The 12-year old is the annual bottling of unadulterated cask strength Lagavulin that is released as part of Diageo's "Special Releases" series each year. It's the purist's choice when it comes to Lagavulin single malt, being bottled at cask strength, non-chill filtered and naturally coloured, although the latter two points now also apply to the 8-year old that has since joined the distillery's core range. But back in 2014 when this 12-year old was released it was essentially the only option for an unadulterated Lagavulin, unless you had access to the distillery-only Jazz Festival or Feis Ile bottlings. Like all of Diageo's annual Special Releases there is no published information on the number of bottles released, but when it eventually made it to Australia there was a large amount of this 2014 bottling floating around, and that stock lasted for quite some time. Rumour is it was over-ordered, which unfortunately meant that we were deprived of any official importation of the 2015 and 2016 releases of the 12-year old. Which is a real shame, because both were excellent, not to mention the 2016 release being the commemorative bottling for the distillery's 200th anniversary. A couple of enterprising retailers parallel imported (bypassed the local importer / distributor) a small amount of both releases, which despite significantly higher prices was very much appreciated by the distillery's thirsty Australian fans. Things seem to be looking up however, since there was a very small amount of the 2017 release officially imported, which I've reviewed here, and the 2018 release has become available quite recently.
As venerable and dependable as Lagavulin's flagship 16-year old bottling is, it is held back by chill filtration, added colouring and the relatively low bottling strength of 43%. Although to be fair that's better than the 40% minimum ABV that Diageo could've gone with, and that some competing distilleries did - and do - go with. Those who've been lucky enough to attend one of the fantastic warehouse tastings at the distillery may have come across a 16-year old single cask Lagavulin at cask strength, which is made even more special by it being drawn straight from the cask by the legendary Ian McArthur. But the 12-year old bottling is actually obtainable, so in my opinion could well be the sweet-spot for refill cask-matured Lagavulin. I am yet to taste a "bad" release in this series, in fact all have been entirely delicious and notably different from each other, which is great to see. I'd have to say the 2013 and 2016 bottlings are my favourites to date, but you really can't go wrong with any of them. This whisky easily stands alongside Laphroaig's 10-year old Cask Strength (reviewed here and here) and the other high-strength Islay staples, and it wipes the floor with quite a few others!
When it arrived in Australia around four years ago this 2014 bottling of the 12-year old could be found for around $150-170 AUD, which even back then was brilliant value for money. The 12-year old was largely unheard of on these shores at the time, which coupled with that rumoured over-order meant that stocks lasted for a considerable amount of time. Years, in fact. But the whisky fans eventually caught on and it's now practically impossible to find at retail. Lagavulin 12-year old is always matured in refill American oak ex-bourbon casks, which when combined with the lack of artificial colouring gives it a beautiful very pale colour and a spirit-led flavour profile, not to mention a fantastic oily, chewy texture thanks to the bottling strength and lack of chill filtration. The 2014 release was bottled at a cask strength of 54.4% ABV, the lowest of any release of the 12-year old to date, by 2% ABV in fact. Not that 54.4% is anything to sneeze at, of course!
Matured in refill American oak ex-bourbon casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Pale gold. Lovely!
Nose: Sweet, oily and peaty. A sharp, crumbly and vegetal peat, alongside brine, sweet vanilla cake frosting and some lightly sweetened lime juice. Some good quality olive oil, fresh sea scallops, and a little clean mineral engine oil. More time brings out dried strawberries, more brine and lime juice, and adds a bit of lemon zest.
Texture: Medium-heavy weight, oily, smoky and surprisingly dry. Hardly any heat for the strength.
Taste: Massively peaty & smoky, a dirty & ashy bonfire smoke alongside that dry & crumbly vegetal peat. More quality olive oil, a little petrol (but in a good way!), black pepper and dried seaweed. Charred driftwood and some partially-melted salted butter.
Finish: Long. A little sweeter, with that fresh shellfish sweetness and a hint of that vanilla frosting around the edges. The peat is still big & dry & vegetal, and it's turning slightly bitter here as well. There's more brine and bonfire smoke, but this time the bonfire was given a few splashes of petrol to help it along. Great stuff!
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: You're going to have to like peat, and the dirtier- and drier-side of Islay whiskies, but if you do you're going to love this one like I do. Masses of flavour, masses of peat, and plenty of texture and character. I really love that olive oil note too, I don't remember finding that when this bottle was freshly opened. Possibly the after-effect of some of that Lagavulin dirty engine oil & diesel character receding with air? Only some of it has faded though, there's still plenty to be found, which works beautifully in these whiskies. In fact this bottle has held up very well considering it has been open for over a year, although I did sporadically use Argon gas preserver over that time, which may have helped. Either way it's no less peaty or powerful for it.
Like all of the good Islay malts this Lagavulin transports you back to those Hebridean shores on the other side of the world. On a cold, damp day with flashes of peat smoke and salt hanging in the air. Even if you've never physically been, your imagination will take you there. I must admit that I do prefer the other releases that I've tried over this 2014 bottling of the 12-year old, but you can't really go wrong with any of them. It'll be a sad day when this particular bottle is finally relegated to the graveyard. Let's hope Diageo keep these releases going for many years to come!
Cheers!
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