I picked up this bottle so many years ago that it feels like an entirely different lifetime. At the time, I had just reached the point at which I was beginning to seek out independent bottlers and single casks from beloved distilleries. Lagavulin was a gateway whisky me, as it is for many, and so I leapt at the chance to grab this “Isle of Islay” which The Whisky Barrel identified as Lagavulin— perhaps there was little fear in legal retribution as the independent bottler had sold off its stock and retired to book writing.

You will find no complaint from me on that last count, while I loved Creative Whisky Co., I rather enjoy reading David Stirk as an author more… there being no shortage of independent bottlers, but surprisingly few whisky writers who assemble broad tales that dance from insider knowledge to historical research.

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Whisky: Lagavulin 10 Year (2007), Exclusive Malts Cask 200703 for The Whisky Barrel

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 57.1%

Cask: Refill Hogshead

Age: 10 Years (Distilled 17 Oct. 2007)

Notes: Enough salty sea spray and fresh pavement to singe my nose hairs, the aroma was loaded with maritime brine, creosote, tar, and burnt citrus fruits— it was acrid, but fruity. Lemons, finger limes, and pomelo provided a cutting, occasionally tart, citrus with hints of florals. Dried grass and mesquite wood waited further in with a healthy dose of pepper— water tamed the pepper, and after many years the spicier and more acrid elements softened. Medium-bodied on the palate, oily and sometimes buttery, an initial acrid and peppery maritime profile faded over the years so that more lemony citrus emerged. Lemon bars and tar offered malty sugars, tart curd, and fresh roadwork by the sea. Plenty of pepper stood the test of time, and water, giving a spicy finale to the flavor profile. The finish was medium-length with more citrus rinds, lemon, pomelo, pepper, and dry grass.

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Score: 6 (76)

Mental Image: Roadwork Bake Sale

Conclusion: I never came around on this one. It softened over the years as some of the acrid and peppery bite faded, but it remained raw and simple— and who wants to wait six years for a whisky to begin to get good. 

On the one hand, sometimes it is nice to have something rather unrefined, and experience a distillery in that way.  On the other hand, I rarely cared to pour this and so lingered for many years on my shelf. As much as I hoped to eventually fall in love, I never did and the bottle is one of my whisky regrets; not a massive one, but a small one. To make matters worse, and perhaps this is a sour taste that still effects the way I see the whisky, I got the bottle by having a friend ship it from The Whisky Barrel to another UK retailer to dispatch to me… which meant I paid shipping charges twice and paid VAT since the initial dispatch was to an address within the UK.  Oops.

A lesson learned and a mistake I have not made again (I have found new ones over the years). Finding one’s feet in the whisky world, especially when it comes to online retailers and auctions, inevitably involves trial and error. Without a guide, or at least a whisky bar full of friend aficionados or generally amiable drinkers, it is challenging. I am hardly alone in finding myself years later with bottles that I should never have picked up.