Generously_Paul
Lagavulin 9 Year (Game of Thrones-House Lannister)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
July 17, 2019 (edited September 6, 2019)
Game of Thrones is done and gone...but the whisky lives on. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is the recent 8 year old with an added year of sherry maturation tacked onto it. I gave that one a 4.25, let’s see how this one compares. Bottled at 46% ABV and is most likely chill filtered and definitely has colorant added to make it exactly the same color as the other GoT releases, a solid amber.
Immediate heavy peat smoke on the nose, thick and wonderful. Very salty and briny with strong phenolic notes of creosote, smoldering coals, damp wood and earth. The peat influence steps aside after a while to reveal lemon custard, vanilla, vanilla cake batter and almond flour. A sherry sweetness with tons of fruits, orange zest, tangerines, apricots, plums and raisins. Letting it sit a bit longer brings out more sweetness, like frosted sugar cookies and toffee.
A powerful arrival on the palate with spice and billowing smoke. Dry oak, peppery, anise and ashes. Grilled fruits make their way in just like on the nose, apricots and plums. A sugary sweetness along with the spice, lemon custard and vanilla. Brine, maritime notes and a bit mineral as well. Classic Islay.
A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is oily, creamy and mouth coating.
The finish is medium long, smoky, ashes, peat and anise.
It’s a Lagavulin, what’s more to be said? Amazing, that’s what. Similar to the 8 but with an added sweetness. The peat at times is intense, and at others restrained. It has an elegance in its intensity. The 46% really helps carry it and I wish the 16 year old would follow suit. Even though I think this edges out the 8, I’m giving it the same score of 4.25.
Cheers
Shameless plug time... please check out Dapper Drams on YouTube for some fun comedy based whisky reviews. @LeeEvolved and I are working hard to bring you more content. Can’t promise it will get any better, but it shouldn’t get any worse either lol.
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@cascode so diageo probably figured cost of repackaging for one country < loss of sales in that country. Wondering if they’d have done the same for France, US, Germany, and China
@PBMichiganWolverine We had an unusual issue in Australia as there is a major wine producer called the House of Tyrell (they have been around for decades) and they took exception to the name Tyrell appearing on this expression. Rather than re-package, Diagio just chose not to release it here. What a lot of silliness.
@cascode the Clyneish is still hard to get here in the states, or priced higher than that first time around. Others in the series seem readily available again.
@Generously_Paul. I accept part responsibly in that uncertainty. The other part goes to my kids who kept bothering me while I was pouring samples 😊"
@geologyjane yes it was quite the marathon. I’ve decided that because of the sheer uncertainty of everything that I’m not going to write reviews for those 8 samples. Maybe the tequila since that one was obvious. By the way, a new episode of Fresh Takes starting @LeeEvolved is now up on the channel and he is doing a Highland Park 21 year old double review.
@geologyjane I’m partly to blame for that overwhelming barrage of blind samples . And as if that wasn’t challenging enough, I screwed up on the labeling. So...we couldn’t tell what was which.
@Generously_Paul - I took you up on your shameless plug, that blind whisky challenge looked pretty brutal! 8 is a lot, I was tired for you... Great review here too, I am seeing a second wave of GoT bottles hitting shelves near me and I am hoping to try a few I missed out on the first time around.
@Rick_M Snap! Yes, I know you still keep the faith, brother - I'm just an evil apostate :-)
@cascode - what a coincidence! I buy a case every year on my birthday. :)
@Generously_Paul If you get the opportunity try the Clynelish GoT - it was the only one of the series bottled at cask strength (well, low cask strength) and it is a rather good Clynelish expression. I believe it's now the hardest one of the series to find and much sought after.
@cascode I’ve only had this and the Cardhu. The Cardhu was fine, this was exceptional
@LeeEvolved I felt that the Lagavulin 16 lost a lot of its powerful asphalt-like smokiness a few years ago and never recovered. I discovered it in 1994 when travelling in Scotland and for 25 years I bought a bottle every August on my birthday. However after being very disappointed by the last few bottles I’ve decided not to buy one this year. The 8 year old and the Feis Ile releases are all that I’d bother with now.
@Generously_Paul I swore to avoid the GoT/Diagio franchise tie-in whiskies but in the end I did get a taste of them all at informal liquor shop tastings (all except the Clynelish). This was one of the two best, by far. The Oban and Taliakers were not bad, but the rest completely forgettable. Clynelish was the other equal best but it took ages for me to try it as it was BANNED in Australia (a mate eventually imported a bottle).
@cascode - I don’t think it lived up to what I remembered about a previous bottle. I found a bottle that was filled this year on sale out of the U.K. for around $48, so I thought it was an incredible deal and snagged it quick, then when I opened it I was very disappointed. It was so heavily sherried I almost couldn’t tell it was from Lagavulin.
@LeeEvolved When you say the last 16 was forgettable, do you mean you just didn't get around to trying it, or that the 16 has lost some mojo?
Nice review, Paul. I still haven’t sat down with this bottle and given it a proper review even though it’s been open for almost 6 months. That’s how forgettable this bottle is to me. The last 16yo bottle I had was the same way. Give me a pour of the 8 and I’ll be fine, it’s my favorite, hands down. Cheers. Now get back to filming- that channel ain’t gonna supply itself!