Look: Fairly dark compared to most scotch I’ve seen, not sure if Lagavulin puts in coloring or the aging on this just made it a bit more amber than pale straw. Slight swirling leaves plenty of lacing and alcohol legs. Nose: comparatively, to the peated malts I’ve had, Lagavulin seems a little less pear heavy on the nose. Still, I mostly get medicinal, smoky notes from peat, ham, earthy notes. Some slight pear and herbal smell there when I inhale a bit more. Swirling opens up more fruit, and the peat sea being parted. Palate: Smoke, right away. Ashy, intense flavors, followed by a huge herbal flavor, somewhat like marijuana, but also mint. Incredibly complex. Finish: dry, with the mint and herb flavors really dominating. There’s some firewood lingering flavors too, but mainly herbal. Overall: I’d heard rumors that Lagavulin 16 generates mint flavor, but kind of figured that was people reading into things too much. I was wrong, and this is easily a top ten whisky I’ve had. Price tag is hard to swallow, but the whisky itself is not.