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Lagavulin 16 Year Old

High hopes...

2 680

@casualtortureReview by @casualtorture

11th Feb 2017

1

Lagavulin 16 Year Old
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    15
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    20
  • Overall
    80

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This will be nowhere near as amazing as @BDevries review. But i will do my best and try to mix some metaphores into my usual boring analytical reviews.

Bottle has been opened almost a week and is 90% full. This is my third glass from this bottle.

Nose: A dancing nose. It's as if sweet and smoke are on a see-saw both going back and forth. Sweet...smoke...sweet...smoke...also get sea salt and oddly enough powdered dish detergent.

Palate: What the hell. Where is the peat bomb I was expecting? No smoke to be found. It's lightly sweet. And boring. Not much going on. The body is nice and oily, albiet thin. Just weak. Hmm.

Finish: Ah, there is the smoke again. Welcome back dear friend. Finish is medium-long with smokey BBQ balanced with sweet oily plums and raisins. Much better.

Overall: I had high expectations for this so maybe that's why I'm a bit dissapointed. The flavors seemed subdued and this really isn't the big islay peat bomb i was expecting. For something peaty I think this bottle of lag16 sits well below the Uigedail I recently had and even Talisker 10 and Laphroig quarter cask. Wonderful nose, enjoyable finish, but a thin, sweet palate with no smoke? Maybe I'm crazy...who knows. I'll stick with Laphroig quarter cask and Talisker 10 when I want a peat fix.

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6 comments

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I've experienced big variations in my experience with Lag 16. I think one of the key issues is that they take what is probably some great spirit out of the cask and add water to it until it is a shadow of its former self.

Cases in point.... Lag 8 at 48%, and the 12 YO CS get very high praise.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@casualtorture
casualtorture commented

@Nozinan yes it just felt weak in flavor and thin bodied. i felt sad giving it such a low score, because i was thinking to myself 'I want to like it, everyone else thinks its good, why don't i think its good?' But after 2 glasses during writing the review, i put it down and grabbed some Talisker 10 and had a much more enjoyable night.

7 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@casualtorture, you have to write an honest review. Quite a few Connosr members have never had a "meh" Lagavulin 16 yo. For these individuals Lagavulin 16 still has a sterling reputation. While I have had 94 point Lagavulin 16 yo, I have also had an entire bottle of it which shares much similarity to your own. I would never intentionally buy another bottle like that one again. I do not trust the brand anymore, and would be unlikely to take the chance of buying an untasted batch of Lagavulin 16 yo in the future. I would love to have one or more bottles of the Lagavulin 16 yo I tasted 7 years ago, though.

7 years ago 0

@Alexsweden
Alexsweden commented

Ouch! I agree that it's less smoky than the Laphroaig but my run-ins with Lagavulin 16 have been more enjoyable than yours. Perhaps a dud bottle. Let's hope it develops nicely with some time of air!

7 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

My dud bottle has been open for 6 years and has never gotten any better.

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

m
masterj commented

To chime in, I have to agree with Victor. Laga16 has declined since I first started tasting it and it's never recovered. Day and night change. I too find it sweat and rather dull. What a shame. Old bottling, are powerful stuff. Intense smoke, tar, brine, peat. Today's Lagavulin tastes like a peated Glenfiddich 12.

@casualtorture You mention Talisker, and I agree. Today's Tali 10 can beat a Laga 16 hands down. It didn't used to be this way, Lagavulin 16 would outclass a Talisker easily once upon a time.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?