🥃 Lagavulin

Lagavulin is a distillery and brand of single malt Scotch whisky in Lagavulin Bay on the south coast of the island of Islay, not far from Port Ellen. It was founded by John Johnston in 1816 and now belongs to the British company Diageo. Lagavulin whisky is smoky, made from peated malt; the core expression is the 16-year-old at 43% ABV.

Distilling in this bay went on long before a legal distillery: sources mention illicit stills as early as 1742. In 1816 John Johnston and Archibald Campbell built two distilleries here, one of which became Lagavulin. In the 1920s the distillery became part of Distillers Company, which Guinness bought in 1986; in 1997, after the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan, Diageo was formed. Lagavulin later represented Islay in the Classic Malts series.

The distillery is known for very slow distillation in pear-shaped copper stills, two wash stills and two spirit stills. The slow process gives a heavier, rounder spirit. The malt is dried over peat, so the whisky has a pronounced smoke. As for all Scotch, the law requires at least three years in oak casks in Scotland, and the figure on the label refers to the youngest whisky in the bottle.

The range: the 16-year-old (43% ABV), the Distillers Edition, additionally matured in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, regular editions of a 12-year-old at cask strength, and older limited releases.

Why this matters to you. Lagavulin is a whisky with powerful peat smoke, so beginners are better off starting with a small measure. The Distillers Edition is sweeter than the 16-year-old because of the sherry, and cask-strength editions are much stronger than 43%, so look at the percentage. The WHO reminds us that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.