PBMichiganWolverine
Lagavulin 16 Year (White Horse Distillers)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
November 6, 2020 (edited April 19, 2021)
There’s a few events that I always open a special bottle: my birthday, my wife’s birthday, and special achievements ( more so from my kids ). This one was one I was interested in opening for quite some time. Just so happened my bday this year fell on Election Day...so, dual celebration.
My particular White Horse Lagavulin was from the early 80s. There’s an interesting history of that below by @Rick_M . Ages ago, I think I paid barely $40-50. Now, these are well over $500, if you can even find them.
One can’t help but wonder if the Lagavulin made during the bygone era was the same as that made today. So...I ran two tests: one was where I did a side by side with a just purchased Lag16; the other was where I peeled off the label, and had it next to the modern day Lag 16, also with the label peeled off. I had those two bottles when some close friends and family came over for Election Day / bday socially distanced get together in the backyard.
Here’s what I found in the side by side:
The modern day was more intense smoke than this one. The White Horse had more complexity, specifically the smoke was sweeter and fruiter. The modern day, as good as it was, seemed more one dimensional—-I got all smoke and brine. This layered that smoke with more citrus, coffee, and tabacco. So I clearly preferred the White Horse over the modern day. But—-it definitely isn’t worth the 5x premium you’d be paying. You’re paying for nostalgia than actual exponential increase in quality.
Now, the second test:
The modern day Lag lay 80% full, while the White Horse had barely a pour or two left. I casually asked a few folks why they preferred the unlabeled White Horse over the unlabeled Lag, and I got the same answer: fruity-smoke.
There you have it folks...the White Horse seems to be somewhat better. At least in my two informal tests.
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@Rick_M I think you’re right, it has to breakdown even in the bottle over time. Which is disappointing, but hopefully that allows the components to shine a bit as well
@PBMichiganWolverine - It is well established that phenols diminish over time with barrel aging, but I am 100% convinced the process continues even after bottling. Opened another Laphroaig 15 last week, bottled circa 1998, little to no smoke, but exquisitely complex. The situation is even worse with mezcal. Opened an expensive bottle of Del Maguey Arrequeno this weekend, which was purchased a year ago. No smoke whatsoever, but still very nice.
I'm in it to try new things as well @PBMichiganWolverine , so in most cases I'm forced to buy a single bottle even though it's more than I'd like to have :( Getting the blind tasting results is terrific :) Also, it's a party!
@ContemplativeFox yeah...it would’ve been appreciated more by enthusiasts, but...I did want to run a blind test. And I can never finish a bottle on my own. I have a few pours, but always end up sharing
@PBMichiganWolverine It certainly has at least some oloroso cask maturation but I don't know whether they use 100% sherry wood nowdays. The casks that produced Lagavulin in the 1990s were absolutely all ex-sherry. The modern casks would be seasoned, too, and not ex-transport casks.
Very generous of you to share such a rarity with non-enthusiasts @PBMichiganWolverine :)
@PBMichiganWolverine all good. I have a bottle of Lag16. Thanks for the offer.
@Scott_E i know I have a 2020 Talisker 8 pour reserved for you, but I can send the modern Lag16 with it as well. Unfortunately this one ran out...a bunch of non-whiskey enthusiasts preferred this in that blind test over the modern Lag16
@Scott_E @Soba45 i think @cascode stated it best...the reason this from 40 yrs ago is better is a combination of so many different things. That fruitiness with smoke I got from this was probably better casks ( does the modern Lag16 even use sherry casks?).
@PBMichiganWolverine Happy birthday 🥳 and what an inspired way to celebrate! I've not tasted a White Horse bottling since last century, but based on a 2004 release I opened in 2017, and my tasting notes from way back, I think you have summed this up pretty well. The thing I miss in the modern expressions is a dense "oily-fruit" quality that gave the old stuff more body. The contemporary Lagavulin 16 is smokier, I think, but simpler and less substantial. It's still a 4 star whisky (or thereabouts), but not 5 star anymore. @Soba45 The reasons for the change to whisky character are legion - you could write a book about it, and no one factor is paramount. Every facet of the industry, distribution etc. has changed since the 1960s and it would be truly astonishing if contemporary whisky did taste similar to how it was 60 odd years ago.
Unfortunately after you try the same modern whisky over and over again, the 5x more money is justified to get something a little interesting and different...
And happy birthday!
@PBMichiganWolverine Happy Birthday!! Interesting comparison. It’s been a while since I had Lag16 and it is always a good pour. This sounds like the ideal version of that. Glad you thoroughly enjoyed. A small respite in the crazy year.
@ContemplativeFox yeah, that blind tasting proved all things being equal, folks will go for the better tasting bottle. And in fact they tell others “ oh, have that one on the right...much better”
@WhiskeyLonghorn Haha yeah true the virulent behaviour is crazy. Here I'm like I don't care if either our left or right get in and i vote both ways...that being said our left and right deliver both centralist policies! I'm just gutted marijuana wasnt leagalised in our recent referendum. Still in 2017 it had 28% support and now 48% so matter of time. I don't even smoke it I just think the benefits to society outweigh the costs. We've legalised gay marriage, the right to die and prostitution...but not weed..go figure! Ah yeah i was thinking that must be a cause of the decline.
@Soba45 i think the demand was less, so they had less production and more access to quality casks at cheaper prices. But the other part of me thinks that if Diageo can’t get the best quality casks now, who can? So, maybe it’s just smaller production and better quality as opposed to now where cost constraints are the primary driver
@dhsilv2 i can’t recall what I gave the original Lag16, but I’m guessing it was generous, since back then, I wasn’t as picky
@Soba45 happy is a strong word to use for our Election Day.... In other news, it may have to do with scaling of production. Nobody was clamoring for Lagavulin in the 1980s, bit now everyone wants a piece. It’s likely they were able to release more select casks and have access to higher quality casks because they were producing less volume compared to modern production.
I started thinking over the last several years a lot of the std offerings weren't as complex or balanced. I wasn't to sure if it was my palate evolving, the whisky changing or both. Now the std blends have 100% changed for the worse (much blander) based on the ones I've had from 1950s through to 1980s vs today and I was wondering if there had been a similar trend with single malts. Now i know the answer is in at least some cases yes! I'm wondering if it's as they are moving to bigger volumes and focus of consistency they are losing complexity? Different malts? Where they are doing the cuts? The barrel aging process? If anyone has any knowledge I'm interested! Good review and happy election day result!
What would you rate the standard 16 if you did a review today? 5 seems bold given it sounds just a bit better, but if you have the standard as a 4.5, fair enough.
Nice blind tasting :) And happy (belated) birthday! Not sure I'd classify election day as a celebratory event so much as a horror show, but definitely a reason to have a drink either way ;)