Lagavulin 12 Year (2016 Special Release)

This dram was my wife's pick at Shebeen's, an Irish bar with a hell of a scotch selection in Vancouver. The appearance, nose, and palate of this scotch are a bit surprising in that they revealed to me a close kinship between Ardbeg and Lagavulin's products that isn't as readily perceptible in Lagavulin 16, where age has transformed the spirit into something more distinctive. I loved this little insight into youthful Lagavulin's Ardbeggian indiscretions. The nose has a good deal of lemon or citrus on it to complement a heavy dose of smoke, like Ardbeg 10. There's also a buttery, Chardonnay echo, and the distinct aroma of toasted rice (Asians in particular will appreciate this scent, it's the smell of the rice at the bottom of a metal rice cooker that gets a little more burnt). Very lively and complex nose. The palate again for me was a dead ringer for Ardbeg, and if you'd told me it was a higher ABV bottling of 10 or a version with a few more years of aging, I'd buy it (the resemblance is akin to that between 43% Laphroaig 10 and 51.5% Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015, which was aged an extra 20-21 months). The finish is the star, as there's an explosion of dark chocolate and espresso, with some sweetness and cream. Imagine going to a restaurant and splitting a lemon tart and tiramisu. I also get how that smoky, slightly herbal flavor could taste like tea to some at the very end. This bottle is expensive, but it falls into the worth-a-splurge category for me.

2.5