a bottle. The Lg7 is quite good, highly medicinal, but low in complexity. There’s a gap for me to get to the Lg8; it’s pretty simple, surprisingly hot, dry, and one dimensional.
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 