Islay, Scotland
Lagavulin 16 Year Old
- Smoky
- Maritime
- Toasted
Distillery
Lagavulin whiskies
Lagavulin is one of the three great distilleries on Islay’s south coast, between Laphroaig and Ardbeg, next to the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle. It belongs to Diageo, which chose it to represent Islay in its Classic Malts collection. Its 16-year-old is one of the most famous smoky whiskies in the world. Its style combines intense smoke, salt and deep sweetness, with an elegance that has made it a legend.
- Founded
- 1816
- Owner
- Diageo
- Origin
- Islay, Scotland
- In the catalogue
- 3 whiskies
History, style and where to startSee it on the world mapLagavulin official website(opens in a new tab)
Photos of Lagavulin
Photo: Eberhard Kaiser · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted) 
Photo: Charlie Marshall · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted) 
Photo: Martin Cígler · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
Islay, Scotland
Lagavulin 8 Year Old
- Smoky
- Maritime
- Spicy
Islay, Scotland
Lagavulin Distillers Edition
- Smoky
- Dried fruit
- Sweet
Guide to Lagavulin
History
There were several illicit distilleries in Lagavulin Bay before the legal distillery was established at the beginning of the 19th century. At the end of that century it was run by Peter Mackie, the creator of the White Horse blend, who had a long legal dispute with neighbouring Laphroaig and even built a second distillery next to Lagavulin, Malt Mill, to try to imitate its whisky. In the 20th century it passed to the Distillers Company and then to Diageo. In 1988 it was included in the Classic Malts collection, and its 16-year-old became a benchmark. For its bicentenary it launched an 8-year-old that is now part of the range.
House style
Lagavulin distils very slowly, in pear-shaped stills, which gives a full-bodied, rounded spirit. The house style combines peat smoke, iodine, salt, seaweed and tar with a sweetness of toffee, dried fruit and vanilla. With age the smoke becomes integrated and gains elegance. It is an intense whisky with a very long, smoky, briny finish.
Average flavour profile of its 3 whiskies in the catalogue
Where to start
Lagavulin 16 Year Old is the classic: smoke, salt and sweetness in perfect balance, a benchmark whisky for any smoke lover. The 8-year-old is younger, livelier and intense. Distillers Edition finishes in Pedro Ximénez casks and adds sweetness and dried fruit. Drink them neat, without ice, and slowly: the smoke opens up little by little and reveals the sweetness.
This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.
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