Advent 2022 #21 - Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1998

I’m always interested in trying different batches of what is meant to be the same release. Not a ton of exposure to Lagavulin DEs, and I’ve found it to be a dram that goes one way or the other depending on the glass. Let’s see how this goes.

Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1998, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 1998 and matured for 16 years with a PX finish. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Tawny; 1.4.

Nose: Smoke, meat. Maritime, medicinal. Leather, tobacco, rubber, cereal. Pancakes with butter and syrup. Hazelnut coffee (it actually reminded me of a specific vape flavor from when I used to do that – don’t take this as a negative, Phillip Rocke Crème de la crème was the flavor and it’s excellent even though I dislike hazelnut to the point I find Nutella to be gross).

Taste: Musty, wood, spice. A sweetness there.

Finish: Smoked meat. Medium.

Guess: Lagavulin DE. Laphroaig 15 wouldn’t surprise me, but it kinda would.

This is just excellent. Each time I revisited the nose I found something new, and it was more delightful than the last time. It tastes fine and the finish is good, but they don’t compare to the star that is the nose. I hadn’t developed an interest in whisky until well after “the good old days” but this peak into something closer to then, even if just by a few years, is interesting, and I’ll be giving a bit more credibility to declarations that this or that expression isn’t what it used to be.

Score: 91

Musical Evocation: Bob Dylan with Emmylou Harris – “One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)”