cascode
Lagavulin 16 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
August 10, 2019 (edited February 27, 2023)
Nose: Warm, rounded phenolic peat-reek, oiled-leather, lapsang-souchong tea, sherry, moist rich earth, coal fires, wood fires, camphorated oil and brine. [The dry-glass aroma is pure cold peat-kiln].
Palate: A large, sweet, rich and enveloping peat-smoke arrival. Tar, camphor, lapsang-souchong tea, seaweed, smoked kippers, brine. The palate is creamy and full, but very slightly watery.
Finish: Medium/long and warming to the soul. Phenolic resins, sweet licorice and a touch of seaweed in the lingering aftertaste.
This bottle was from batch L8324CM014 (and so bottled on the 20th November 2018) and there has been a subtle change in profile and an interesting partial return to form after some lacklustre batches over the last few years.
The smoked-tea note, which was once quite prominent on both nose and palate, has seemed rather thin for a while but it has now revived a little. The balance has also improved but the palate still lacks the powerful, almost asphalt-like tarry quality that it once possessed. There also used to be a pungent and sharp lemon oil note that is now conspicuously lacking. This whisky was once a fearsome iron fist in a velvet glove, but nowadays its punch does not quite deliver a knockout blow.
There also seems to be a more obvious, and increasing, sherry presence in this whisky and I can't help but feel that on the whole it is now an easier dram than it once was (which is not necessarily a good thing) and it does seem just a soupçon too sweet. For me, the real essence of Lagavulin, its heart and soul, are currently found in purest form in the 8 and 12 year old expressions, and some of the Feis Ile special bottlings.
Regardless, it's still a lovely whisky - arguably the most elegant and suave of the iconic core-expression Islay smokies - and it's an essential tasting at least once for every serious single-malt enthusiast. I've bought a bottle for my birthday every year since 1994 but almost didn't this year - however I relented at the last moment. You can't ignore an anniversary, especially when it's been observed for more than a quarter-century and has become a tradition.
"Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)
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[Review from December 28, 2016]
At one time this was, for me, THE whisky. I fell in love with it 30 years ago and there was a bottle in the house almost constantly up until a year or two ago.
When it was first released around 1990, and up until the first few years of this century, it had a deep, full character and an almost aggressive profile. The characteristic smokiness used to be rich and powerful with a tarry note like asphalt or creosote and a definite aroma of strong lapsang souchong tea. It was the perfect meld of peat-reek, medium-dry sherry, maritime notes, ash and gentle spice, and it was not too sweet.
However starting around 2004-2006 I noticed a gradual softening of the profile. All the familiar characteristics were still there but slowly the sweetness was turned up while the forceful smoke and asphalt was turned down. It was a re-balance rather than a radical change of profile but it robbed the whisky of presence.
The whisky continued to change in this direction for about a 10 years until by 2014-2016 it was clearly different to the original releases. Nowadays it is much sweeter and the heft of the original Lagavulin 16 has been lost. It is still a good whisky and worthy of 4 stars, but it used to rate 5 stars without question.
“Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars) [AUD$120.0 per Bottle in 2016]
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@TrAe-C-Fergie exactly! Cheers!
@BDanner lol. I was thinking the same thing. Pour me glass now!
@Slainte-Mhath - I agree with that theory and that’s why I tracked down a Laga16 White Horse. I also agree with @cascode ‘s comment about slight degradation over time in the bottle, but trying is believing as @Richard-ModernDrinking has so aptly pointed out. :)
@Rick_M Same with me 50 down to 20....a lot of help..and thus very expensive drinking!
It's like gradually turning the heat up on a frog in a pot of water...slowly boiled alive :-)
@Rick_M That's the thing - if you have sampled 1 bottle of Lagavulin 16 per month, you most definitely have a unique perspective. However, I think it's the same as with people: if you see someone every day, you won't even notice small changes. But if you meet someone after 2-3 years, you immediately think 'wow, you got fat!'. Again, a matter of perspective.
@cascode - ole Angus has a good imagination. :) As for finding time, I’m not sure where all the whisky goes, but I’ve been able to get my open bottle count down from 50 to 20, and I really don’t drink that much. I think someone is helping me but I’m not sure how there getting in. :)
@Rick_M A bottle a month for 20 years! Formidable - how do you find time to taste anything else?
I couldn't put it better myself: http://www.whiskyfun.com/archiveseptember17-2-Lagavulin-Rosebank-Brora.html#300917
@Richard-ModernDrinking - yes, best described as bottled euphoria. :) @PBMichiganWolverine - Don’t you own a square foot through Friends of Laphroaig? You have to go to Islay to get your certificate stamped and collect the rent of a free dram. :)
@Rick_M one Lag 16 per month for 20 yrs. They need to give you a parcel of land there on Islay.
@Rick_M That’s a lotta Laga
Postscript, postscript: you guys know your whisky, but I know my Lagavulin. :)
Postscript: take it from someone that’s averaged a bottle of Laga16 per month for over 20 years......the whisky’s a chameleon I’m tellin’ ya.
Not trying to complicate this conversation further, but read the following article in Whisky Advocate about smoky whisky. The author references a Ph.D. scientist and a Ph.D professor of food science. The article explains several factors that can influence our perception of flavor to include smells, lights and sounds. It also gives some explanation of why smoky whiskies taste so damn good in restaurants, “in my opinion.” I have also found the time of year and proximity to the ocean to be factors affecting my Lagavulin experiences. http://whiskyadvocate.com/science-smoky-peaty-whisky/
@Slainte-Mhath I think you’re right. All a frame of reference.
@Slainte-Mhath I think you're right, and by any reckoning contemporary Lagavulin 16 is still a very fine whisky.
@cascode @PBMichiganWolverine I think it all depends on your point of reference. If you have never tasted a Lagavulin 16 before (and you like peat), you will most likely give it a high score nevertheless. You have tasted batches from 10-15 years ago, which I have not, so my point of reference is different. Yet, I clearly see a change. If I had samples from the 2000's, I'd probably rate this 4 stars as well? Without, I tend to knock off 1 point (91 → 90 pts) and leave my rating of 4.5 stars with a big minus attached. We'll continue the discussion in 2020, I guess...
@PBMichiganWolverine Well, it's funny you should say that - I've not tasted a WH from the 90s (well, not since the 90s anyway) but I did take part in a comparative blind tasting of a 2004 and 2015 bottling a couple of years ago. Everyone chose the earlier bottling as the superior dram every time, without fail.
@Richard-ModernDrinking @cascode. I think I have a White Horse Lag 16 ( somewhere in my temperature controlled storage bin...). If I ever dedicate the time to find it, it’ll be a fun test. I’m guessing still that for the 80% of us, we’d have a hard time distinguishing it if given blind.
@PBMichiganWolverine Yes, you would :-) but if you do try this make sure the bottle comes from someone who knows how to store whisky correctly - otherwise the profile will have diminished over time.
@PBMichiganWolverine I tried the White Horse at the Whisky Show last year (same guy who was free pouring the vintage Mac 10) and I can confidently report that it tastes like Lag 16. It was quite the anti-climax.
@Slainte-Mhath for most of us, I’m thinking we’d not even notice the degradation. One day I’d really like to see if the old White Horse 16 is on par or close to today’s 16
@Rick_M I cannot compare to very old bottlings of Lagavulin 16, but my recent lineup of various batches clearly showed that the quality today is not quite what it used to be some 3-4 years ago. However, it's not as bad as I initially thought, and the changes are mostly in the finish (and to some extend on the nose). It's just my personal impression, and I know some people will probably disagree.
@cascode @Slainte-Mhath - If you folks pick up a White Horse edition of Laga16 (last bottled over 20 years ago), you’ll see that it hasn’t changed at all. If anything, it was a little less smoky back then than it is now.
@cascode Your review reminded me that it was about time to revisit Lagavulin 16 myself. I bought a fresh 20 cl bottle, 2018 batch, and started to with my first pour. Although I will wait for the next 1-2 drams before I adjust my review, I must admit that your assessment is right: the quality is not quite what it used to be. Especially nose and finish were not how I remembered them. Hopefully, it will improve now that there is some oxygen in the bottle. Comparing it side by side with the 7yo Cadenheads, I see what chill filtration does in the OB: it strips away the finish, leaving a medium length finish at best. I will adjust my review in a week or two...
@BDanner I think that should be inscribed on my grave :-) @Slainte-Mhath Unfortunately we never see smaller bottles over here, otherwise I'd do the same. I don't know what it is about Lagavulin 16, but although I whine about its fall from 5-star status, I still keep on addictively buying it year after year. There is undeniably something special about it.
@cascode Good review! I usually buy 20 cl bottles of Lagavulin 16 to peruse batch variations. It might not be as good as it once was, but it's still a very fine dram.
@cascode 🎶The best part of waking up, is Lagavulin in your cup🎶
@cascode - your description sounds perfect. How can that not be 5 stars??? :)
@BDanner Not in the slightest. For years I started each day with a mug of black tea or coffee laced with a healthy slug of Lag 16.
Great review! Is it wrong that I now want a big healthy pour of this at not even 10AM?