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Lagavulin 12 Year Old / 16th Release / Special Releases 2016

Smoke rules

4 688

@Pierre_WReview by @Pierre_W

15th Dec 2017

1

Lagavulin 12 Year Old / 16th Release / Special Releases 2016
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  • Taste
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  • Overall
    88

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For many years, Lagavulin 12-year old has been a fixture among Diageo's yearly special releases. The 2016 edition was released in the same year the distillery celebrated its 200th anniversary. The exact outturn was not disclosed, so I suppose it must have been a lot.

The nose begins with subdued smoke before distinct vanilla and fudge flavours kick in. Then there is smoked ham, followed by waxy and malty notes, and a touch of lemons.

The palate is medium-bodied, lightly spicy and oily. The smoke is quite heavy and tarry now, and in addition I got notes of smoked ham, lemons, and roasted almonds, followed by ginger and white pepper.

The finish is long, smoky, and tarry. Notes of cigars and white pepper last to the very end.

I have always been a fan of the regular releases of Lagavulin 12-year old. In particular, I enjoy the farmy character of the nose that in comparison with some of the previous releases is not so prominent here. Instead, smoke and tarr are more dominant. This is an excellent single malt, however less smoke and more barley/cereal flavours would have pushed this even higher up in my book.

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6 comments

@MuddyFunster
MuddyFunster commented

I too like the 12. Have you had the 16 year old?

6 years ago 0

@Pierre_W
Pierre_W commented

Hi @MuddyFunster, interestingly I am not a big fan of the 16-year old. Something fishy going on in there (in the true sense of the word).... 8-year old yes, 12-year old YES, 16-year old rather not.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@MuddyFunster
MuddyFunster commented

I have the 16 and haven't tried it but have always enjoyed the 12 although harder to get hold of

6 years ago 0

T
Taco commented

The 16 is a very good dram, especially as the price ($70 here). The 12, for me, is an excellent dram. The 2011 version was phenomenally good! The problem is they have nearly doubled its price, to $115. My cutoff is much lower, as I can get so many good whiskies, including excellent bourbons, for about or less than half that price. Booker's is $65-70, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is $42-45. I can get a bottle of both for $115. Corryvrecken is currently $67, so value isn't there for me, but quality sure is!

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Taco That's just torture to us north of the border... (and south in Windsor)

6 years ago 0

@Pierre_W
Pierre_W commented

Many thanks for your comments, @Taco. I agree that Laga 12yo comes with a price but I am willing to fork out $120 every year for this particular release. Here in Switzerland Booker's, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and Ardbeg Corryvreckan are all around $100, so the gap is not so big for me as it appears to be for you. By the way, I am a BIG fan of both Booker's and Elijah Craig BP!

6 years ago 0

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