Lagavulin vs itself
Standing in front of my whisky shelf I realize I have more Lagavulin open than any other distillery.
5 open bottles vs 2 for Laphroaig, 2 Mortlach, 2 Clynelish, 2 Talisker.
What’s a man to do for fun then. Drink all 5? Yeh why not, I have heard it to be recommended as educational, so worth a shot. No?
Ok just 4, I left the Ileach out.
Lagavulin 16 vs LG1 vs Lagavulin 12 (2011) vs Lagavulin DE
Simple fun stuff no serious notes here.
Unsurprisingly, the DE had the richest colour, followed by the 16. Well they’re sherried so that’s expected. The palest here was the 12 yo.
Nose: The good old 16 had the best peat-smoke-coastal-sweetness balance still, meaning it was sweet but its sweetness underlined rather than competed with the peat and the sea. Shows how fine a whisky it is. The DE was at first nosing so much more sherried, that it even blocked out the peat a bit initially. Given some time the aniseed, menthol and tea flavours came out. Quite nice in its style, if that’s your kind of thing.
The LG1 was a real bruiser, smacking you hard with tar and oil and earthy aromas, bit lacking in complexity, but it truly wears its ‘Islay-ness’ proudly. The 12 was the gentle one here – not austere by any measure but wow did it look thin next to the 16 even. The 12 had flinty, wet wool, more coastal, more salt and kippers, high fruit notes, and even the smoke took a bit of a backward step here.
Palette:Things played out as expected. Here the strength of the 12 really helped, though I cant help but feel – with a bit more herbs and grass, a bit less peat, I could very well mistake it for a high strength Caol Ila. And the DE had a surprise, being much more complex on the tongue than the nose would suggest, nice mix of fruit juice, menthol, really chased by the peat and smoke etc. It seems really determined not to let anyone forget its origins at the end of the day.
This was fun! Maybe I should collect a few friends and do this more often…
Whiskyrific RSS
- Port Charlotte 12 yo 2004 Highland Laird 57.3% vs Octomore 6.1 / 167 5 yo 57% vs Octomore 7.1 / 208 5 yo 59.5%
- Bowmore 11 yo 2001 / 2013 Berry Bros 20197 46% vs Bowmore 12 yo liquid Library 2001 / 2013 52.9%
- Ben Nevis 17 yo 1996 / 2014 The Nectar of the Daily Drams 49.3% vs Ben Nevis 1997 / 2015 Pearls of Scotland #614 50.9% vs Ben Nevis 16 yo 1998 / 2014 Lady of the Glen #1407 52.1%
- Dailuaine 34 yo 1980 Special Release 2015 50.9% vs Dalmore 27 yo 1990 / 2017 MacKillop’s Choice #252 54.6%
- Bruichladdich 21 yo 1993 / 2015 Douglas Laing DL10706 51.5% vs Bruichladdich 25 yo 1992 / 2017 Cadenhead 175th Anniv 53.8%
- Springbank 21 yo 1993 / 2015 Lockett Brothers #470 49.4% vs Cooley 22 yo 1991 / 2014 SMWS 117.5 55.5%
- Wardhead 19 yo 1997 Pisces Stellar Selections Japan #186 50.7% vs The Huntly Burnside 18 yo 1997 Dimensions Duncan Taylor #6481 52.5% vs Westport 18 yo 1997 The Oceans Duncan Taylor for Whisk-e Japan #1500071 58.4%
- Port Ellen 1979 / 2014 Gordon & Macphail R0/14/01 46% vs Port Ellen 35 yo 1978 / 2004 Douglas Laing for Alambic Classique DL655 61.1% vs Port Ellen 35 yo 1982 / 2018 Signatory 30th Anniversary #2040 55.1%
- Benromach 28 yo 1965 / 1993 Cadenhead 47.6% vs Laphroaig 10 yo ‘Original Cask Strength’ 57.3% 33.33cl duty free bottle
- Jura 21 yo 1992 / 2014 Hunter Laing for FassZination (Vom Fass) #VF10272 46% vs Jura 27 yo 1967 Stillman’s Dram 45%
