Lagavulin Distillers Edition

Who wants Lagavulin 16 flavored with PX sherry? Oh, did I say flavored? I meant finished. When you take a younger whisky like Laphroaig’s NAS, and you finish it in PX sherry, you add sophistication. When you take something that’s already been aged 15 years, is on its way to becoming a canonized whisky, and you finish it in PX sherry, you are doing subtraction. I have a 2015 bottle that I’m struggling to finish, favoring heavily the original Lagavulin 16. With it being almost a year opened, this bottle evolved from being a PX dominated profile to a castrated Lagavulin 16 with only hints of sherry. NOSE: From a fresh bottle, PX sherry and oak are definitely present, but enveloped by smoke. The smoke is definitely lighter and fruitier than the standard LV 16. With time, the PX influence disappears. I can’t smell the sherry anymore in my bottle. PALATE: Salty raisins and plums. It’s heavy PX sherry flavors. The smoke emerges from the sweet arrival to add some dryness. The smoke is shy, while the PX is what’s bold. This reverses with time for an opened bottle. My wife, who cannot stand peat stronger than a Talisker 10, and absolutely hates the standard Ardbeg/Laphroaig/Lagavulin, actually gets upset if I pour myself the DE without pouring her some – that’s how I know they castrated this Lagavulin. FINISH: Raisins and plums return. It is delicious at first, but PX for me is one of those things that start out welcoming, but then outlasts its welcome, and then it’s like, get the fuck out of my mouth you raisins. With the long-opened bottle, the raisin flavors aren’t nearly as strong, and all I get is a dilute sweet smoke, which just makes me miss the original Lagavulin 16. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good whisky that deserves a respectable rating, but it is PX contaminating the legendary Lagavulin 16. 85/100.