I finally picked up a bottle of Lagavulin 8 year recently to do a little side by side comparison with the Game of Thrones Lagavulin 9 Year House Lannister release. I broke out the black Norlan glasses I got for Christmas to do a blind tasting and then compared them both against the 16 year(which I realized I hadn’t yet posted a review of so I included that here too). Let’s get to the review:
Lagavulin 8 Year
Age: 8 years
Abv: 96 proof
Color: A light, pale shade
Price: $58.99
Pour #1 - ended up being Lagavulin 8
Neat
Nose: Smokey notes take the lead with some saltiness and just a bit of fruity sweetness
Taste: Heavy peat notes throughout that masked most other notes for me except for an almost acidic note
Finish: A long warm smokey finish with some nice fruity sweetness and a hint of salt
Pour #2 - ended up being Lagavulin 9 Year “House Lannister”
Age: 9 years
Abv: 92 proof
Color: A medium gold
Price: $58.99
Neat
Nose: Subtler notes of peat smoke compared to the 8 year alongside oak and a touch of sweet, dark fruit
Taste: A nice balance of sweet honey and peat smoke with a hint of dark fruit
Finish: The sweetness gives way to spice which pairs very nicely with the peat smoke and a touch of salt in the finish
Lagavulin 16 (not blind)
Age: 16 years
Abv: 86 Proof (43% ABV)
Color: Amber but on the lighter side
Price: $81.99
Neat
Nose: Smoke and salt with some sweeter vanilla notes lurking in the background, it’s reminiscent of enjoying a sweet cigar near by the sea
Taste: Lightly sweet notes, almost like peach nectar, transition into bigger peaty smoke and oak with hints of salt.
Finish: Long lingering smoke and a bit of the salt from the nose return in the delightful finish with some acidic notes with made the whole thing remind me of a smoked sausage
Conclusion
I’ve had all these scotches before and it wasn’t hard to pick out the 8 from the 9, even blind. The 9 year reminds me more of a peated Highland than the traditional Lagavulin profile, but I really enjoyed it, while the 8 year is a peat monster through and through which isn’t my preferred profile. The 16 is an old favorite and the age helps mellow the peat and brings out some more complex notes. The 9 is also a great introduction to peated single malts since it’s a little more accessible with the sweeter notes. All in all this vertical tasting was a lot of fun and I hope Lagavulin releases something like the Lannister as part of their core lineup or at least a semi-regular special release and while it won’t be replacing the 16 on my shelf anytime soon it’s a great scotch at a great price.
Lagavulin 8 year
5 - a whiskey with notable strengths but also held back by some flaws
Poor - Overpriced, not worth the money
Lagavulin 9 year
7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar
Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase
Lagavulin 16 year
8 - an excellent bottle I’ll buy from time to time
Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase
Scale
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