Ah, Lagavulin. You never let me down. 16, 8, DE, 12 all knock it out of the park. Gimmicky GOT 9-year old? No gimmicks there. Damn fine stuff. At this point, even though I'm inherently distrustful of the celebrity-branded whiskies, I've actually got quite a bit of faith in this one to deliver. Nose: Heavy campfire smoke and peat, light brine and sea salt. Caramel, vanilla, custard, butterscotch, gala apple. Banana, walnut, and toffee. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak spice. Some lemon and grapefruit citrus notes. A bit of smoked meat. Nice blue raspberry. Good start. Palate: Heavy campfire and peat now accompanied by some iodine, bandaid, and ash. Smoked meat/brisket is written all over this one. Sea salt, seaweed, and brine are now more prominent. Still getting the caramel, vanilla, and gala apple, as well as the cinnamon, black pepper, and oak. Spicy salsa/black bean, red pepper chili as well. Grapefruit and lemon. Roasted almond. There's also dark and mint chocolate. Plenty of spice and sweetness, smoke and brine, but above all else, the smoked meat notes stand out. Very nice, and notably darker and heavier than the 8 and 9, and even the 12. Finish: Mint chocolate, dark chocolate, custard, and vanilla cream. Hits like a bite of ice cream cake. The blue raspberry from the nose reappears. If the palate is the main course, the finish is dessert. Of course, there's still some of that sea salt, smoke, cinnamon, black pepper, black bean and red pepper chili, and oak. With some brisket. It's Lagavulin after all, and as is customary, those are the last notes detectable before this long finish concludes. Lagavulin, Ron Swanson, you did not let me down. Unique enough to be earn a spot in the Lag lineup. But it embodies the spirit and the quality that one expects of the vaunted Lagavulin name. It tastes much older than the 8 and 9. Even older than the 12-year bottlings I've had. Don't get me wrong; this one couldn't contend with the 12 line by any means. But the oak presence is noticeably more present. I'd put this on par with the younger bottlings of Lag. I prefer the 16, DE, and far and away, the 12. But I don't think I've ever given a rating less than a 4.5 to Lag expression. And it certainly contends with the 8 and 9, both of which I really like. At $65, I feel I got my money's worth. No complaints here; this is a fine offering and a vindicator of the celebrity-branding movement in my eyes. Ultimately, Lagavulin is Lagavulin. Great stuff. 4.75/5.