Lagavulin 16 is likely one of the most recognisable single malts on the planet. It’s smoky, daring, and unmistakably Islay. However even in the event you’ve poured it many instances, there’s a great likelihood you don’t know the complete story.
From the notorious White Horse bottlings to cola cocktails and cult celeb followers, the Lagavulin 16 you understand is just a part of the image.
Listed here are seven issues that may shock you about probably the most vital whiskies of the final 50 years.
If you wish to see how the trendy model compares to a uncommon bottle from the Eighties, we’ve included a hyperlink on the finish.
1. It Was By no means Meant to Be the Star
Lagavulin 16 was first launched in 1989. It launched as a part of United Distillers’ new Traditional Malts of Scotland assortment.
This collection included six single malts, every chosen to signify a unique area. Lagavulin was the Islay choose. It was seen because the wild card. An enormous, smoky whisky that was anticipated to enchantment to a small group of peat lovers.
Lagavulin 16 shortly outpaced expectations. Demand outstripped provide. Within the early Nineteen Nineties, it needed to be positioned on allocation in lots of markets. Right now, it stays the flagship bottling from the distillery.
Most distilleries select a youthful whisky as their core expression. Lagavulin went with a 16-year-old as an alternative, a choice that helped outline its repute. It informed drinkers this whisky was severe. Wealthy, aged, and never designed to please everybody.
2. The Identify Means “Hole of the Mill”
Lagavulin comes from the Gaelic Lag a’ Mhuilinn. It means “hole of the mill.”
The distillery sits on the south coast of Islay, between Ardbeg and Laphroaig, with the identify reflecting the distillery’s environment. Lagavulin was formally based in 1816, however whisky had been made there illegally for many years earlier than that.
By the late 1800s, it was run by Peter Mackie, the person behind the White Horse mix. He helped convey Lagavulin to wider consideration.
That very same mix would later play a key function within the historical past of Lagavulin 16.
3. White Horse Bottlings Are Extremely Collectable
In the event you spot a bottle of Lagavulin 16 with “White Horse Distillers, Glasgow” on the label, take a better look.
These early releases got here out within the late Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties. They marked the primary official bottlings of Lagavulin 16, simply because it joined the Traditional Malts vary.
Collectors now pay a premium for them. A normal 750ml bottle can fetch £500 or extra, whereas the rarer 1-litre variations have been identified to promote for over £1,000.
Many whisky followers imagine these early bottlings had entry to raised casks, particularly well-seasoned sherry wooden. Others say the steadiness of smoke, sweetness, and malt was merely extra refined than as we speak’s model. This, together with the rarity and mythological nature of the White Horse bottlings, contributes to their excessive worth on the secondary market.
It’s probably the most debated comparisons in whisky accumulating: classic White Horse Lagavulin versus the trendy 16.
Need to know the way it tastes? Learn our full evaluation of the Eighties White Horse Lagavulin 16 right here.
4. It’s Made Slowly, on Goal
Lagavulin 16 is constructed for depth, not velocity.
It begins with closely peated malt from Port Ellen, measuring round 35 PPM. That provides it the signature Islay smoke.
Fermentation takes as much as 75 hours, longer than many different distilleries. Distillation is even slower. Lagavulin’s stills are the slowest on Islay, with the second run lasting greater than 9 hours.
The whisky matures largely in bourbon barrels, with some sherry casks for added richness. It ages in warehouses by the ocean, the place the coastal air might add a contact of salt.
All the things is designed to create huge, layered taste.
5. The Taste Is In contrast to Something Else
Lagavulin 16 has a style that folks bear in mind. Even when they don’t love peat, they don’t neglect it.
It opens with thick smoke, extra like a bonfire than a campfire. Assume coal embers, seaweed, and Lapsang Souchong tea.
Then come the layers. Dried fruits from the sherry casks. Vanilla and spice from the bourbon wooden. A salty edge from its coastal getting older.
It’s full-bodied and daring, but additionally balanced. Smoky, candy, spicy, and savoury unexpectedly.
Some tasters name it “dragon’s breath”. Others say it tastes like a weathered fishing boat.
Both approach, it’s unmistakable, and that’s why individuals preserve coming again to it.
6. It’s One of many Most Revered Whiskies within the World
Lagavulin 16 has received a protracted checklist of awards. It has taken house Double Gold on the San Francisco World Spirits Competitors a number of instances, and scored 97 factors on the Final Spirits Problem in 2018.
It’s additionally a favourite amongst critics. Michael Jackson, considered one of whisky’s most revered writers, rated it 95 factors in his Full Information To Single Malt Scotch (4th version).
Jim Murray gave it 95/100 within the Whisky Bible, praising its richness and steadiness.
Serge Valentin of Whiskyfun often scores it round 90 factors, calling it in his most up-to-date evaluation, “my go-to malt each time I’m at a restaurant or a bar that’s not a ‘whisky bar’. I feel I’ll keep that custom. An beautiful batch”.
For a lot of drinkers and reviewers alike, it’s the usual by which different smoky whiskies are judged.
7. It Has a Cocktail, and a Superstar Superfan
You in all probability wouldn’t combine Lagavulin 16 with cola. However somebody did, and it labored.
Extremely revered whisky author Dave Broom found that Lagavulin 16 pairs surprisingly effectively with cola and lime in his 2014 e-book, Whisky: The Handbook. The combo grew to become often known as the Smoky Cokey. It was later served at occasions like Feis Ile, Islay’s annual whisky competition.
The sweetness of the cola lifts the peat. The lime provides a pointy distinction. It’s daring, but it surely works.
Lagavulin 16 additionally discovered fame on display. Actor Nick Offerman, greatest often known as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, is a real-life fan. His character’s love of Lagavulin grew to become a operating theme within the present.
The connection led to official collaborations. Offerman has launched a number of particular Lagavulin bottlings.
Closing Ideas
Lagavulin 16 is greater than only a smoky whisky. It’s a landmark bottle with historical past, complexity, and actual cultural weight.
Whether or not you’re new to Islay or have cherished it for years, there’s all the time one thing extra to find.
So, are you a fan of Lagavulin 16? Or does one other Islay whisky take your fancy? Tell us within the feedback beneath.
