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Lagavulin 12 Year Old bottled 2013 13th Release

Nozinan Mini and Sample Series - 40

5 2191

@NozinanReview by @Nozinan

16th Jan 2018

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  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    91

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Lagavulin 12 is a very popular Scotch on this site. Sadly, it’s also a very expensive one. Of the only 2 bottles I’ve ever owned, the 2010 was the last bottle in London (sold out in Toronto) and my friend refused to let me pay for it, and the 2015 was purchased for $3.50 after trading in a bottle of Fiddich 18 I was gifted by an in-law (he bought it cheaper in Calgary than I was credited for here…).

I’ve also been lucky enough to have friends with bottles and have been able to taste the 2011 which was excellent, and the 2014 which is the least exciting of the three I’ve tasted so far. Tonight I am cracking the sample I was given (well, allowed to pour is more accurate) by @Robert99 who very generously brought it all the way from Montréal. Merci beaucoup, mon ami.

This expression is reviewed in my usual manner, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting. I am comparing this to the 2015 edition reviewed here:

connosr.com/lagavulin-12-yo-cask-strength-…


Nose: 22/25

Smokey . A little mentholated citrus, the smell from a fresh tire skid. This is a dense nose. A peat lover’s nose. With water the nose is more syrupy. (22.5/25)

The 2013 has a slightly sweeter syrupy nose, and I get a hint of an over-ripe fruit.

Taste: 22.5/25

Is WOW! a flavour? First sip is sweet, lemony, and full of peat, ash and smoke. Later on it becomes quite spirity on the arrival. But that first sip… oh my. Water helps it become more rounded and less spirity. (23/25)

The 2015 is a little more subdued on the arrival with a very rich development. It’s sweeter, with some pepper.

Finish: 22/25

Ashy, very astringent, peppery. Long. Slightly smoother with water.

Balance: 22.5/25

This is a peat monster, but it has depth, and the nose and palate complement each other. A little easier to drink and richer with a few drops of water. (23/25)

Score: Neat - 89 /100 With Water: 90.5/100


If you like peat, you will really like this one. Head to head I think I like the 2015 just a little more. I think it has a slight edge on complexity. This one seems to have more raw peat power.

A combination of the remaining 2013 and 2013 is successful.

Thanks again @Robert99!

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21 comments

@Robert99
Robert99 commented

@Nozinan There's a sample of another batch (2017?) waiting for you, the bottle has yet to be opened.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Robert99 You know, perusing the other 2013 reviews, I think you and your bottle are directly responsble for 4 reviews on this site.

Many thanks...I would love to try to 2017. I had nothing to trade for it this year...

6 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 commented

@Nozinan Your friendship is more than enough my friend.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Robert99 I appreciate the sentiment, but I meant I wasn't gifted an expensive bottle that I could trade to the LCBO for a Lag 12 this year...

6 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 commented

@Nozinan Next time you go to Calgary, buy a bottle for which the LCBO has the biggest mark up than you will be able to make a profitable trade. I once bought an Octomore for 128$ in Calgary that was 300$ at the SAQ. I should have bought a few, beginner's mistake.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Robert99 That would still mean a significant outlay of cash and a lot of hassle, plus then possibly lying to LCBO. Much better when I receive the bottle as a gift, and then omit where I received it at the LCBO. Plus, the uncertainty adds to the adventure.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

Does "possibly lying" here mean "definitely lying"?

6 years ago 0

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

@Nozinan, so you think the 2014 is the weakest of the bunch? Hmmmm.

The 2014 is the only one I've had. I liked it plenty, but I didn't think it was worth the price—and definitely not worth the new prices that have jumped up over the past few years. If that 2014 was on the "least exciting" end of the scale, though, maybe I'll have to reconsider that stance.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@MadSingleMalt If I bought the bottle outside of Ontario and was being asked why I was returning it to LCBO, what would I say? Kf I wasn't asked, obviously I wouldn't tell. So the potential is there for the need to say something that is not true, which to me is distasteful and to be avoided.

There is nothing untrue about saying you received something as a gift (if indeed you did), and omitting where that gift was purchased, because really, unless you saw the purchase made, how do I know it wasn't purchased in Ontario?

As to the 2014, of the 4 I have tried I would say it was my least favourite. Of course I did try it H2H with the 2011 which is one of my favourites.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

Isn't it a lie to return it to that store to begin with, regardless of whether they ask?

6 years ago 0

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@Nozinan I think in BC they can tell from the bar code if it was purchased in BC.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@MadSingleMalt If I go into the store, and say I got it as a gift (assuming that is the truth) and ask if I can trade for something else, what exactly is the lie? If their policy is that returns without a receipt are permitted as long as you trade for something same day, where is the rule being broken?

@BlueNote the UPC symbols are standard for current bottlings but may be different for older bottlings. There is no way to tell if a standard Fiddich 18 was purchased in Calgary or Toronto or what price was paid for it.

6 years ago 0

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

I thought the idea on the table was to bring in bottles bought elsewhere and "return" them at your expensive state store for top dollar?

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@MadSingleMalt I think my comment was that I would not be purchasing any expensive whiskies at the prices ( $150+) charged by the LCBO unless I was trading something I had received as a gift.

Now, I do believe there was a time when you could get refunds for stuff without a receipt and people were buying cheap out of province and "returning" for cash at the KGBO, but that was before my time and I never got to benefit from that racket.

6 years ago 0

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

That's not what the comment above looks like to me, but OK.

Ya'll have my sympathies for having only that state store to buy from locally.

6 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@Nozinan, I returned a bottle of the 2014. I did not know where it came from, it was a gift. With the proceeds from the credit transaction I purchased a 3 liter bottle of ...............Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@paddockjudge I think I would have kept the Lag 12 over the JD.... or even better I could have turned it into 3 Legacy or 2.5 Dissertation.

6 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@Nozinan, it was for a fund raiser. That $130 Jack 3 liter was transformed into $1200.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

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@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@paddockjudge Do you remember that old Genesis song, "I Know What I Like in Your Wardrobe"? I know what I like in your cabinet (pretty much everything).

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@paddockjudge And yet, you still have it? Was it a raffle you donated it to then won?

6 years ago 0

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