Lagavulin 2002 Distillers Edition (Bottled 2018)

Nose - apricot, peach, fig, plum, musty grape, bread pudding, sweet peat, vanilla, toffee, blueberry, iodine, ash, brine, leather, sweet tobacco, nutmeg, clove, lemon, flint, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - grilled peach, apricot, juicy pear, sour apple, sweet peat, salted caramel, vanilla, miso, cinnamon, ash, nutmeg, clove, brine, leather, dark chocolate, cola, orange zest, lemon, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with grilled fruit, sweet peat, dark chocolate, and baking spice flavors. Another day, another Lagavulin. Life could be worse. I requested this sample primarily to compare the 2018 version against the 2019 bottle I own. Secondarily, I love peat and sherry combinations, so this gives me another excuse to taste one. The nose is really nice, as I knew it would be. The smoky peat is softer than on the 16 year, allowing juicy, grilled fruits, musty grape, and bread pudding aromas to surface. The palate is solid, but it’s a step down from the nose. Interestingly, it tastes underproofed, which I don’t remember being the case with the 2019 version. Still, there are some nice sherried fruit notes, alongside ashy smoke, dark chocolate, and citrus flavors. Now for the fun part. How does this stack up against the 2019 Distiller’s Edition? They smell very similar, although the 2018 is slightly gentler. The 2019 seems to retain more of the prickliness of its initial form. The same holds for the palate. It’s an almost imperceptible difference, but for a bit more oomph through the mid palate and into the finish. And sadly, they both veer into sour territory on the finish. This is a good example of how your palate changes over time with more experiences. At one point, the 2019 Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition was my absolute favorite dram. Unfortunately, it’s not even close anymore. This is still great whiskey, but it’s no longer outstanding to me. Accordingly, I’ll be dropping my previous score for the 2019 to align with this one. A big thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing the generous sample that enabled this comparison.

If you ever want to buy a good whisky, without having tried it before, to make a safe bet, you can always trust a Lagavulin Distiller's edition. This review is for the 2018 expression, distilled in 2002; as always 16yo, for a lagavulin classic age statement. Bottled at 43%, amazing chesnut color. On the nose: LEMONADE. WOW. this is pure lemonade. With hints of heather, peat and maybe starfruit. On the palate, things happen one moment at a time: at first, notoriously sherried, then prunes, then pepper and peat. Some Toffee and Salt. Very nice and complex. Aftertaste is beautiful: Smoke, so fancy. Refined. Ashy, bonfire and Sulphur. Spent Fireworks, spent matches. Lovely, but mostly interesting. Overall this is a great dram, as all Lagavulin Distiller's Editions....... as all lagavulins too. 92 over 100.

On the nose, the peat smoke punches through first but quickly recedes into pool of strawberry jam and blackberries which retains it's intensity due to the underlying peat base. The taste retains the fruit notes with a syrupy consistently but the finish blossoms back into a flurry of peat smoke returning the dram to it's roots. It's a strange, peculiar experience, though one containing great delights if given sufficient attention.

Same smoothness and timed complexity as the standard 16, but with a bit more tang and vanilla. Likely due to the transferring to Pedro ximinez casks which equals double maturation. Great amount of peat and smoke in the start, but soon reveals lots of scents once it makes it way down. Definitely a favorite

Wow, this is an excellent whiskey. Think of a Laga 16 with any of the perceived rough edges of which there are few to none totally smoothed out. It's also a little heavier on the sherry flavor and not quite as peaty as the 16. It's excellent. Try one. 👍🥃

- genuinely bonkers good. Classic smoky acotxh profile of peat and leather but offset on a smooth sweet finish from the sherry cask age. This is phenomenal. Great intro to scotch brew.