By Richard Thomas
Rating: A-
Lagavulin Sweet Peat 11 Year Old(Credit: Richard Thomas)
Lagavulin is one of those single malt brands that should need no introduction, so this will be brief. The distillery is found on Islay, and thus part of the class famed for their smoky, sea sprayed character. It’s an old distillery too, founded in 1816 and before the de facto legalization of the Scotch industry by the Excise Act of 1823. Today Lagavulin is part of the Scotch portfolio of British drinks goliath Diageo, and thus a key element in certain blends of Johnnie Walker as well as a renowned single malt in its own right.
The flagship Lagavulin is a 16 year old, which causes many a snob to look askance at any expression younger than that. This snobbery is especially snotty for smokeheaded peat enthusiasts, though, because it’s a well-established principle that the smoky influence of malted barley dried by peat fires faded with time. The older a whisky, generally speaking, the less smoky it becomes. So, younger expressions of Islay classics always merit a look for that reason alone, and sometimes they are quite good in their own right. For example, Lagavulin’s series of 12 Year Old limited edition whiskies have scored high marks, rewarding those who give up their preconceptions.
Lagavulin 11 year old whiskies have heretofore served as the basis for the Nick Offerman limited line, but not in this instance. In this instance, Lagavulin Sweet Peat 11 Year Old is intended as a permanent brand extension. The stock is entirely first-fill, ex-bourbon barrel aged; this is in compariso to the standard Lagavulin, which always has a little old Sherry wood in the primary maturation or any of the limited editions, which lean heavily on cask finishing. Also, the other stuff mixes in refill and rejuvinated ex-bourbon barrels, as opposed to the entire thing coming from bourbon barrels whose first use was for bourbon and this is their second. The whisky is bottled at 43% ABV.
It’s designed to be more approachable than the usual run of peaty whiskies, and one suspects especially so to Americans. Lagavulin is well-suited to that role, because with a peat level of 35 ppm, they sit in the middle of the Islay spectrum.
The Scotch
Maybe it is because I am an American and a generalist, but I rather liked Lagavulin Sweet Peat. The pour was typical of good malts in terms of appearance, taking on a golden coloring in the Glencairn.
The nose led with a berry-sweet current, smacking of a fruity red wine and dry oak, backed by a present note of sea spray and a light dusting of ash. The palate again leads with its sweetness, blending malty honey, dried red berries and dark, high cocoa-content chocolate for a quite balanced, well-rounded flavor. Only on the back end does the oak and the smoke come on, and with quite a mellow touch at that. The finish was like how I imagine an exercise in fine pipe smoking to be, combined a moist pinch of sweet pipe tobacco with the strongest current of smoke to yet appear in the experience.
Dr. Stuart Morrison over at Diageo really hit the mark with this one. The stated intention was approachability, and that intention was well-achieved. Although I do not believe I would use this or any peated whisky as my bridge to nudge bourbon drinkers into the wider whisky world (I prefer Sherry bombs for that role), Lagavulin Sweet Peat is an excellent choice for the next step. In other words, the first step is something just plain sweet; the second is something sweet and a little smoky. And as for those of us already there, this Lagavulin is superbly balanced, delivering just enough smoke to please. It contradicts the previously stated notion that younger whiskies are often smokier.
The Price
A bottle of Lagavulin 11 Year Old Sweet Peat is $70.
