Tastes

Reminiscent of the annual 12 year old special release, however obviously lacking the punch in the face of that cask strength bottling and, in turn, the power of the peat and smoke isn't as strong. That being said, as many have noted, the fruit notes are more prevalent here. If you've had one of the NAS Jazz Fest bottlings from the past few years, you'll know what I mean. It's a balance that the best Lagavulin releases achieve. The 46% compliments all of the proceedings very well – makes you wish they'd up the % on the 16, though that is the definition of a "classic malt," marketing aside. In any case, this is an excellent whisky, especially given the original retail price (if you can find it for that, still). Highly recommend for Laga fans and peats fans, alike.

The remaining couple drams of this bottle are locked away in a display case, as I shared a dram with Nick Offerman himself and had him sign the label.

One of the best festival bottlings from the distillery. It's lusciously and pleasantly balanced between lots of fruit and the signature smoke.