Lagavulin The Ink of Legends (2023 Special Release)

Beautiful Whisky!

Lagavulin 12 is a gold standard annual release for me. One of the few in show up for every single year. Last year, they added the virgin oak twist to the release, and the variations seem to be here to stay. This one employs the use of Don Julio Anejo casks. I already pick some vegetal and agave-type notes from a lot of Islay aged in more neutral-profile casks, so amplifying those characteristics should make for a fun product. Nose: A whopping hit of Vanilla custard. Sugar cookie. Underneath is some spice. Cinnamon. Black bean, red pepper chili. Vegetal peat and sea salt. Salted caramel and saltwater taffy. Lemon and lime. Gala apple and raspberry. Cherry sweetness. Some fruit notes I was expecting, but there were some surprises here as well. Ash. Hazelnut. Milk chocolate and toffee. Palate: Saltwater taffy and saltwater caramel. Big time brine, sea salt, and peat. Heavy grapefruit and lime. Campfire smoke and ash—more of the latter than the former. Iodine. Bandaid. Milk chocolate and caramel. Golden Teddy Graham. Pear. Golden raisin and cranberry. Almond. Some grassy, vegetal notes. A taste akin to the way fresh cut grass smells. Hazelnut and toasted almond. White pepper and cinnamon. Finish: Hazelnut leads the charge. Vanilla, milk chocolate, saltwater taffy, and salted caramel. Brown sugar, white pepper, and cinnamon. Grassy, vegetal notes again. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak roll in after that in what makes for an incredibly long finish. Objectively a solid whisky. I appreciate Lagavulin giving their best effort to keep this line fresh. It’s also obvious that Diageo was pushing in-house crossovers. And if that can’t be done artfully, I do not appreciate it. Now, this was a good effort, and more closely resembles an effort to put a fresh spin on the product than the latter. Were I to judge this on its own merit, I would’ve found this to be a perfectly solid whisky. But it’s coming from arguably my favorite annual release line, so my standards are a bit higher than they generally would be. My main problem with this is that the Tequila cask gives this whisky a youthful, grassy quality rather adding the agave, bell pepper, and citrus notes I was hoping for. It was just the Lagavulin citrus, in addition to the other hallmark qualities of the distillery, with a minor but noticeable youthful detractor. Still a solid whisky, just the first I’ve given below a 5-star rating. 4.25.

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