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what can you say about a whisky this good. It is simply perfect  94p. samples all gone in no time

Nose: Fresh rubber ball, meat, iodine. Those primary notes resolve into a complex, balanced, aromatic stew. Soy, floral, beef stock, swimming pool, raisin. Oil, diesel, game. Palate: Meat, sherry, fruit, oily, fresh, sticky, green fruit, savory, green orange. Terrific balance and freshness. Finish: Long, presence, lovely, refined, balanced. Comment: Great whisky on its own merit. That said, the meaty and savory profile is not one that I could drink everyday. I prefer sherry casks on aromatic dark, sweet red fruit.

A reference!

Yum, fine peat, complex with smoke, fruit (citrus fruits), chocolate, coffee... a slap on this Lagavulin and I turn the other cheek with pleasure. A collection of the best you can find on Islay. Both elegant and rustic, we travel from lemony peat, to smoke, to iodine, to the barn, to a floral sweetness. The oily texture is wonderful.

Unvelievable creaminess, complexity and balance - fantastic!

Smell 94 taste 96 End rhyme 96

Very good. A big movie theater. The peat is still very present despite the 25 years. But not crushing. 91-100 – Whisky heaven, best stuff

Lagavulin is my favorite distillery and I have tasted many of their bottles. This one is so far the best I have ever tried. A perfect balance between the sherry, smoke and oiliness that last almost forever in your mouth.

Fabulous balance and taste, complex and deep. My best whisky ever rated

Most certainly the best Lagavulin I've tasted. So far one of the best (if not THE best) whisky I've ever had. What an experience!

I wish I had tried this on a fresh palate, but any way you cut it this is a great dram. I think I will have to track one down and pay the £110 for the bottle. Super!

Finesse, elegance, harmony, complexity, subtlety, intensity. Fruits, smoke, farmer, medicinal, herbaceous. Extraordinary.

[October, 2016]  I had this dram during a "Lagavulin Bicentenary" tasting at Bonn. In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50 - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored it 87,5.  My notes state without the unpleasant and significant sulphurous flavours this would be a delicious dram that I most probably would have scored 90+ points.  But sorry folks, sulphur is simply a "no go" for my taste buds...

This whisky fully met my expectations, wonderful balance, and excellent strength, I think I’ll find a bottle :).

Sweet and red jujubes, bbq sauce

Marvellous sweet sherry and perfect smoked ham - just stunning and highly recommendable.

Peathead Tasting note: A few years ago peathead gave this whisky 94 points Color: Mahogany Nose: Full blown peat, sherry, smoke, salt and brine. It's a very strong and direct nose. Impressive. Taste: An explosion of peat straight away. Again some sweet sherry (reminds me of the Dist. Edition Pedro Ximenez). Sharp peppery taste on the tongue with lots of smoke and salt. Finish: Really long and lasting. The salt sticks to your lips. Comments: Most certainly the best Lagavulin I've tasted. So far one of the best (if not THE best) whisky I've ever had. What an experience! __________________________________________________________________ Thanks again my friend for this sample; today, I empted your very special sample: Lagavulin 21 yo !!! I think it's the best I've ever had :-)

H2H- Lagavulin through the ages - as usual logic would dictate that the older ones would be better, but will that be the case? I already did a head to head of the 21, 25 and 30 and found the 25 to be better than most other people and between the 3 not that much in it so it will be interested to taste again. Lagavulin 16 is favourite of many on here for a go to islay dram and once price has been taken into account I  can gauge the best value and I suspect the 16 will do well here. Mid 1960`s to present 37 year, all official bottlings Drams https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/100508/lagavulin-guaranteed-pure-malt-pot-still https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/51469/lagavulin-16-year-old  https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/75648/lagavulin-islay-jazz-festival-2015  https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/35109/lagavulin-1991   https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/613/lagavulin-1985  https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/12/lagavulin-25-year-old  https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/10/lagavulin-30-year-old  https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/44217/lagavulin-37-year-old In theory the nose and palate should all have similarities so I will knock a few out from the start, tasting 8 heavy peaters is a lot for  my palate.   Nose The first to be discounted was the Jaz festival2015 and the 30 year but that might be because they were more delicate. next was the 21 year 1991 then the 37 year which left the NAS 1960`s, 16 year, 21 year 1985 and the 25 year. A difficult decision 1 - 21 year 1985 2 - Pure Pot Still 60`s 3 - 37 year 4 - 16 year 5 - 25 year 6 - 30 year 7 - 21 year 1991 8 - 2015 Jazz festival Palate 1st tasting (tentative) 1 - 21 year 1985 2= - 21 year 1991 2= - 37 year 4 -2015 Jazz festival 5 - 25 year 6  - 30 year 7 - Pure Pot Still Nas 8 - 16 year 2nd tasting 1 -1985 21 year 2 - 1991 21year 3 - 37 year 4 - 25 year 5 - Jazz festival 2015 6 - 30 year 7 - 16 year 8 - Nas pure pot still (been open a while) After 2 tastings my top 3 were the same with the 25 year moving to 4th the Nas was bottom with the 16 year just beating it. The 30 year was a little delicate in this company. The big question is and the one that should give us all hope is that there was little in the first 6 placings and the 16 year was not far behind but the exta years maturation told. If You took price into consideration then the 16 year can hold its head up high.

Not the most complex Lagavulin, but the sherry with peat and the creamy milk chocolate is amazing! 93/94.

Compared with the last time I drank this wine, it was still black pepper steak-style peat that made people drunk, but it lacked the power of three points into the wood, and added some unclear fruits.

Fantastic dram !!!

some sulphurous casks in the mix

Amazing Lagavulin, pure sherry bliss. The nose is out of this world, clean, olives, peat, tarry ropes, menthol/eucalyptus and orange chocolate. So much fat smoke and ashes! Amazing!

Special thanks to whiskycon for getting a 2cl sample for me. My whisky journey started with a Lagavulin 16YO, and I always wanted to try this 1985 21YO. Thanks a lot mate!

Maximum capacity of Lagavulin. Who loves Islay and Sherry has the perfect combination here. Unique to the fireplace in the evening.

From a purchased sample: Nose: Rich, golden, and decadent. Dense and complex. Most obviously sticky sweet (heavy molasses, honey, and oily toffee), without being over the top. The sherry influence gives off subtle tobacco and echoes of fruit. The peat emerges and recedes. At times it's like kippers and the most perfect sardines (canned and freshly smoked). Very slight sulfur, though, admittedly, I'm not sensitive to it. I don't want to put down my glass. Everything evolves and changes. The balance, density, and quality is superb. Leather, cocoa, menthol (Vick's vapo-rub), ginger, lingonberries (tart 'red'), and camphor. Pinch of high quality salt with honey and ham. (with water) Far more mossy and sea-weed. The fruit and toffee notes fade. Still golden. Palate: Thick liqueur on the palate. Immediately on honey, ginger, salt, leather, and caramel with some coffee and sticky pudding. The peat comes out, inevitably, like flames from smouldering embers. Really about the same as the nose, perhaps more gentle than I'd have expected, but no wall-flower this. Fabulous. (with water) Swims well. Peat is more prominent, and the thick, chewiness dissipates. More ashy, but the honeyed and salty notes still persist in the background. Finish: What's left to say? The notes probably will remind people of the 16 or Distillers Edition, and for good cause. That's all in here, though the age and sherry maturation gives it much more heft, depth, and richness. The quality is top notch. Water, for me, undid some of what made it special, but it's a clear winner. My notes left me all over the place, so I'll pick a 'safe' score for it - depending on mood or my perspective on taking it with water, this could go up or down 1-2 points.

An outstanding whisky.

Bottles # 1145, # 3376 and # 3428 sold empty at ebay.

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2020/11/08/whisky-website-rankings-the-worlds-top-100/ Following on from that fabulous 18yo comes this 21yo, rated by Serge at a whopping 95 points. How can one not have expectations? N: Objectivity, go! Wow, that is awesome though, an old Old & Rare style nose with oodles of freshness and strength. It reminds me of a number of [G&M] 45-50yo bottlings [Glen Grant, Strathisla etc,..] that I’ve tried and been disappointed by their fragility and impactfulness at 40% abv [and dropping]. A bottling like this, presented at cask strength, gives us the best of it all. Being creamy, phenolic and slightly mucky yet beautifully composed, those Spanish sherry butts help support that O&R air, with a certain nudge towards TTR [tamari, tomato and rancio]. Without doubt one of the most amazing contemporary old skool noses I’ve ever smelt, not quite in tOMoH’s 1955 Bowmore league [WLP96] just yet, but give it a few more decades. It’s delectable now with only 13 or so years in glass. T: The nose translates well on the palate, the sherry casks present yet respectful and positively influential. Unlike the 18yo, this needs a little water [in the mouth only], to help clear away any prickly palate shocks and allowing the flavour compounds to work their magic. Add a little water for a luscious yet slightly dry and somewhat heavy sweet < bitter peatiness to slowly emerge and expand. Reminding me more of a heavier dirtier Ledaig, this hasn’t the finesse of the 18yo, yet held in the mouth, the taste-combos are a real treat. F: Slightly drying oaky dried-fruity chocolate on the turn, eventually into light creamy milky chocolatey [again] barley – all slightly salty – and with any number of older whiskies & other spirit references from various eras that may ensue. Oaky O&R-sherried salty earthy-peaty coke combos ring and ring with a herbal Vermouth note at the death. There’s a slight lighter fluid note somewhere along the tail not to mention Milk of Magnesia and rose water, but these are fleeting top notes. C: With 6642 bottles released, is there a fair chance of finding one for a fair price one day? For the nose alone, I wonder how much I’d be prepared to pay for such an aromatic treasure? I find it less sublime on the palate but I’m nit-picking at this high level. Cracking whisky!

N96 T95 F95

A perfect example of the balance between sherry and peat. The finish is very long. I’m crazy in love with it~

Talking with friends, I recalled my impression of this wine and will verify it later: Strangely enough, I don't like the smell of this laga. The sauce smell in the aroma makes me wary, which is an element I really don't like. But when I drink it, I can feel its beauty. It is rich and strong, with rough smoky peat, and there is almost no taste that I hate. The aftertaste is a long and comfortable tobacco aroma. For me, it is a wine worth drinking but not worth smelling.

WITH WATER. Nose - crikey its a ginger pudding now. Palate - Very, very smooth , everything as neat but more restrained. Finish still long on candied sweetness. Really excellent, you cannot argue with that kind of quality.

The best Lagavulin i've ever tried!

Nose: milky-creamy, very powerful, blazing embers, peat Palate: rough and wild, salty, Giotto, bacon, sulphur, power meets sherry Finish: extremely long and persistent, like a bear hug

Bottle 3445 was sold empty on eBay!

Drinking Date： 29/3/2025 Location: WhiskyJockey Guangzhou 2025- Micro Share

I love Laphroaig, but a little Lagavulin of this caliber from time to time is good too, is not it ?!

Tasting Notes: https://whiskycuse.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/lagavulin-19852007-ob/

Everything you would expect from a Lagavulin. Simply outstanding. If there is any whisky that comes close to perfection for me - this is it.

Peat sherry chocolate coffee leather tobacco, burnt tyre, a very punchy and delicious dram

Best ever Lagavulin. Simple as that.

I've been able to enjoy a whole bottle over the course of three years. It mellowed and become broader, moving in a positive direction, since I first opened the bottle. I forgot to take down notes from any of the final few pours, but I distinctly remember the following: Salted, barbecued meats. Seaweed. Stewed apples. Some citrus. Wood smoke. Harmonious, round, and complex. The first half of the bottle was in the 92-93 range. Where it arrived at, for the most of the second half (~2 years after opening), was in the 94-95 range.

Accompanying the smoke, other aromatic and taste sequences (agave distillates, wax, burnt sugar, smoked tea) make this an unusual Lagavulin.

fantastic

My review can be found here: http://themaltdesk.blogspot.dk/2014/01/happy-new-year-lagavulin-1985-21yo.html

Nose lemon pie, very nice peat round and clean, orange, beautiful woody, an earthy side, a veil of smoke, tar: above all the nose is very pleasant. The ventilation ends up revealing a slight farmer's side. Explosive attack, iodine, then it is specified in anchovies, large scale, very beautiful viscous texture and no defects. Alcohol is perfectly integrated, it does not gain anything to be diluted. A very long finish on desalted anchovies and citrus fruits (lemon), we end up having a return of sugar with medicinal plants. A deliciously warming, very complex dram with its four marine / citrus / peat / sherry facets. Excellent and desirable, I love the texture.

I cannot get fhat fuzz about this bottling is all about. Lagavulin Original single cask bottlings appear overrated to me. Apologies for bashing this bottling a bit

The taste is a bit one-dimensional to me, overall it is a beast to enjoy!

Gods - what a epiphany ! First of all I like and love Lagavulin in general because of its own fantastic character ( normally they would call me prejudiced ). So it was only a question of time to come across with that one. At first I heard about it at a bicentennary in a taste blindness tasting. Reasons enough for me to test it by myself. In my old rating system (not drinkable but drunken; don’t want more; got to much; not translatable into WB points) I forgot to score it. ;) I also cannot get that fuzz about this Lagavulin bottling is all about. But having it in your glas once means, try one of best ever created compositions of whisky possible. It apears to me to be magical. Apologies I won‘t bash this bottling to much. O.k., we should not take it too seriously. Important you will have it in your glas before you jugging truth.

Whiskyfun: The 16yo has long been to Lagavulin what the 911 was to Porsche but we’re more than happy to see more variants coming out, especially since those are more Turbos than Boxters in our opinion... Okay, enough crappy analogies, let’s try this brand new 21yo, due for later this autumn (we already had a taste of a pre-vatting at the Islay Festival). It’s an important bottling, as it comes from Spanish sherry European oak casks only – not American oak like often with sherry. Besides, we’ve been told that there won’t be any other ‘full sherry’ versions in the future. Colour: full amber. Nose: what is striking are the obvious common roots between the old 12yo and this new 21yo. This one is more ‘direct’ at first nosing, though. Sweeter, creamier, immediately on peat plus sherry plus the assembling of both (if you see what I mean)... Simple? Indeed, but just for a few seconds, as it then starts to shoot aromatic arrows one after the other. Menthol, hazelnut oil, oxtail, prunes, orange marmalade, smoked ham, curry, mustard (hints), walnut liqueur. Slight hints of phosphorus (although not like a ‘simple’ bunch of matchsticks). And it goes on, getting wilder now... Game (just like in the old 12yo), eucalyptus (I know brands are not cool but I’d dare to say ‘Vicks’)... And then strawberry jam, sea water... Please take your time when you’ll try this one, the development is ‘very gradual’ but it’s really worth it. A fireworks show. Mouth: here’s the punch that the 12yo was lacking, but also a slight ‘brutality’ at the attack. A true peaty grip in fact and an extreme ‘ampleur’. Quite some pepper, walnuts, crystallised ginger, strong liquorice, tar, mint and eucalyptus sweets again (very bold!), bitter oranges... And a powerful smokiness. The saltiness grows bolder as well... No sulphur that I can get... Wood ashes, herb liqueurs (green Chartreuse – are you listening, O.?), Havana tobacco (like when you chew your cigar). Also hints of ripe gooseberries and dried longans. And sticky toffee pudding, of course. Finish: very long, concentrated, ample, salty and liquoricy – amusing how this one makes you thirsty. We also tried it with water, it got more on mint and eucalyptus (and oranges) but other than that the general profile stayed the same. Who said this was an important bottling? 95 points. http://www.whiskyfun.com/archiveseptember07-1.html#040907

if you ask me what is a perfect sherry islay..

very rare to see this bottle. probably my top whisky out of all th Lagavulin range. super complex and long lasting

I tried it again in 2026 at a festival in Limburg and was once again delighted by its fiery power. Lagavulin's high-alcohol releases are very interesting, and I wish they would release them more often for us.

The above stated "Number of bottles: 6642" is not quite right for this bottling... Thanks to DramBolin, who got the info directly from Diageo/Lagavulin, this seems to be more accurate: "There were 5520 70cl bottles and 1122 bottles of 75cl. " c.

Drink the second best Lagavulin！ That's great！！！

An amazing classic sherried Lagavulin

Best whisky - thanks Roland!

Up 1 point from my last rating

The best peat sherry, bar none

strong!

So delicious.

Delicious whisky! If you put a couple of drops on your palm and rub it, you can feel its oily, thick texture. An excellent balance of industrial heavy notes and the sweetness of plum marshmallow. In terms of consistency, this whisky should be classified as a food, not a drink, because it must first be chewed and only then swallowed.

A wonderful classic Lagavulin, a wide palette of derivatives, a wealth of shades and halftones, the depth is simply endless, a magnificent composition, all the components are worth each other and perfectly balanced, I would like to separately note the aftertaste - super long, active. In general, what can I say - this is a masterpiece without any discounts.

An absolutely good whisky, with an oily body, prominent ink, and a very solid body, intertwined, and I don't want to analyze what it is made of. Drink it and you will understand what lagavulin is!

N: grassy, fresh, lemongrass, tangy, slight smokiness, beautiful sea air. G: A force of nature, here smokier, peatier, intense and powerful, yet surprisingly creamy, with honey notes, an oily mouthfeel, and no alcohol perceptible. It pulls you, with your eyes closed, straight into the Lagavulin warehouse to the best open casks. A: Remains warm and smoky indefinitely. Truly outstanding.

The balance in the whisky is pure excellence, amazing how the full and rich fruits came back up while the intensity of the peat dicreased throughut the years

Amazing Classic Sherried Lagavulin

http://www.weinkenner.de/2012/die-drei-aeltesten-sonderabfuellungen-von-lagavulin-21-25-und-30-jahre-alt-26218/ Color: copper, full amber Nose: thicker sherry Sherry, creamy bound Peat, oak, fruity-ripe oranges, peeled salty Ham and leather, slightly smoky underlaid. Very complex. Taste: Now the flavor palette is full: Peat, tar, burning wood and ash, iodine, black powder and Cough drops with licorice flavor. Smoke and peat are always staerker, backed with a great spice. Very sweet oranges with candied sugar, minzoel and caramel. Finish: Very long and salty, with sweet smoky peat and notes of tobacco. Review: Maechtig sweet Sherry Whisky, the 2007 after appearance set new standards! 95 points (nose: 94 / taste: 96 / finish: 94)

N: like walking into a butchery, raw meat, herbs, spices - cajun and laurel, sweet sherry, liquoirce, ashes some smoke and smoked sausage T: ashes, meaty and briny - coastal F: salt, meat, cloves, sweet sherry like PX and fireworks what a cracker this Laga, tasted with Aby 2 cl sample available on www.whiskysample.nl

A typical good old gentle man from Islay. No need to say much about, cos it is good dram. But to me I know another one that is better and more oomph than it. consider the price is totally off the hook! pity!

Nose: The smoky, mild fragrance wrapped in sea mud, kerosene, hawthorn, sherry vinegar, camphor balls. Palate: The flavours are long and thin, and the flavor of deep roasting is impressive, such as mountain spring, smoke, bonfire, oil fume on the barbecue, cumin, cigar leaf, and yaga snow brown. Balance, Body: Moderate weight on the body, outstanding balance, strong alcohol but not spicy Finish: Long and strong, oak, frosting, wax oil, earth, espresso.

best laga I‘ve already tried，gift to fans