Lagavulin 1986 Distillers Edition (43%,OB, lgv.4/490, 2002)

• Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: Lagavulin Distillery
• Bottling: Diageo
• ABV: 43%
• Cost: approx. £170-220 at auction (Bottled and released 2002)

What they say:

Double matured in Pedro Ximinez cask wood, this is a mellow Lagavulin, peat-rich, sweet and very more-ish.

What I say:

Another bite of the Cherry, having enjoyed a bottled of the Lagavulin 1994 DE I was mildly disappointed to find that the 1997 edition seemed to lack a little in character. A chance sample swap with Johnnie Stumbler of The Nosing Arse fame landed me this 1986 DE.

Colour:

Ruby amber (14/20), slow, medium-sized droplet tears leave medium-fine legs

Nose:

Cherry lips & strawberry lace sweeties, peaches, definite ripened fruit, Morello cherries, toffee sweetness and good malty cereal barley, the peat smoke is barley perceptible behind this fruity mass, a wisp of smoke is driven by cloves and mace

Taste:

Luxuriously rich, fruitcake and gingerbread, rum-soaked raisins, malty, toffee, caramel, hints of pepper and clove spice arrive with hints of peat, slightly earthy and mossy and some embers, oak wood, dried fruit in molasses, slightly menthol or eucalyptus note at the end

Finish:

Long, dried fruits gives was to tarry ropes and peat ashes mixed with treacle

Overall:

A stunning return to form has me more convinced than ever now that the more recent Lagavulin DE have been wavering in quality, possibly partly due to the quality of ex-PX casks available (I can only hazard a guess?) If anything this 1986 edition is balanced slightly more towards the PX cask than the spirit nature which only makes me love it all the more!

Score: 90/100

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