Lagavulin The Ink of Legends (2023 Special Release)

A bit of agave, lots of smoke

Nose: floral, minerality, brine, citrus zest, when you back off a bit you get the vegetal agave. Strong hammy peat throughout, vanilla. As i sit with it, i get more smoke/campfire. 5 drops of water brings out agave more and mutes some of the sugary elements as well as some more bitter citrus element. Malt complexity comes out more here. Palate: tequila barrel/agave is prominent but very well balanced, crystalline brown sugar. Vanilla, classic lagavulin elegant peat. Theres a floral element, grapefruit peel as it transitions to finish. Salty. After water, i feel like the peat and salinity comes out more. With a little bigger sip i get a nice robust agave note. Finish: light, floral, briny and vegetal. Nice classic lagavulin peat. Like youre inside the dank musty hull of a pirate ship.

I will spoil this review right from the beggining by saying that this is, in fact, another perfect whisky made by Islay's king, Lagavulin. Lagavulin Ink of legends, is Diageo's 2023 Special Release, matured in Don Julio's Tequila Casks, and it tells the story of Aztec and Mayans tattoos. Bottled at 56.4%abv. On the nose, it starts with an obvious tequila profile. Gooseberries, leather shoes, school glue, liquid paper. It is a burnt pineapple. I can only describe the next note as bug fumigación. Merthiolate. After a first sip it gave me a lit cigar note. Floor detergent and pear peel. On the palate, it starts with chocolate, herbal notes, green tea and grass. The second sip was a little dimmer. Smoke herbal; Tequila and also Jaggermeister. Aftertaste is all about smoke, bbq wings. Long and salty. Tequila. In conclusion, this one really was out of this world. The previous Diageo Special Release was not as impressive, but this one was truly a home run. The power, complexity and overall balance of this dram is out of this world. My score is, of course, a 100 over 100.

Smooth, a bit of smoke. Very faint hints of tequila

Felt the tequila cask imparted some cooked agave, bright fruit, and green pepper notes but didn’t meet up to the level of the 2021 Jazz Festival Mezcal Cask. Nose: Vanilla, Jalapeños, Marshmallows, Brisket, Blueberries, Raspberries, Cooked Agave, Eucyptalus, Bananas, Peaches, Pineapples, Honey Palate: Smoke, Bacon, Vanilla, Strawberries, Jalapeños, Raspberries, Tangerines, Cooked Agave, Peaches, Caramel, Iodine, Pineapples Finish: Strawberries, Roses, Cooked Agave, Jalapeños, Marshmallows, Bananas, Toffee, Vanilla, Raspberries, White Chocolate

I don’t get it. Why were tequila casks even used for this finishing? It had nothing to add. I couldn’t even smell or taste even a hint of tequila’s grassy herbal flavor. Was it because the original Lag was just subpar and they had to bandaid it up? Or was it that they used really week 3rd or 4th fill tequila barrels? Was it done to fix a bad original Lag or too add a marketing twist to claim “ look, a new finish” without pissing off Lag fans with too much a finish? Either way, this is just cask strength Lag. The finish does nothing. Actually takes away from being a truly great CS Lag. But with that said, it’s still a good Lag. Fatty mouthfeel, saline and brine, earthy peat smoke and citrus. It’s a good Lag that I’d have anytime any day. But, I can’t justify the price. I bought only a 200ml version, and I don’t think I’d be a buyer of the 700 or 750. It’s too pricey for what it offers. You’re paying for a CS version and a premium for the finishing, but the finishing does nothing to this. Final verdict: skip this. Waste of money. It’s a pour to have at a bar or restaurant, or from a friend that happened to buy a bottle. Instead opt for the CS version in bourbon barrels. That is pure Lag, rough and tough.

Lagavulin The Ink of Legends (12-year cask strength 2023 release) sells for around $200. This is the first Lagavulin 12 that is perhaps not a Lagavulin 12. Lagavulin 12, for Islay peatheads, is as recognizable and as traditional as Jesus Christ. Recently, the powers that be, have decided that Jesus needs to be more modern, leading up to the 2022 version, The Flames of the Phoenix, which included some virgin oak cask-finishing. That release was very nice, and, in my opinion, worth the $170 that I paid for it. It was Jesus Christ with eye-liner and a Bohemian neck warmer, but I could still tell it was Jesus. This 2023 version has been finished in Don Julio Anejo Tequila barrels. It is, on the nose, still Lagavulin 12 – a saline, peppery, beefy beast that seems even more awesome than any prior release that I’ve nosed. The tequila barrels, on the nose, are beautifully sympathetic to the base whisky, adding power to the Son of Islay without bringing any attention to tequila. On the palate, however, tequila vies for attention, and when you smack your mouth and do the gustatory equivalent of squinting your eyes, it’s hard to tell if this is still Jesus Christ, or Jared Leto playing Jesus Christ. This is the sweetest Lagavulin 12 for sure. But the sweetness is a honied agave sweetness that immediately clashes with the oak, ash and citrus notes of a normal Lagavulin 12. I suppose the idea is to invoke the layman’s association between tequila, salt, and limes; but that is a terrible combination. If your goal is to knock back some Patron and get shitfaced, then I guess salt and limes can be a good distraction from the alcohol burn, but it is actually not a good flavor combination. I will stop short of calling this release blasphemous, because a cask-strength Lagavulin spirit aged in a bourbon barrel for around 12 years is such a rugged specimen that it can withstand strange cask finishes. But I will call this release disappointing because the cask finish seems to so unnecessary and adds nothing except some confusion to the palate and finish. I have always felt that Lagavulin 12 can be $200 on the shelf, and I would be happy to pay that price. Now that they finally release a $200 bottling, they fuck up, and this bottle is not worth it. What’s frustrating is that their intentions were clearly not to rip off the consumer by cutting costs in production; their intentions were to try and make a truly impeccable and timeless whisky more appealing to the new marketing target of the whisky industry: faithless newly minted adults who are actually still children.