Lagavulin is by far the most pungent of the Islay whiskies. Not merely smoky, given that Laphroaig is probably the smokiest Islay scotch, closely followed by Ardbeg. In contrast to these scotches that are very heavily smoky, the nose of a Lagavulin is rife with a panoply of flavors: smoke, gunpowder, brine, fruits, and sherry. When contrasted with a smoky scotch such as Laphroaig or Ardbeg, the difference can be striking. Whereas those are definitively smoky, and to great effect, the nose on a Lagavulin will exhibit more depth and intrigue. The same goes for the palate. Whatever Lagavulin may occasionally lack in smoky intensity compared to some of its Islay brethren it makes up for in sheer personality.

This is where Lagavulin really shines and really sets itself apart from other scotches, the fact that it is unabashedly unkempt and rough around the edges. There is no sense of elegant harmony in a Lagavulin. The nose has a gaggle of elements competing furiously, duking it out with one another for supremacy. The palate is littered with flavors that brashly antagonize your palate: one moment it’s tremendously smoky, the next brown sugar and sherry step in, the moment after it’s flavors of caramelized pork that soon gives way to crushed black peppercorns.

It’s quite interesting to look more closely at why this is the case. For this, you can turn to a couple of wonderful books on scotch, Andrew Jefford’s excellent depiction of Islay and its whiskies Peat Smoke And Spirit and Misako Udo’s masterly reference tome The Scottish Whisky Distilleries. Each of these books contains a wealth of information about the Islay distilleries (Udo’s book contains information about every distillery in Scotland, active or otherwise), including vital facts such as the peating levels of the malt, the size of their spirit stills, the length of their fermentations, and loads of other details. Here are the most important details to look at concerning the pungent qualities of Lagavulin:

Peating Levels
The peating levels of the Islay whiskies vary considerably, and have a clear relationship to the smokiness of the finished product. Here are the peating levels of the malt used by all 7 Islay distilleries, measured in phenols parts-per-million (the list excludes unique one-offs such as Bruichladdich’s Octomore):

1. Ardbeg: 54ppm
2. Laphroaig: 40-43ppm
3. Lagavulin: 35-40ppm
4. Caol Ila: 30-35ppm
5. Bowmore: 20-25ppm
6. Bruichladdich: 3-4ppm
7. Bunnahabhain: 1-2ppm

So Ardbeg and Laphroaig, scotches that are more demonstrably smoky than Lagavulin are number 1 and 2, not a big surprise there. But here are the phenol levels of the new make spirit from the seven distilleries:

1. Laphroaig: 25ppm
2. Ardbeg: 24-26ppm
3. Lagavulin: 16-18ppm
4. Caol Ila: 12-13ppm
5. Bowmore: 8-10ppm
6. Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain both have negligible levels of peat in their new make spirit

So no change in order of the distilleries relative to one another based on the new make spirit. But here’s where it starts to really get interesting. Let’s look at the percentage charge they fill their spirit stills to when distilling the new make spirit:

• Ardbeg: 81%
• Bowmore: 92%
• Bruichladdich: 58%
• Bunnahabhain: 58%
• Caol Ila: 41 %
• Lagavulin: 95%
• Laphroaig: (information not available)

Lagavulin fills their spirit stills to 95% of capacity. Add to this the fact that the lyne arm on their spirit stills descends at a 45 degree angle and has no purifier attached to it means that the vaporized spirit very quickly moves up and out of the still, giving it little contact with the still’s copper sides. Lagavulin also has one of the widest middle cuts of the island’s distilleries, from 72-59%.*

And lastly, Lagavulin fills almost all of its spirit into third-fill American oak barrels (meaning that they’ve been filled with other distilleries’ scotch 3 times before being used by Lagavulin). This means that there will be less smoothing influence from the wood during the whisky’s many years of maturation.

What this info reveals is that while Lagavulin may be less peaty in terms of the PPM of its malt and new make spirit, but creates its decidedly pungent scotch by employing the biggest spirit stills charge on the island, using the widest distillation cuts, and choosing to use older barrels that will not smooth out or subdue the wild characteristics inherent in the new make spirit.

Exciting stuff, but what about the scotch itself? Does pungent translate into a great winter night’s dram?

The answer is a definitive yes when considering any Lagavulin bottling, but even more so when its the 16-year Distiller’s Edition. This bottling is finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for several months, after nearly 16 years in its initial bourbon cask. The sherry cask (Pedro Ximenez being the most unctuous and sweet of all sherries) has the effect of adding body, flavor, and color to the already very, very good Lagavulin 16-year (their most common official bottling).

The scotch is orange-amber in appearance with occasional greenish glints on the surface. The nose is a mix of bonfires, smoke, barbecue roasted pork, caramel sweets, and the smoky smell that lingers on your clothes the day after you’ve spent all night sitting in front of a bonfire beside a lake on a cool summer evening. The palate is dense and textured, with flavors of smoke and bonfires, overripe, melt-in-your-mouth raspberries, crushed black szechuan pepper, and caramel. The finish starts bitter with abundant smoke that gives way to savory toffee sweetness which itself slowly gives over to cotton candy.

No doubt about it, the Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition is a special scotch. The only thing that would really put it over the top is if it was cask strength. As it is, it is bottled 43% which I believe takes away somewhat from how good it could be. Nonetheless, it is a pretty fabulous dram. Highly recommended.

*Distillation Cuts: this term refers to the three stages of the second distillation process, when the runnings are collected from the spirit still. The runnings from the first stage are referred to as the Foreshots and include the less pure alcohols and oils that are too strong, cloudy, and oily to become whisky. Typically the strength of the foreshots is greater than 72%. The second stage referred to as the Middle Cut includes the spirit that makes up the bulk of the new make whisky, and typically measures between 60-72% alcohol. The third and final stage is referred to as the Feints (also sometimes “Tails”), and contains spirit which is too low in alcohol and too rich in undesirable flavors and aromas to be used for whisky. The wider the middle cut used by the distillery, the more rich and pungent their whisky will be because it will include more of the foreshots and feints. Likewise, the narrower the cut, the more clean the distillery’s whisky will be.