Jason_Hall
Lagavulin 8 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
September 24, 2020 (edited March 28, 2021)
I expect this one to be a brighter version of the 16, though I don’t have the 16 to do a proper side-by-side assessment. Time to see how it stands on its own.
The nose is bright and smokey. The peaty smoke is more savory smoked meat type of smoke than campfire. There is a brininess and some medicinal/iodine to it as well. Underneath all of that there is some sweet pear, crisp apple and vanilla.
The palate is juicy, salty-sweet with smokey ash and smoked meat, malt, more iodine, vanilla, spicy ginger.
The finish is long with fruity sweetness at first but mostly savory smoked meat, medicinal/iodine with slight latex gloves, vanilla and spicy ginger tingles the tongue on the sides and back for a while.
Does not disappoint! I expected nothing less, actually it exceeded my expectations for the age. Smokey, savory and lightly fruity Islay goodness. Can’t wait to compare it to the 16 to see what 8 more years can do to Lagavulin.
60.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@ContemplativeFox Yes, the 16 is in excess of $100 by me, occasionally I can find it for under $90. The 8 is a good alternative, in my opinion. What you miss in 8 more years, you gain in ABV, to a degree.
With the 16 rising in price, I've been wondering about this as a cheaper alternative. Glad that its age isn't too young and it still has that meatiness.
Excellent! I just found this one myself on an out of state trip. I can't wait for a foggy, gloomy day to give it a try. I'm way behind on my LAG tastings (I've got the Offerman, GOT, and the 8yr on hand) and I need to rectify that.