Lagavulin 12-year-old Specially Selected Pure Islay Malt /43%/0.75l

Lagavulin Distillery, founded in 1816 by John Johnston, is located near the ruins of Dunyveg Castle, once the residence of the island's rulers.

Its name comes from the Gaelic Lag A' Mhullin and means "mill in a small valley". Lagavulin, referred to by many as the "aristocrat of Islay" since the late 1980s, was promoted in a 16-year-old version in the pioneering Classic Malts series and was considered a model for island whisky. However, earlier in Europe, a 12-year-old edition was available, which today breaks records of popularity at whisky auctions. In our opinion, the bottle presented here dates from the early 1970s and was intended for an importer to the markets of Spain and Andorra. The whisky was distilled from barley malted on site (the Lagavulin malthouse ceased operation in 1974). Lagavulin closed 2020 with sales of 2.5 million bottles.

Nose: perfectly balanced, peat smoke and tarred ropes, dried seaweed, honey, raisins, maple syrup, cinnamon, cocoa powder, nutmeg, smoked ham, traces of camphor and dried mushrooms.

Palate: oily, peat smoke, dark chocolate, bitter orange jam, espresso, grilled meats, a drop of barbecue sauce, black pepper, ginger, licorice, raisins, dried dates, notes of tobacco, old sherry and oak.

Finish: very long, with notes of peat smoke, dried fruit, pepper, sea salt, dark chocolate, a drop of tar and oak.