Lagavulin 12yo Straight From The Cask, Single Second Fill European oak Barrel

Had this on the tasting at Lagavulin with Iain!

I have arrived to the most holy land of whisky... i have stepped over the most important piece of land in the isle of Islay, the one and only LAGAVULIN DISTILLERY. Arguably the King of Islay, (let the internet backlash begin in the comments), Lagavulin was my first love for peaty whiskies and their 16yo expression has become indestructible against any critics. I have had a lot of "Lagas" in the past years, but now i am here for the ultimate experience. Drawn from 4 incredible casks, i am about to taste some incredible Lagavulins. Did i tell you that the Mythical Ian McArthur is the one pouring the whiskies? (He draws them from the cask using his mouth, i believe this enhances the experience, lol). My first Warehouse tasting was this 12yo, Straight from the Cask, a single second filled european oak barrel, served at 51%abv. On the nose, it is quite sweet! Brownies, chocolate, vanilla, hay. Less complex that other Lagavulins but very sweet. Lots of chocolate notes. Malted barley. On the palate, deliciously sweet. Chocolate milk, dim nice pepper. Super elegant vanilla and earthy notes. Gooseberries. Aftertaste is where the peat was hiding: Smoke, tar, and all the bautiful stuff from Lagavulin, herbal, bonfire. Overall, this was an enormous dram to start the tour. I loved the sweet twist that this whisky has, it confabulates with the peatiness in a great way. My score for this beauty is 92 over 100.