The words Lagavulin and Distillery Exclusive make any whisky enthusiast’s heart skip a beat. In the past, exclusive bottlings for Feis Ile or the Jazz Festival have reached rarified air. The Lagavulin Distillery Exclusive 2017 wasn’t released for a particular occasion, but still promises to be quite good.
It doesn’t carry an age statement, but that doesn’t mean we know nothing about the contents of this Lagavulin. For one, it consists partly of 16-year-old triple matured Lagavulin (I sadly don’t know the cask types). Furthermore, first-fill bourbon matured Lagavulin was used to complete the vatting.
Lagavulin Distillery Exclusive 2017 (54,1%, OB, 7.500 bts)
Nose: Clean and fresh peat, not dissimilar to the Lagavulin 8. There are hints of brine and salty sea air. Lovely notes of citrus (bitter oranges mainly), as well as proper barbecue smoke and wet pebbles. Finally some peaches.
Taste: Nice fat and oily mouthfeel. Quite nutty, highlighted by skins of roasted peanuts, accompanied by an earthy peat smoke and tar. Vanilla also makes an appearance.
Finish: Lingering peat and tar. Long.
Rating: 87
Good stuff, well-integrated, and very tasty, but I wouldn’t travel all the way to Islay for this.
Photo: whisky-onlineauctions.com
Is it true that they use Lagavulin to remove sheep ticks?
Haha, well, I really don’t know anything about that.