Lagavulin 12 Year (2018 Special Release)

This one isn't too far off from the 2017 in terms of notes. The quality is all there. If you happen to have read my review for the 2017, you would know that I hold that one in the highest of regards. It's my immediate reaction whenever somebody asks me my favorite whisky. I had lofty expectations for this one, and, spoiler alert, it absolutely delivers. Nose: Medicinal peat, iodine, campfire smoke, sea salt, and brine are immediately present, true to Lag. Beyond that is a creamy lemon note (think lemon custard pie). Interestingly, there are some floral notes, as well as sweeter ones like vanilla and honey. There is also a bit of orange, as well as some other fruits that I couldn't quite pick out. With a little help from the internet, I've determined it's a combination of raspberry and peach. Like a blue raspberry lollipop. Cask strength? Not a whiff of booze. Instead, you get layer upon layer of goodness. Wow. Palate: Bonfire smoke and bean chili spice explode upon entry. Beyond that is a citrus punch: think lemon and grapefruit. Sea salt and brine still present. Smoked BBQ meats, ash and char. Salted caramel and milk chocolate. Rounded off with some heavy cinnamon and black pepper spice. Oaky. The ABV rears its head here, but I welcome it. Wave after wave of rich, intense flavor. Amazing. Finish: Salty smoked salmon like with the 2017, but a bit less prominent. Transitions to more citrus: lemon, orange, grapefruit. Then we move to the sweet portion: more milk chocolate and caramel. A late-game cinnamon and pepper kick revitalize the finish until it finally extinguishes. When this long finish is finally over, I'm left feeling like I'm driving home from a much needed day at the beach. Refreshed and relaxed, but also in serious need of some water to combat the salt! 5-star rating. Don't feel as though I need to explain that one. I hate to give out too many of those, but it really was inevitable with this one. Where this gets interesting is how I compare it the 2017 release. The reality is, I need to pick up another bottle of each and put the two to task. Before tonight I'd have said the 2017 with ease, but as time has passed, this one has really opened up. Lag fans, peat heads, and cask-strength lovers rejoice. This is an automatic purchase if you can handle a good dose of smoke and ABV. Cannot wait to try the 2019; I'm also eyeing a 2016 release that I saw on the shelf at a local store as recently as a month ago. Lucky me. This is worth every penny of $130. Buy with confidence.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to do one of these and decided to pick a big bold whisky to get back into the swing. A yearly cask strength offering from the south coast of Islay is what I find in my Glencairn this evening, lets dive in. Nose: At first it’s peat along with a scent that reminds me a bit of a swamp or backwater inlet, we’ll call it brackish funk. Next come softer scents of vanilla and juicy fruits like pineapple. Palate: The palate is the opposite of the nose. First comes the fruit and vanilla. Next a distinct briny flavor. Right before swallowing comes the smoke and peat. The cask strength certainly helps the flavors come across as full but I don’t think I would label them as particularly intense. Finish: The finish starts spicy and peaty before fading into vanilla. The high proof keeps the finish going for quite some time. It’s a well balanced quality dram. It certainly has the peat you would expect but the fullness of the fruity flavors help to keep it balanced. At the time of this review the bottle is almost halfway gone but when I happened upon some notes from the first dram out of the bottle I noticed it was almost exactly the same. This suggests that oxidation doesn’t have much of an affect on the flavor of the whisky. I also added water as I went which made the fruity notes more prominent. It’s plenty balanced without the additional water so I didn’t find it necessary. The quality here is unquestioned and although expensive I’m glad I grabbed it, but I don’t think I loved it enough to try and find another one. Sláinte!

Lagavulin is the distillery that keeps on giving. I currently have the Lagavulin 16, 8, and Distillers Edition, with this being the most recent addition to this collection. And I can honestly say that this is probably the best offering that I’ve had from Lagavulin. On the nose it has everything you’d expect from Lagavulin from the dark citrus notes to the light and fresh smoke. But the interplay between these is incredible. On the palate, there is some oil that gives you a punch, but overall it is relatively smooth. The flavors that reveal themselves include orange peel, brine, seaweed, and playful smokiness. The finish is long and inviting. This is quite expensive compared to other offerings from Lagavulin, but in my opinion it’s worth the money for an experience such as this one.

Barbecue lamb chops and seaweed in profusion invade the nose, with the acrid smoke of the embers pinching the nostrils. Balsamic touch with scorched pine flakes, orange peel. Penetrating without alcoholic burning. And even on the palate the considerable alcohol content pushes the spiciness without overwhelming, enhancing the more marine and brackish aspect of the whisky with the smoke that, although present, withdraws in front of the rising tide. The waves bring sweeter hints, which emerge laboriously bringing orange, licorice, green apple, cardamom. Long finish, of spices, ash, baked sardines, candied orange. Similar yet different from the release of the following year, perhaps less balanced between the peat and the sweet side, but still exciting and engaging.

Nose - sweet with hints of lagavulin's classic malt, but a bit of astringent oak and alcohol combining. A bit of vegetable notes but then turning smokey and sweet. Taste - the 2018 is best noted with a rich amount of complexity. A mix of oak, spice, some youth, and the lagavulin malt. If you and more classic lag 12, add some water and it brings the peat and smoke and aristocratic sweet lagavulin malt forward. The 2018 certainly uses some tired casks but has some nice still vanilla rich casks. Youth and some less than optimal casks leaves this one a bit short, but the high abv and quality mouth feel drive this one to a 2.75 for me. Quality quality dram for those of you looking for quality on a reasonable budget and who are ok with spirit forward whisky.

I've never seen a bottle of the 12 in the wild, but I'm planning to start scouring once the Diageo releases the 2019 bottles, as recently announced.   In the meantime, I had the opportunity to try the 2018 at the wonderful Flatiron Room in Manhattan.  I love both the 16 and 8, and I was curious to see which one the 12 was more like.  After tasting it, I say that it about equally similar to both.  Like the 8, it is a bit rowdy, with a strong but controlled amount of ethanol (due to the youth of the 8 and the higher proof of the 12)  It also shares some of the lighter notes of the 8.  But it also has a richness and fullness similar to the 16. A very nice dram overall, and one that I think will be enjoyable for fans of either the 8 or 16.