Loch Fyne Whiskies stocks  ‘Lagavulin 12yo 57.5% Bottled 2011’

Lagavulin 12yo 57.5% Bottled 2011

£59.90 inc vat (£49.92 ex vat)

The Joynson speaks “Tried this at the end of a marathon tasting session and my notes merely say ‘Nice”.

Here’s the official blurb on it:

A limited edition, natural cask strength single malt whisky. From the essential Islay distillery, Lagavulin, on Islay’s rocky south coast. Ninth of a series of special 12 year old releases from the original distiller’s stocks. Vatted from refill American Oak casks, each at least 12 years old. Official Tasting Note: Appearance: Pale gold. Light beading. Nose: Mild nose-feel. Immediate and complex, with butter toffee to the fore and fragrant wood smoke on the breeze behind. As with a well-made vinaigrette dressing on peppery salad leaves, eaten with smoked mackerel. After a while, the honeyed wood-smoke develops hints of newly polished brogues and distinctly medicinal carbolic soap and bath salts, laced with creamy vanilla. Sharper and more savoury with water: clean and fresh, with seaweed, and lightly oily. Like eating fresh cooked chips, with a splash of vinegar, straight from the bag on a cold day. Body: Light. Palate: Sweeter than expected, with a pleasant texture, then vinegary, then very smoky indeed. Drying at first with smoky wood-ash, then tart notes of citrus and pine come in to create a kind of carbonic fizz. Very savoury and appetising with water. Fish grilled on a beech-wood fire; hot baked potatoes. Like chewing on a charred stick and finding it unexpectedly delightful! Finish: Long and toasted. Later, with water, more charred and savoury notes emerge (liquorice root, fennel, some mushrooms and truffle oil), thrown into fine relief by the deliciously insistent, smoky and medicinal backdrop.

Flavour Map Ref: D10 Smoky / Light & Smoky

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk