I’ve had a bottle of Lagavulin 8 for a little bit and finally got around to having a bottle of the old standard Lagavulin 16. Here we go... The nose is salty sweet, with a salted meat type of smoke with a lighter, but still present, medicinal/iodine. There are fresh pears, dried fruit, pecan, vanilla icing, and chili spice. The palate is salty/sweet and viscous with spicy peppers, cooked fruits, nice medicinal and smokey peat notes, vanilla and a pecan nuttiness character of the malt. The finish has an initial hit of charred jalapeños that fade into cooked fruit sweetness, vanilla and lingering old campfire smoke. Just a fantastic peated Islay single malt. The 8 is good and all, but the 16 tastes how its slightly yellowed label looks, older and intriguing. The 16 is just so well balanced, no wonder it is an all time favorite.