Lagavulin Distillers Edition

Favorite single malt scotch I've had

Tasting the 2018 edition N: char but not the intense smokiness of younger Islay expressions. It's more like the boiling sugar smell in candy making. Sweet, there's a lovely cherry and chocolate after the char. P: deep, plummy fruit. The PX has had a very rounded jammy influence, as opposed to tartness like many sherry casks. The peat is there but more muted than lagavulin's standard bottling, and none of the seaweed and iodine of other Islays. Strong tea and salted crackers round it out. F: sweet and salty finish. The lingering whisps of campfire remind you where it's from but the distiller's edition is Lagavulin dressed up and perfumed for a night out.

I had higher hopes for this. I love Lag 16. I love PX sherry. Both are what one might categorize as at the extreme ends of their respective categories, one being bold, meaty, and heavily peated, the other being darkly concentrated sweetness bordering on cloying. One would be right to assume that these two extremes would complement one another - and yet, I find myself a bit let down. Let me explain. We buy Lagavulin for the smoke. We all know what we're getting into when we buy Lagavulin, and we've all probably tormented a relative with it who's sworn off scotch for the rest of their living days because they feel we fed them a liquid ashtray. No, just me? Ok, well... The nose on this is the best part. They pulled a Macallan on this one, where the nose has waves and waves of evolving notes, one minute meaty peat, the next raisins and dark, dark fruits ALA the PX finish. Very complex. Very enjoyable. Unfortunately, like many Macallans, this one also fails to follow up on the palate. Instead of complementing the peat, the PX finish smooths it over, thereby diminishing what makes Lagavulin, well...Lagavulin. The finish is pleasant enough, medium length, sweet and sour and savory and blah blah blah. By now I've lost interest. So what is the final assessment? The nose is magnificent. I spent 20 minutes with the Glencairn just nosing this trying to pick out this and that. Palate is a disappointment, and the finish is meh. Given all that, I'd say a 3.75-4.0 is in order, but I paid $120 for this, which is a good $20 over the (in my opinion, much superior) Lagavulin 16. For that, it gets the 3.5 before you, and I feel that's being generous. I've now tried the Lag 16, the Lag 8, the subpar Lag 9 from the GOT marketing push last year, and now this. My guess is that (1) Diageo directs barrels that don't make the cut for the standard Lag 16 bottling for the "Distillers Edition" line, and use the PX finish to mask rather than enhance poor maturation, and (2) this expression used to be much better, hence the 96 distiller rating from several years ago and the 4.5 average user rating, and (3) skip the "diversified portfolio" that Lagavulin has put out and stick with the Lag 16. Yes, it's gone up in price here in the states, but it's still that good. It leaves the rest of their core line dead in the dust. I'll happily drink this bottle. It'll be good desert fodder and easy to please company with (better than Ardbeg anyways...), but it's far from the best I've tried. Cheers all!

Best smelling scotch.

Rich, creamy, dark fruit, berries, citrus, vanilla, hints of bourbon, cinnamon, tobacco, chocolate, ash, mild pepper, lightly phenolic. The sweet and the peat are beautifully complimentary. This is magnificent stuff. Instantly one of my favorites.

LAGAVULIN 2003 16YO DISTILLERS EDITION 43% - 2ND TRY - Smokey, roasted pork, peaty, nutty, delicate, no spiciness 3.5 Delicate and light, nice smokiness, very mild in flavour profile but the smoke element is distinct and nice, roasted pork, a little bitterness. Penalizing it for the lack of flavour but this whisky feels very one dimensional 2 Smokey and bbq smoke 2.5 2.5 lagavulin 2003 16YO DISTILLER EDITION 43% Complex smoke, no pepper, caramel, toffee, vanilla 3.25 Smooth, no pepper, quite a bland profile, bbq seared pork ribs with a thick honey glazed, 2.5 Long sustained smoke 3 2.75