Lagavulin 12 Year The Flames of the Phoenix (2022 Special Release)

On the nose musty peat, citrus, menthol, dark chocolate, anise, greasy bacon, smoked vegetables. The palate brings more sweetness than the nose lets on. Vanilla citrus, then the bacon vegetable peat smoke. The nose is really interesting as it leans much more savory and herbal. The palate seems less complex in comparison, but the sweetness that shows up is a nice surprise. A few drops of water help to bring out more of the notes from the nose. I love Lagavulin and this one does not disappoint. I bought this on sale from one of the European sites, including shipping at around $120, and at that price I'm more than pleased. I recently tried the Lag Distiller's Edition and gave it a 4.5, but i like this even better - although owing I'm sure to my predilection for higher proof whisky. Going with the same score though, because I don't believe it rises quite to a 4.75.

Nose: Bandaids, Peaty, Honey Palate: Sweet, needs water and lots. Very hot to start until tamed Finish: Hot and Burny Comment: A pity its so darn hot. Will try to balance it better in the next dram. 200ml Bottle Dram 2 Nose: same as above Palate: Now tamed with water and the bottle has settled. Needs quite alot of water. Finish: Long, smoky and toasty

Fiery peat and spiky. Im a huge fan of the special release 12y CS. Have had every release since 2018. This is a solid entry and reminiscent of the others in the series but not quite as good as the previous years. It just lacks the complexity and signature lemon vegetal notes of its predecessors. As the price has creeped up to rhe $160 range these are unfortunately no longer auto buys. I wouldnt buy again at $140 but rather would seek out older vintages. Even the 2021 was superior with 2019/2020 my faves.

After suffering a little dissapointment with the Talisker Diageo Special Release 2022, i had my faith on the Lagavulin from the same collection, with a lovely phoenix in the label. This natural cask strength bottling is 57.3%abv, and it is said that the master distiller picked the smokiest casks of the warehouse to put together this single malt. Well, as soon as i uncorked it i said "Woooohoooo!" The aroma was absolutely incredible. Coffee, a marvelous cocoa note that is filled with peat. Earthy and smokey; bacon notes. Medicinal profile as well. It is so powerful on the nose, but in a very good way. Plastic and gooseberries. After the first sip it released chocolate notes. A fish market. Hazelnuts. SPECTACULAR. On the palate it is perfect. Chocolate, hazelnut, Nutella, salt. It is wonderful, awesome, amazing and every other adjective you can imagine. Aftertaste is simply out of this world. Ashes, chocolate, smoke, meat with salt. You can feel that lovely layer of grease from a properly piece of meat perfectly done in a BBQ. In conclusion, this is one of the greatest Lagavulins i have had, and believe me, that is quite the statement. It is better than most whiskies i have had in 2022 and i will definitively have this one on my top ten tasted whiskies from this year. I wish i could give it a thousand points, but i will stick to some serious review score of 100 over 100. It can't be any better. Trust me. Sláinte.

Color: Sunny dandelion. Nose: Creamy banana meets a surprising level of salt and seawater. Some classic Lagavulin campfire smoke but a sweeter and more marine nose than I'm used to. Palate: Rich and meaty and saturated with charcoal. Still, however, vegetative sweetness persists - redolent of butternut squash or grilled plantains. Finish: Smoke gets dialed up on the way out, almost to a point of ashiness. Pungent plumes from a tailpipe. Diluted: Graham cracker smores erupt from the nose, with more layered bourbon notes on the palate. Palate retains its smoke, almost in its entirety.