Lagavulin 14 year Fèis Ìle 2023

Smokey, a little (not unpleasant) bitterness

Ok so here’s the issue. Let’s say you have an amazing house. It’s a beautiful modern style , on a cliff overlooking the Pacific blue waters. Now you decide to paint it from its current Greek style whitewash to something different, like sky blue. It’s still a gorgeous house. The paint didnt add to it or take away from it. It may be different , and some folks might say “cant beleive you painted it blue”. Others might say “it goes amazing with the background “. Either way, it’s still an amazing house , with a multi-million dollar location. That’s what this pour is like. I had a small 3cl pour that I bought, more so out of curiosity. It’s a 14yr old, approximately £250 for a full bottle ($300 USD or so), matured in Amercian and European oak, followed by a finshing in Armagnac. A first for Lag. Really full body. Aromas of smoked ham, a bit of grape skins. Taste is savory, salty, sweetness like grapes, and there’s the smoke…warming and smoky with a earthy sweetness. It’s really good. It’s in fact damn good. But it’s just a notch over any of their other Feis Ile or Jazz, or any Lag…a Lag is a Lag, and if you’re a fan, it’s either “really good” to “wow”. Does the Armagnac paint color change make a substantial difference? No. You already have a really good distillate, that you just changed the look and feel. Is it worth $300? To me…no. If $ is measured in terms of happiness output, I’d be just as happy with the Offerman edition at $90. A Lag is a Lag. Just becuse I painted the Pacific cliff house blue instead of white doesn’t take away or add that it’s still a anazing Pacific cliff house.

Feis ile is that special moment where Islay's distilleries rmake a festival, and some really rare expressions are released. Lagavulin bottlings are very sought by collectors and whisky enthusiasts, due to their great experiments during the festival. This 2023 special edition, was a 14yo Armagnac cask finish, at cask strength. With a beautiful 58.4%abv, this is one bottle i wasn't going to miss. On the nose, it was amazing. Lime, lemon pie and Meringue. It is a lemoncello with smoke. Very citric and fruity. Grapefruit, mango and medicinal notes. After a first sip, the aroma fell a little, but it managed to deliver some tropical punch notes. Apricots. On the palate it has three notes, but it feels absolutely perfect. A Havanna Pastry Sweet "Alfajor". Lemon and pineapple. Super nice. Aftertaste is where the peat lived. Smokey, ashes and ginger. Long finish. Lovely. Overall; this is is not an overly complex "Laga" but it is one that was very near to perfection. It really lost two points on the aroma that fell dramatically after a sip; if this did not happen, it would have been a perfect score. My rate for this amazing single malt is 98 over 100.

Beautiful plummy and jammy flavor profile. Nose: Plums, Jasmine, Dark Chocolate, Sultanas, Hazlenuts, Violets, Red Grapes, Rosewater, Luxardo Cherries, Pineapples Palate: Iodine, Raisins, Dark Chocolate, Band Aids, Violets, Blueberries, Maple Glazed Bacon, Plums, Hogo, Coconuts Finish: Plums, Dark Chocolate, Raisins, Coconuts, Hazlenuts, Bacon, Iodine