Whisky : Lagavulin 12 Year, 2019 Special Release

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 56.5%

Cask : Refill American Oak

Nose : Clean smoke from a doused coal pit, creamy butter, and salty sea.  Oaky spices clear the sinuses; Chinese five spice, white pepper, and fresh asphalt.  Oily grilled fish, funky pickled jellyfish, rendered pork fat, and iodine slowly overtake the senses.

Palate :  Sweet and salty with a medium oily and viscous body.  Burnt caramel, malty toast, dirty barbecue grill, and a coal ash pit.  Subtle maritime notes hang in the background while a sweet citrus rind comes out on the end.

Finish : Medium length with a slightly dry ginger and salty spice.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Lemon Fresh Scented Asphalt

Something Better : Caol Ila 8Y; SU Callisto IX (similar grilled fish/citrus, more fruit/complexity)

Something Similar : Amrut Aatma 2019 US Cask (similar oaky spices/coal smoke, more fruit)

Something Worse : Lagavulin 8 Year (similar smoke/citrus, less intensity/viscosity)

Notes : The Lagavulin 12 Year is no doubt the strongest member of the Lagavulin lineup— so strong that it really feels like this bottle needs to be part of the core lineup and not just a Diageo annual special release.  Cask strength Lagavulin is such a beautiful thing, I wish it were more widely available.

The 2019 version of the cask strength 12 Year was not available in the US, so I am lucky a friend grabbed a few bottles— one of which we used for a local quarantine digital tasting ‘peat pack.’  This was easily one of the favorites, though it was beat out as “winner” of the tasting by the Port Charlotte MRC and Octomore 10.4.  This Lagavulin had a beautiful complex nose that began subtlety and only slowly opened up building a crescendo of fatty salty notes.  The palate was sweet with refreshing citrus notes which balanced well against barbecue and char notes, despite its oily-viscous nature the overall flavor profile was pretty restrained.  The subtleness and restraint of the nose and palate ultimately held it back during the tasting as people gravitated toward the richer and heavier Port Charlotte and Octomore.  Overall, an eminently friendly and refreshing dram to sip on.