Lagavulin Islay Single Malt 16 years: review, price and tasting notes
The Single Malt Lagavulin 16 years is a legendary bottle, one of those whiskies that never disappoint. It is a delicious distillate with an intense flavor, peaty, spicy, fruity, and mineral, but everything is dosed with grace and rigor.
It is a whisky produced on the island of Islay, a true Mecca of whisky where there are now only nine distilleries. But are not interested in the whisky tours or the poignant views that can be enjoyed in this remote part of Scotland.
With its breezes and saltiness, the sea makes whiskeys produced on these shores unique, marking them with intriguing balsamic and herbal aromas.
Another key feature is the intensity of the peat. This Lagavulin 16 is not peaty and sooty as the Ardbeg, but neither round such as a Macallan whiskey.
Only good things can happen by combining these features with a meticulous selection of ingredients, a distillation made with love, and 16 years of barrel aging. It would be appropriate to speak of terroir (for all 8 distilleries) since they are products of their kind.
After the concise but necessary introduction, let’s taste this Lagavulin Scotch whiskey Single Malt Islay for 16 years.
Lagavulin 16 years’ bouquet
As soon as you approach, the nose is a swirl of dark and smoky aromas intertwined with alpine herbs, salt, chocolate, coffee, dried fruits such as dates, and nuts.
Then came sweet notes of bread, spicy memories, and tobacco, but what makes it great is that they are well mixed. Aging has done its job, not only marked with smoky tones.
The overall aromaticity, sea memories, and iodine flakes are where they should be, declined gracefully.
What does Lagavulin 16 years whiskey taste like?
The palate is broad, warm, and alcoholic but well polished. It expands vertically with menthol memories, exciting minerality, and good alcohol progression.
Balance and roundness are always the keywords. There are no burrs but a lot of finesse. The finish is herbaceous, very long, so long that it’s lost among the reefs of a midsummer night.
Do not expect a smug, puffy whisky. It’s a tough bottle, thick, peaty, and very mineral, multi-faceted but which knows how to caress the palate with a sweet and savory play of light and shadows.
Lagavulin 16 years price
46-50 €, it is worth every penny.
Lagavulin 16 years pairings
It’s a wide-ranging action whisky, from chocolate desserts to salmon: salmon with teriyaki sauce, chocolate salami, blueberry cheesecake, chocolate truffles.