Lagavulin 26-year-old

Overall rating
89.23/100
votes
113
Whiskybase ID
WB184597
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
Distillery Bottling
Bottling serie
Diageo Special Releases 2021
Bottled
2021
Stated Age
26 years old
Casktype
First-Fill Pedro Ximenez / Oloroso seasoned
Number of bottles
7542
Strength
44.2 % Vol.
Size
700 ml
Label
The Lion's Jewel
Bottle code
L1078CM002
Barcode
5000281067063
Added on
29 may 2021 9:06 pm by SneakyGentleman
Non-chillfilteredCask Strength

Average value

€ 2315.83

106 × in wishlist

113 × member ratings

163 × in collection

Whisky reviews for Lagavulin 26-year-old

28 users have left 28 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 89.23 points.

  1. Whiskylifestyle scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    The beautiful nose and the palate are actually more subtle than I would have thought beforehand. A lovely winter warmer. A really good dram, but quite expensive.
    • Nose
      Bonfire smoke and a faint hint of ash. A rubbery note as well. And plenty of dried fruits such as raisins and figs. Red apples. But then also quite some blueberries. Bbq smoked ham. Honey. Dark chocolate and cinnamon.
    • Taste
      A touch of bonfire smoke again. Ash is in the background. That smoked ham again. Dried fruits, raisins mostly. Blueberries. Rich honey and toffee. A hint of dark chocolate and cinnamon. A hint of cloves too. A faint hint of black pepper and oak.
    • Finish
      Long. Blueberries and peat, but also a smouldering bonfire.

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  3. mudshark scored this whisky 89 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      92 92
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      88 88

  4. zapfdaniel scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      85 85

  5. Izzino scored this whisky 97 points Connoisseur

    If this whisky cost 600-800€, it would be a bomb for 99b. A really beautiful, smoky gorgeous and complex shot. Is Caol Ila 30yo? It certainly loses a little bit in flavor profile, but the amount is completely out of line in this case.

  6. -sAxo- scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

  7. jay83 scored this whisky 91 points Expert Senior

    Really good Lagavulin wih a nice gentle body but in no way worth 1650 Pounds in the Visitor Centre...

  8. WhiskyPEATer scored this whisky 89 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      91 91
    • Taste
      89 89
    • Finish
      88 88

  9. vlad78 scored this whisky 92 points Connoisseur

    A great combination of smoky, swampy tones with dried dried fruits. It is as if you are passing through peat bogs, cooling fires on which meat was fried, a medical office with bandages richly soaked in iodine to a bowl full of dried dried fruits - figs, prunes, raisins.
    • Nose
      92 92
    • Taste
      92 92
    • Finish
      91 91

  10. PhamHa scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      89 89
    • Taste
      85 85
    • Finish
      83 83

  11. Lorion scored this whisky 89 points Connoisseur

    Very cool! The nose is phenomenal. 89 points.
    • Nose
      Subtle smoke. A fruit bomb. berries, passion fruit. The strawberry is very clear. Dark chocolate.
    • Taste
      Soft wood, dried strawberry, getting drier. The wood is slightly charred in the aftertaste.
    • Finish
      Long, slightly charred, dry.

  12. Foudos scored this whisky 89 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      91 91
    • Taste
      89 89
    • Finish
      88 88

  13. dram-drinker scored this whisky 84 points Photo Moderator

    Starts really good on the nose but quite disappointing on the palate and in the finish - glad it was just a sample
    • Nose
      89 89
      Cooked fruits, some apricot, little medicinal, peat, smoke, some woody notes, spices, little herbs, more on red fruits, berries, whiffs of charcoal, tobacco, little earthy - really not bad
    • Taste
      83 83
      Oily, creamy, plenty of liquorice, herbs, bitter wood, subtle sweetness, peat, smoke, artificial sweetener, more woody, herbal
    • Finish
      79 79
      Medium short, bitter, some artificial sweetness

  14. Baanaanaabob scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    Herbal, meaty, bit coastal sauce, ashes, red fruit, bit disappointing

  15. prz22 scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    Average quality dram, extreme disappointment for a price and for a brand.

    Its very painful to watch and taste what happened to DSR series. Used to be benchmark for yearly releases.
    • Nose
      88 88
      Quite shy on the nose yet still without false notes of any kind. Typucal lagavulin but without doubt more mature comparing to cheaper editions
    • Taste
      88 88
      Actually quite peppery and flat. Goid punch,but rather straightforward, single layered profile. Huge disappointment for a price but still 88p level
    • Finish
      89 89
      Medium long,quite fresh and spicy

  16. Calmar scored this whisky 94 points Connoisseur

    Monumental, multifaceted, complex and deep age whisky, which, however, has not lost its smoky peat base, it dominates here, acting as the main theme that all other derivatives reveal and highlight in one way or another, an ultra-wide palette, a continuous kaleidoscopic flow of shades and halftones , the perfect balance.
    • Nose
      Open, damp, old leather goods, candy canes, old fire pit, charred branches, smoked fish, dry boards, Russian bath, cappuccino, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, dried fruits - raisins, dried apples; floral tones, buckwheat honey, light mineral-industrial shades - brickwork, welding aerosol; burnt sparklers, metallic sour notes, pipe tobacco.
    • Taste
      Soft, rich, here velvety smoky-peaty notes together with spicy oak form the main dominant, old leather goods, pipe tobacco, sweet creamy shades - fudge, toffee; dark chocolate, smoked products, light mineral-metallic motifs, milk chocolate, salted caramel;
    • Finish
      Light, refreshing, mostly continuation of taste, smoke, peat, leather goods, cappuccino, tobacco, smoked meats, salted caramel, metallic sourness, cola;

  17. ConvalRen scored this whisky 84 points Connoisseur

    ehhh mehhh. eek. expensive and so so. Sweet sherry with the typical Lagavulin muddy peat.
    • Nose
      83 83
    • Taste
      86 86
    • Finish
      84 84

  18. WiltChamberlain scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    With Lagavulin it does not necessarily have to be old. Luckily only one sample.
    • Nose
      88 88
    • Taste
      89 89
    • Finish
      88 88

  19. Luigisim scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    Part of the Lagavulin Distillery Exclusive Tasting. It was the last, after one sport and four cask strength edition. The lineup setting was not ideal, would have preferred to taste this first. The low % compared to other did not allow me to have a proper tasting, but I was not impressed by this dram. Surely good but not special. Saved as sample to taste it in the next weeks.

  20. Seanzhang scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      90 90
    • Taste
      91 91
    • Finish
      89 89

  21. ailean scored this whisky 91 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      92 92
    • Taste
      91 91
    • Finish
      90 90

  22. Mapl scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      89 89
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      87 87

  23. sakis scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      90 90
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      87 87

  24. Iron Lung scored this whisky 90 points Expert Senior

    Alcohol is very well integrated and the flavors are very soft and very harmonious.
    The only negative is that the malt tastes one to one like a Lagavulin DE .... just softer ... not so straight in the face!
    • Nose
      You can smell the Lagavulin style immediately but lighter than, for example, the 16y distillers edition, smoke, ash, charred wood, iodine, charred toast
    • Taste
      The Lagavulin character is unbelievably present but much more flattering than usual ...
    • Finish
      Burned toast with honey, ashes, coal, salt

  25. eselsim scored this whisky 91 points Expert Senior

    Being absolutely free of expectations, blind tasting new diageo releases, I wasn't blown away, but I did enjoy this fine dram. The depth and fines that is so rare these days. Although the quality-price ratio may not be the best, but it makes it a perfect hedonistic egoist dram.
    • Nose
      Cough syrup and baked apples, saw dust, ashes, a lot of ashes, cinnamon, bakery scents, burnt plastic, a lot of pine needles, soft sponge cake, sequoia sap
    • Taste
      Wet cardboard, dried smoked plum, Lagavulin character is present but lacks body in my opinion, openfire grilled fruit, that dram takes me to the camping place amidst pine trees, undergrowth, leather and truffle.
    • Finish
      Soothing and warming, with a long peat dried malt in a background

  26. zzs0529 scored this whisky 91 points Expert Junior

    Sweet and rich, all flavors can evoke the imagination of delicious dishes, worthy of careful taste
    • Nose
      91 91
      Smell the fragrance: The soft smoky feeling is accompanied by a sea breeze hitting you, the aroma of the barbecue is mixed with the smell of the campfire, it is fruity! The bakery next to it has just come out of the oven. It is lemon almond cake~ The afterglow of the setting sun is burning arbitrarily on the beach, salty and warm;
    • Taste
      90 90
      Entrance: It's not the peaty feeling that knocks you down with a punch. The smoky smell dominates. The unexpected sweet smell is wrapped in the spice of raisins and mulled wine. You feel that the campfire is extinguished. firewood……
    • Finish
      91 91
      Ending rhyme: The bacon croaked by the campfire, the meaty and fruity aromas mixed with the salty taste of the sea breeze, it's time to sprinkle a handful of pepper~Huh? There is a cup of black coffee next to it, which is wonderful~

  27. markjedi1 scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    The crown jewel of the series matured on first fill PX and first fill Oloroso sherry seasoned casks. And after 26 years, the angels have already enjoyed themselves. The cask strength is a mere 44.2%.
    The nose is umami and sweet on a bed of smoke. The typical notes of Laga shine through nicely: flaxseed oil, smoked meat, Abroath Smokies, a fishing boat that just docks, a bonfire on the beach, but also some butterscotch and even something of mint. I had expected a heavy sherry influence (after all, first fill casks), but that is rather subdued. Although I notice a lot of cinnamon and cloves, as well as a handful of berries, figs and rum-raisins, it is mainly the DNA of the Laga spirit with a lot of sweet smoke that rules here. Very tasty.
    On the palate it is surprisingly soft with a medium body. Nice and oily with stewed apples sprinkled with cinnamon, ship's rope and pepper. Bacon on the BBQ versus fried pineapple. I kid you not. You can taste the oak, but only in the background. The whole thing is complex, that much is certain.
    The finish is long, gently drying on sweet BBQ sauce, tar and a bonfire. Mulled wine on the deathbed.
    Impressive, for sure. And the fact that the alcohol percentage is a bit lower has not done it any harm at all. The nuances are therefore all the more prominent. But... in all transparency: I have already tasted better Lagavulin for a fraction of the price. If it would cost 500 EUR, I might have considered buying it, but this price is too much (I am being polite) for this mere mortal.

  28. peatjens did not rate this whisky Expert Senior

    Lagavulin - my absolute favorite distillery. It's often not my mind that decides, but my gut feeling.
    How and why is a bottling like this one created now? This bottling does not seem to me to have been born out of a love of whisky and a commitment to tradition when I look at the price.
    My problem is not the price as such. If this is justified by the result, I will pay for it. In that case, this 26-year-old whisky will probably not end up in my glass.
    On the other hand, I am pleased to have the opportunity to make many other discoveries with the budget that was not used up. And there is a lot more to discover.
    Old love never rusts, they say. Lagavulin I hope you won't put this to the test more often.

  29. galg33 scored this whisky 88 points Member Senior

    Nose: Sweet and sherried (but not too much), with an abundance of sweet marinated smoked meats, Islay fishing boats (tarry rope, hessian), cooked ripe apples, gentle wood smoke and, which gives way to creme de menthe. The sherry influence of the Oloroso & PX denotes a lovely dried fruit background in the form of rich sultanas, figs,s, and ripe plums, sprinkled with wood spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and cardamom. further nosing brings up dark cherries and hints of sweet smoke.

    Palate: quite soft and approachable at under 45%, with more of the stewed red apples, cinnamon spice, and a touch of tar / TCP. the peat is very gentle, and the pepper adds to the smoky maple glazed bacon bits. I’m also getting a hint of pineapple in here… There’s not an awful lot of wood in there despite the 26 years of age, but the wood is there adding to the complexity, and I would have loved to get more of that old wood influence. oh well.

    Finish: smoky bbq meats, and some grilled fruits, tar and peat and hints of smoke, distant campfires, and sweet wine, maybe black tea as well.

    Conclusion: This is a very good whisky, but it’s not excellent IMHO. There’s a lot going on, but the sherry and sweet notes have overcome the wood too much, and for me, this is not the best old Lagavulin I’ve had so far. It’s a few levels below the 21 and 30, and although it’s definitely a bottle I would love to have on my shelf – It’s overpriced for what you are getting. A bit more wood, a little less sherry, and it would have been 90’s material. Also, a bit more oomph as in more abv would have added to the whole experience. Lagavulin fans with deep pockets and a knack for lion artwork should check this out.

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