If you enjoy Lagavulin, you can’t go wrong with this.
Lagavulin 12 Year — Diageo Special Releases 2019 / 56.5%
Tasted neat, then with a little water
The Special Release 2019 Lagavulin 12 year old cask strength is done up in the new labelling style, with a hawk and plants motif in subdued colours. Under the tagline of “Powerful & Peaty, the King of Islay” we come to know that this is natural cask strength. I assume also it’s non-chill filtered and natural colour, as Diageo lets these batches vary a bit.
This release was matured in refill American oak, and distilled in 2016/17. The turnout is at 60,762 bottles (huge!), so you can still pick this up around the €130–150 mark if there’s stock in your local market.
- Color: amber (0.7)
- Nose: iodine, phenolic peat smoke, nail polish, salt & vinegar, marzipan, and lemons
- Taste: cracked pepper, cinnamon cookies, lots of peat, some decaying vegetation, and almonds
- Finish: long, more peat meets vanilla cream and burnt sugar
A little more dirty than the blissfully pure Lagavulin 12 CS releases from 2005–2015, this is still a knock-out Lagavulin, and probably the best bang for the buck right now in getting a cask-strength Lagavulin from the OB line.
Rating: 7/10
