Lagavulin 12 Year (2016 Special Release)

N: peat, smoke, wood B: peat, oak, caramel, vanilla F: sugary but smokey

Complex. One of my favorite.

Nose- Fruity notes of pineapple and melon come through immediately followed by vanilla sugar, smoke, and the smell of the ocean. Body- Pineapple continues with the vanilla sugar. Smoke is always present but noticeably lighter than the 16 year. This allows the fruit to come through more here. Finish- The finish is long, but less so than the 16 year. The fruitiness gives way to sweet straw. The smoke becomes more noticeable on the finish and slowly brings a conclusion to an excellent dram. Note- While this definitely has the qualities of the Lagavulin 16 year, the equalizer knobs are adjusted dramatically. The sweet fruitiness gets turned up while the smoke is turned down. The meaty hickory smoke of the 16 is basically absent here. I like this a lot and am happy to have this in my collection. The 16 barely edges this out because I enjoy the longer finish and increased smoke.

(FWF $10 Dram [11th] Share #81 [5/31/2018])