LAGAVULIN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2021

So, this is my whisky review 991, and i have decided that this following 10 critics will be memorable drams, and then, i will release a book. Dreams can come true, and i have walked a long whisky way, to reach this magic number. I start this series with an amazing and unexpected single malt, a 13yo Lagavulin, Islay Jazz festival 2021, that has been matured in.... hold your seats... mezcal casks. If you don't know what mezcal is, it can be described as the father of tequila, since this last one is a type of mezcal drink. It is made from a plant called agave or "Maguey". Nowadays tequila and mezcal have some flavor profile differences, but in a raw sense of things, Tequila is one variant of Mezcal. Bottled at 54.8%abv, this is a limited released of 3000 bottles. I really don't know what to expect here. On the nose, it begins with a quite perfumed, aromatic peat. It smells like lotion for burnt skin. Floral. It feels like a Valentine's day. Margarine butter. Cough syrup. After a first sip, the aroma changed into a hawaiian Pizza, the one with the burnt pineapples. Chocolate hershey kisses. More sips revealed a swampy note. It is stingy on the nose. Incredible. On the palate, i can honestly say this is out of this world. Hershey's dark chocolate. Pepper bomb and the heart of the pineapple. A second sip felt like sea water, it has changed dramatically. Now it is all about cigarrettes, ashes and some sugary notes. So complex and interesting. Aftertaste is the perfect ending for this whisky rollercoaster. Smoke, agave, cotton and medicinal gauze and tape. More sips gave me ashtray, salty and tar. Red chilli. What an experience! Overall, this one is a must in every collection. Even the empty glass smells like a sawdust factory. Super complex, balanced and delicious. It takes you to your organoleptic limits. I really was skeptic about the mezcal cask finish, but now i need every distillery to try this experiment. Amazing whisky, perfect score: 100 over 100. Slàinte!!!

Tasted this in Colin Gordon Feis ile master class and was impressed with how cooked agave smoke melded with Lagavulin oily barbecue smoke. Nose: Vanilla, Smoke, Jalapeños, Cooked Agave, Papaya, Mangoes, Cactus, Grass, Green Chili Peppers Palate: Vanilla, Barbecue Smoke, Coal, Cooked Agave, Butterscotch, Honey, Dark Chocolate, Pork Ribs, Tar, Anise, Cinnamon Finish: Dark Chocolate, Cooked Agave, Grass, Jalapeño, Anise, White Chocolate, Almonds

So my first lagvulin rare buy....I've had so many and I know these are so hit and miss. So I've had this actually a few times so far...not my normal neck pour thought...Also mezcal? WTF? Nose - A bit of a sour herbal/vegetal and yet lagavulin nose. I know many would want more notes here but I think this is enough for anyone. Smoke and hints of weird peppers with oak and mint with that classic lavaulin malt that brings vanilla and cream and just accretional quality. Taste - I'm not sure if the goal of a tasting is to review it or in this context explain why it's different. The opening is lagavulin 12, but then it turns vegetal and a bit different. And then we get to this insane finish. It's smoke and smoke but not the same. It's got elements of smoked oak but also just I dunno...we smoked something without oak character and it's here too. I think this is where I don't get mezcal but that's the flavor here. I even on a few pours get some buttery elements here. Bottom line it's pretty good but insanely complex. And where I'm sitting is this isn't a whisky I'm in love with or I love. I however I'm fascinated in what we have here. My god, how to score this....finish length and quality is a 5. The upfront is a 2 or 3 range. Good mouth feel. The nose doesn't do me much at all. So 3.5. I'm thinking 87-89 when I review it with mike. I paid just under 400 with fees and shipping to get this into the states. FOr that price it wasn't worth it but it's not a terrible price for a lagavulin this good.