Lagavulin 16 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (With Box)

【Lagavulin】

Lagavulin is located on the southern tip of Islay and was founded in 1816 by John Johnston.
Lagavulin adheres to the brand concept of "single malt whiskey" and displays the terroir and memory of Islay with its smoky peat smell. It is also known as the "King of Islay". With numerous awards in international whiskey competitions and even being the king of heavy peat flavor, it has won the unanimous recognition of wine connoisseurs all over the world and established an unshakable position. Lagavulin is undoubtedly characterized by the smoky flavor of peat, and is known as the "Big Three" of peat along with Ardbeg and Laphroaig. However, the complex aroma dominated by the sweetness of smoky caramel makes people think that it is a very noble whiskey.
Lagavulin's whiskey style is calm and elegant, sweet yet solemn. In comparison, Laphroaig is delicate and slightly frivolous; Ardbeg has a rough history, insufficient old wine inventory, and lacks heritage; although Bowmore has produced some excellent sherry single barrels in recent years, its main style has been from ancient times to the present. The “little fresh” route; Caol ila’s style is too calm; Bruichladdich Distillery’s Port Charlotte can only be regarded as a rising star in the peated whiskey circle.
Lagavulin is located on the south coast of Islay, in Kildaton, adjacent to the two distilleries of Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Lagavulin's water source is taken from the Solum Lochs lake, 200 meters above sea level. The groundwater from the upstream will flow into the lake through the peat seam. The water contains a lot of trace elements of peat. The water extracted from here can increase the peat content of the distilled wine. strength. Water quality is particularly important for distilleries. The only raw material for whiskey besides malt is water. The quality of water will also directly affect the quality of whiskey.
 
Among the eight whiskey distilleries on Islay, Lagavulin uses the slowest distillation process, with the first distillation taking about five hours and the second distillation taking more than nine hours.

Lagavulin was originally the place name "Laggan Mhouillin", which means "the hollow area of ​​the mill". The distillery is located near the port of Ellen. The water from the distillery flows through the river, carrying a lot of smoked smell of peat layers. The wine The stills of the factory are like onions. Due to the influence of peat and the sea breeze from Chengtian near the harbor, as well as the long-term fermentation and slow distillation, the layers are complex, and it has become a grand single malt whiskey. Lagavulin's whiskey has the taste of living water as mentioned earlier.

The distillery, like most Scottish distilleries, uses the double distillation method, has only two pairs of stills, and has a very small output of less than 2.5 million liters per year. It is now part of the Diageo Group. It has ten fermentation tanks and slow fermentation, with a fermentation time of up to 120 hours (ordinary distilleries only require 48-72 hours). The 11,000-liter juice still fills 95% of the capacity of the juice still each time, which allows the alcohol gas and refluxing liquid to have less contact area with the copper wall. Because the heavier microelements in the gas will adhere to the copper wall, the distilled wine will be cleaner and have a softer taste. The smaller the copper wall contact area, the greater the fusel oil content.It gives the wine a meaty texture and makes the wine richer. The volume of the spirit still is slightly larger than that of the juice still, 12,500 liters. It is designed in a special shape of a water drop with a wide bottom and a narrow top. The base is wide and round, the neck is longer, and the neck is narrow and downwardly sloping. The arm makes the distilled wine richer and richer in oil. The distillation time is nearly double that of other Scotch whiskey distilleries. The cut ratio of the wine core will be higher than that of most distilleries, in order to obtain richer esters and collect as much as possible the rich flavors of slow fermentation and slow distillation.

Lagavulin's single malt has a peat flavor as the core, supplemented by smoky flavor, with a juicy texture reminiscent of smoky bacon, plus rich fruit and spice flavors, with complex layers. The peat content of the malt is around 30-35 ppm, which is average compared to other distilleries on Islay. Since the closure of floor malting in 1974, Lagavulin has purchased malt from the neighboring Port Ellen maltings. Lagavulin's germination also has an exclusive formula. It is first dried with hot air and then heated with peat to complete the remaining malting time.