Lagavulin Feis Ile 2015 Whisky Review!

Another blast from the recent past, and one that I've never tasted. It's a 24-year old cask strength Lagavulin, bottled for the Islay Festival seven years ago. They don't often make 'em like this anymore!

Despite being relatively large releases of 3,000-6,000 bottles, Lagavulin's cask strength Feis Ile bottlings have historically been one of the more difficult to get a hold of out of the eight (now nine and soon to be ten) Islay distilleries. That's because they were one of the few brands who did not sell them on their website or through other retailers, meaning you had to actually go to the distillery shop on Islay to get your hands on a bottle. This also meant that the stock would last for a reasonable amount of time, so if you weren't lucky enough to be there during the annual Islay Festival in May/June but were within a month or two, then you still had a chance of nabbing one as a liquid souvenir. The same applied to the annual Lagavulin Jazz Festival bottlings (2017 reviewed here) later in the year, typically held in September each year. The same also applied to the other Diageo distillery on the island, Caol Ila, and through 2017-2019 both also had distillery only bottlings available from their shops (2017 Caol Ila release reviewed here), all bottled at cask strength. Note my use of past tense thus far in this piece, because like almost everything else, the pandemic has changed that situation. Like most of the Islay distilleries from 2020 onwards, both the Feis Ile and Jazz Festival bottlings of Lagavulin have been available directly from their website, which is perfectly understandable since the distillery was closed to visitors for much of the pandemic; as was the entire island at times. Since the two Diageo distilleries have re-opened to visitors they've been holding back stock of these limited bottlings for their shops, which is a good thing, but thus far they're also still available on Diageo's website, provided you have a shipping address in the British Isles. Whether this will continue in future I can't say, but for me it does take away some of the allure of these releases. Despite my location on the other side of the planet and having had the privilege of visiting Islay only twice thus far, I think these special whiskies and the distilleries are better served by being a reward for visitors to the island. But there are plenty of people who haven't visited or can't visit Islay at all, so giving them the chance to purchase one of these bottlings is a good thing, disregarding the fact that it also makes it easier for the flippers and "investors" to send these whiskies straight to the auction sites...

The Islay Festival / Feis Ile returned in 2022 following a three-year hiatus, while the next Islay Jazz Festival hasn't been confirmed yet. Obviously both last occurred in 2019 in a very different world, so hopefully the Jazz Festival does also kick in again and things can get back to normal, in that regard at least. I haven't visited Islay during Feis Ile myself, and to be honest the idea doesn't really appeal to me - a large part of the magic of Islay is it being a small, calm, remote, quiet island, where you can relax and soak up the scenery and the atmosphere. Forgive me but I'm going to have to quote the Australian classic 'The Castle' (no, not Dunyvaig) here with both "it's the vibe of it" and also "how's the serenity"... During the festival however the island is much more chaotic, being chock full of tourists - quite literally, since all accommodation, flights, ferries, rental cars and taxis tend to be completely booked out a year or more in advance. I'm sure the special distillery events and the festival bottlings would be adequate compensation for those possible inconveniences, but personally I'd rather enjoy the quieter side of Islay since I can't exactly turn around and go again a month later. Having said that my first visit to Islay was actually during the Jazz Festival back in 2017, which seemed much more manageable, but then it's not on the scale of the Islay Festival. Lagavulin is essentially the only distillery that partakes in the activities for this one, and it was previously known as the Lagavulin Jazz Festival. They're also the only distillery that releases a special bottling on this occasion - and those bottlings are not to be missed. That all makes it much more sedate compared to Feis Ile, with the added bonus of there being plenty of live music around the island for those few days. Provided you're a jazz fan, at least!

Back in 2015 the Islay Festival would've been particularly busy, since both Ardbeg and Laphroaig were celebrating their 200th anniversaries at the time, with massive celebratory events and special tastings taking place to suit. Lagavulin celebrated their 200th birthday the following year in 2016, but they didn't phone it in with their release in 2015 either. Their Feis Ile bottling was a 24-year old, with 3,500 bottles released at a cask strength of 59.9%, very high for the age. Both the Feis Ile and Jazz Festival bottlings are usually hand selected by the legendary Iain McArthur, the Islay native who has worked in the whisky industry for over 50-years - actually starting out at Port Ellen Distillery prior to its closure. Iain also runs the phenomenal warehouse tastings at Lagavulin, where samples are drawn straight from casks in front of you in one of the distillery's dunnage warehouses. Those tastings are a bucket list experience for any fans of Islay whisky, and are not to be missed. For this 2015 Feis Ile bottling the casks selected were "triple matured", meaning the whisky was initially matured in American oak hogsheads (meaning ex-bourbon casks), then Pedro Ximinez sherry butts, and then "oak puncheons", which I'd take to mean refill puncheons. It's certainly worth mentioning that at 23-24 years of age this is still the oldest bottling that Lagavulin has ever released as a Feis Ile or Jazz Festival bottling. Most of the limited release Lagavulins, at least those with age statements and/or vintages, are around 13-19 years old, while oddities like the 37-year old and 2021's 26-year old Special Release are insanely expensive, and older examples of Lagavulin have exploded in value on the secondary market over the last few years. But let's not compare today's primary or secondary whisky pricing to 7-years ago or we'll all end up in tears! This review is a snapshot into the recent past, only for posterity's sake. Let's see what it tastes like!

Lagavulin Feis Ile 2015, 1991-2015, 59.9%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled 1991, "triple matured" in American oak hogsheads, PX sherry butts, and (presumably refill) oak puncheons, bottled 2015. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 3,500 bottles.

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Sweet, rich & peaty. Loads of salted caramel, masses of drying seaweed, and a little clean soil. Further in a big oily, dank peatiness, sea salt, and a touch of dried lemon. Orange zest, raisins, white pepper and a touch of herbal honey. More time brings out fried bacon and pine forest. 

Texture: Heavy weight. Rich, oily & dense. Sweet & peaty, fatty too. Warming, but no harsh heat at all.

Taste: Big oily, peaty arrival that builds into black pepper, thick & oily peat smoke, and salted caramel. Seaweed, orange zest, and raisins again, and soft oak. Bacon again but it's overcooked now, dry & crispy. Brine and a little oily boot polish around the edges. 

Finish: Medium-long length. More salted caramel, seaweed, overcooked bacon and raisins. Sea salt, orange rind (not just the zest here). Touch of grapefruit, printer toner, and a little sweet oak. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Monster old Lagavulin! This Feis Ile bottling really has everything an Islay lover could want in a Lagavulin, with some extra raisins and oak thrown in for good measure. It does hide it's advanced age at times, particularly with that big peat influence, but it's important to note that the distillery used a higher peating level in the past before switching to 35 ppm in the mid-1990s, which could be partly responsible for that. But then it's also mostly refill casks, and the 60% ABV probably helps with that too, not to mention the sheer volume of flavour that is in this dram. Whatever the reason, it's definitely working for me! There is a noticeable cask influence, which is a rare thing for a Lagavulin really, particularly in the 12-year old where the level of cask influence is almost undetectable - in a good way! In this 24-year old I'm thinking that the raisin, orange and of course the oak notes are probably down to the PX sherry casks in the mix, but it's all relatively subtle, this is no sherry and/or oak bomb. That's all kept in check by that beautifully powerful & peaty spirit! Based on smell & taste I'm guessing that all of the casks involved were refill casks, which is certainly good thing with any Lagavulin, but even more so with one this old. 

This is a brilliantly put-together dram, with character for days and masses of flavour.  An older, but no less peaty, blast from the (recent) past! What a treat! Big thanks to the generous owner for the sample that made this review possible. Special stuff!

Cheers!