Lagavulin 16 Years Old
Is there a more polarizing whisky in the world than Lagavulin 16 Years Old? Some people love it for its campfire smokiness. Others hate it for its… campfire smokiness. And then there are camps of whisky lovers who generally love peated Islay malts, but hate Lagavulin 16 for a variety of reasons. It’s too watered down (only 43% ABV). It’s overrated. Overpriced. It gets too much attention. It’s not as good as it used to be. It’s not as good as the other Islay single malts.
I’m going to be up front and blunt on this one. I’m not a big fan of Lagavulin 16. I’m generally in the camp of whisky fans who consider it overrated and weak. But I don’t hate it or object to its existence or look down on anyone who likes it (as some do). Even though it’s not my favorite whisky, if Diageo (owners of Lagavulin) decided to discontinue bottling Lagavulin as a 16 year old, I would be disappointed and sad. Why? Because Lagavulin 16 is an important whisky. How many lovers of peated Islay whisky got their start by trying a glass of Lagavulin? How many eyes has this 16 year single malt opened to the vast array of flavors that can be found in a peated dram? There’s no way to know of course, but I’m certain it’s a substantial amount. Lagavulin 16 has created a legion of single malt lovers, and that’s a good thing, regardless of what you think about the whisky itself.
Lagavulin 16 is a great whisky because it’s a great beginner’s whisky. It’s a gateway dram. It didn’t happen to be my gateway dram (that was Ardbeg 10), but it easily could have been. New whisky drinkers would be hard-pressed to find a better starting point for their whisky journey than here (and at this point I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to Roy from Aqvavitae, who did an excellent live stream on YouTube regarding this very topic). And so while I’m going to be somewhat harsh in my review of this Lagavulin, which I personally find underwhelming, that doesn’t mean I don’t recommend it. Quite the opposite. If you’ve never tried Lagavulin 16, then you’re missing out. Even if you’re missing out on something that you’re going to hate (which can be fun sometimes too, right?).
This is Part 2 of my three part series on Lagavulin, which began with a review of the 8 Year yesterday and will conclude with the 12 Year Cask Strength tomorrow.
Lagavulin 16 Review
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Islay
ABV: 43%
Nose
Gentle peat smoke. Smoky embers. Minerals. Seashells. A little fruity. Sour cherries. Chocolate with chili peppers. And then there’s an unfortunate and ugly note of laundry detergent… which pretty much ruins it for me.
Palate
Gentle, dialed down peat smoke, with an emphasis on campfire smoke. Fairly sweet, with what seems to be some sherry oak influence (re-used and tired sherry oak). Peppers. Dried fruits. Cherry. Spicy chocolate. Fairly weak and lacking depth. The mouthfeel is slightly creamy, but generally too thin.
Finish
Smoky. Baked fruits. Hard candy. Butterscotch. Huckleberry. Somewhat short, although some sweetness lingers.
Overall
This is a perfectly fine single malt, but the nose is ruined by that laundry detergent note. I don’t remember finding that particular note in previous bottles I’ve had, so maybe this was just a bad batch? Nonetheless, it’s clearly present to my nose, and therefore I have to reflect that flaw in my scoring of this whisky.
The palate is OK, but too watered down and not all that complex. It’s just… underwhelming. Under proofed and overly filtered (Diageo sure does love to filter the hell out of their products). The sherry influence is minimal, although detectable (assuming Lagavulin is even still using sherry oak in the 16). Seems like it was aged in tired, inactive casks.
I get why this is popular. But I also get why many whisky lovers move on from Lagavulin 16 after finding bigger and better things, particularly from other places on Islay… or even from other Lagavulin expressions (and with that in mind, be sure to stay tuned for my next review—Lagavulin 12 Year Cask Strength).
UPDATE: Click here for my review of the 12 Year Cask Strength.
SCORE: 78/100
Final Thoughts
Love it or hate it, you can’t deny the popularity of Lagavulin 16 or its importance in the world of single malt whisky. It’s a single malt that virtually every serious whisky lover has tried at one point in time or another. It’s obviously not my favorite whisky, but it is a whisky I like to keep around at home for guests.
Has it gone down in quality over the years? I don’t know. Probably. But I don’t really notice a big difference in my notes from today compared to my notes from a few years ago (except for that laundry detergent note, which is what knocked the score down to a 78, rather than something in the low 80s), and I’ve never done a side-by-side comparing bottles from different eras.
Like I said in the intro, I’m underwhelmed by this single malt, but I’m still glad it exists. My only real complaint is that it’s overpriced—I know that in some parts of the US, you can find Lagavulin 16 at very reasonable prices, but around me it’s about $95 for a bottle. There are so many better whiskies available at lower prices that it’s hard to justify buying a bottle of this one regularly.
Buy Again? Well, I have. I’ve had several bottles of Lagavulin 16 over the last half decade, even though it’s never thrilled me. But I don’t think I’m going to buy another one. It’s moderately good whisky (if that) at a premium price. I recommend it only as a beginner’s whisky.
Drink This Not That: If you are interested at all in whisky, then you really should try Lagavulin 16 at some point in time. If you’re already an experienced whisky drinker who regularly consumes higher ABV drams, then you might be disappointed with Lagavulin 16, so try it at a bar first. For more experienced whisky drinkers, I think the Lagavulin 8 year old is a better choice—it’s cheaper (at least in my part of the world) and, in my opinion, better. And if it’s a sweet style of peated whisky you’re after, then try Ardbeg Uigeadail, which—although bottled at a substantially higher ABV—is also cheaper than Lagavulin 16 (again, at least around here) and is much better. So much better.
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.
