I found a bottle of Lagavulin Single Islay Malt Whisky (16 year) at a not-so-local bottle shop today.
The employees and manager were speaking of it being "phenomenal, hard to find, rare, perfect" They stated something along the lines of "...last order we only recieved 3 bottles, and we were quite happy to get them, ya know, we dont just sell this to anybody."
Were they just upselling a psuedo expensive brand? I cant find much information on it online, and no reviews that dont look like a sellers take on it.
If you punch the search terms Lagavulin, 16 and "tasting notes" into Google, you will get several hundred hits, most of which will be on topic. Here's one set that I can agree with:
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You should check a few sites and try to determine if what's described agrees with your palate. Not everyone likes the peaty island malts on the first try. But if you've tried any of them and liked them, go for the Lagavulin 16. It's a wonderful treat.
It's chronically in short supply the last few years because they underproduced in the late 1980s -- 16 years ago -- as far as I can tell. So when it hits your shop, if you can afford it, grab it.
However, I'm sure your shop will sell it to anybody who puts the money on the table, unless they have a waiting list, which is possible.
It may not be all smoke & mirrors. Lagavulin has been harder to find for the last year or so...there are several theories which speak to the shortage. I find the traditional 16yo is slowly returning to many shops, so don't be too hasty to embrace the residual high prices.
Since they are offering the 12yo, wouldn't that mean that they will continue to have a shortage of some time (prebotteling what would be a great 16 after
12 years...)?
I have come across some Double Matured 16yo around airport shops around europe the last couple of months, are that one any good?
I don't believe the amount of 12y will have any affect on the amount of 16y in 4 years time
The casks selected for the 12y is selected because they are a good whisky NOW and it migth not improve. The people working at Lagavulin, like all other destilleries, makes assesment of the cask, deciding when they're ready for bottling. Cask's maturing real fast might have been sold to independents or shipped for blending before.... I don't know
With your comments in mind I went back to the store and purchased the bottle.
I am by no means an expert on liquor and my tasting notes simply consist of "Wow."
You can almost taste the cask it was produced in, Complex, smooth, with a definate peat and seasalt notes with a few other items I cant yet identify... Amazing. It truely distinguishes itself.
This was my first Islay and it has made the mark of being my favorite scotch up to this point. Do you have any more suggestions either Islay or otherwise?
It will be hard to find something better than the Lagavulin. But Talisker 10 year old (not an Islay, but similar in style) is very nice with a distinct peppery character, and the Ardbeg 10 is a wild blast of peat. Both are among my favorites.
If you continue to enjoy the seaside effects, you may want to try the Laphroaig 10, which some people hate and others love. Of all the Islays, it has the strongest hit of a phenolic taste and aroma often called Islaydine. Also tar, smoke, peat, etc.
Various expressions of Caol Ila also have big followings among Islay fans, but they tend not to be available where I live. The only one I have tasted was excellent.
I like the Islays so much that with a limited budget, I really haven't explored the other malt regions much. But if you want to try something completely different from the Islays, check out the Aberlour a'bunadh (not the Aberlour 10 year old, which is pleasant enough but not outstanding.)
Aberlour a'bunadh is by far the most heavily sherried (aged in sherry casks) malt I have tasted. It does for sherry what the Ardbeg does for peat. It's at cask strength -- close to 60 per cent alcohol by volume -- and you may want to add a little spring water to tame it down your comfort level. Careful, not too much water. And fasten your seatbelt; this one's a ride.
Sounds like they're supplying the home market first. It really is quite scarce in many parts of North America now. In my experience, individual stores that formerly carried it all the time now have a few bottles once or twice a year, if at all. From reports in this group and elsewhere, there is no over-all pattern, except that there is far less Lagavulin 16 around than there once was.
"Bill Van" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@news.telus.net...
Sweden is presently well stocked - the state shops carry about 5 bottles each I find, browsing a selection of shops of a total of about 380. Small towns seem to have more on the shelves. Anders
}In article , } "Brett..." wrote: } }> Bill Van wrote: }> }> >
}> > It's chronically in short supply the last few years because they }> > underproduced in the late 1980s -- 16 years ago -- as far as I can }> > tell. So when it hits your shop, if you can afford it, grab it. }> >
}> >
}> }> Certainly not around here. Whilst it may not be as common as something like }> the Laphroaig 10, Lagavulin 16 can easily be found all over the UK. } }Sounds like they're supplying the home market first. It really is quite }scarce in many parts of North America now. In my experience, individual }stores that formerly carried it all the time now have a few bottles once }or twice a year, if at all. From reports in this group and elsewhere, }there is no over-all pattern, except that there is far less Lagavulin 16 }around than there once was.
True -- around this time last year I couldn't find a bottle in the state for love or money. Finally got some around January, and since then its availability in Oregon has been sproadic.
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