Lagavulin: Offerman Edition (release 4) (Scottish Islay Single Malt Whisky: 11 Year: 46% ABV)
Visual: Deep, slightly browned gold. Thick streaks of varied speeds come from the spirit.
Nose: Salt. Moss. Heavy. Smoked beef slices. Campfire smoke. Peaty. Barbecue sauce. Water adds a gooseberry touch.
Body: Smooth. Honey. Slight plum. Oily. Dry peatiness. Milky chocolate. Nut oils. Light charring. Beef slices. Water makes smoother. Golden syrup cake. Sherry trifle.
Finish: Ovaltine malt drinks. Moss. Clean sheen. Nut oils. Slight brandy cream. Sherry trifle. Water adds Madeira and a light gooseberry touch
Conclusion: This is amazing. I love Lagavulin, but one of the curses of being a Lagavulin fan is that their mainstay (the 16 year, I refuse to treat the johnnie come lately of an 8 year as their main release) is pretty much the best one. The distillers edition being the only other one that can fight for that position in my opinion. Nearly every other Lagavulin I have had has been really good, just not near the desert island nigh perfect whisky that the 16 is.
This, eleven year old expression, well, this breaks the curse as it is fucking amazing and possibly the best Lagavulin I have had.
Sill has that big peat, meaty character, moss and the other Islay notes you expect from a Lagavulin. In fact I am impressed that, at 11 years, it seems to manage a smoothness and complexity that easily rivals the 16 year at its own game, even before you add the unusual cask into it.
Thing is, there is also a sweetness, a richness in there as well, from a sticky to sweet barbecue sauce style that mixed well with the meat and peat, to a spirity almost Madeira and brandy cream character as it shows through more clearly.
It is beefy, nut oils, real peaty Lagavulin, but has somehow a plum jamminess against that. Somehow manages to up the complexity and distinguished character of the already amazing Lagavulin style. Even better still the sweeter notes are so well integrated, subtly enhancing rather than overpowering the base style, making it even more than the sum of its base elements.
An impeccable drop from my favorite distillery. So good.
Background: So, I love Lagavulin, absolutely amazing distillery. Nick Offerman, of parks and rec fame also loves Lagavulin so gets varied limited released named after him. I tried the third release and very much enjoyed. This, the fourth release has been finished in Caribbean Rum casks, a style of finish I have a soft spot for so I just had to grab myself a bottle from malts.com. As mentioned in the notes the only real problem with Lagavulin is very few of their expressions live up to their 16 year. They are good, different, but not generally better. One exception, tried at a Dark Horse tasting is the Fèis Ìle 2024 10 year old, which is amazing. Or so I think. I was quite drunk when I tried it, but my memory is that it was a rare stand out. Anyway, I wanted heavy music to go with heavy whisky so went with Jamie Lenman: Muscle Memory. The first half of it is super heavy metal. The 2nd is a complete 180 degree change into light folk, but I was mainly there for the metal.