Very light creamy yellow color, regular tears, fine, long and fast. After rubbing, a taste on the palm gives me a glimpse of a day when we decide to burn the branches and "bad" herbs of the garden, ashes, burnt wood, freshly mown grass, and cereals. A garage nose, motor oil, fat bike chain, hot metal and wet rock. The burnt land of peat, gasoline, grilled fish. The seaside is not far, iodine and seaweed accompanied by salt, white pepper and licorice. We leave this beautiful ocean world and burned to be carried by the breeze and spicy floral. Violet and blackcurrant bud, lemon and zest as well as dark chocolate. A beautiful nose composing a beautiful symphony of peat, flowers, spices and fruits.

It's dry and fat in the mouth. Very smoky, on ash, just burnt wood and coal. The distillate becomes round and sweet, the violet, spicy around curry and white pepper. The palate is hot and spicy. Lemon, but also a beautiful exoticism: pineapple and coconut. The metal and the wet rock offer a nice freshness. The finish is very oily, on bitter cocoa.

The final is long. The Lajaunie cachou, the ash and the beautiful pear Helen. The empty glass resonates on grilled / toasted, peat and lemon zest.

Spot on from the second it hits the glass. This offers loads of maritime, industrial and peat influences. Just love it! Smoldering wood on a campfire, earthy peat, bbq’ed ham, flavored pipe tobacco, motor oil, steel chains, seaweed, salty, sour green apples, unripe pear and also some toffee notes. Everything on this nose is balanced and it screams complexity. Just beautiful!

A fresh, oily and earthy sensation seeps into the mouth. There is an more aggressive note to it here, I take white pepper into account for that, but it’s being taken over by sweet and buttery flavors. On the palate campfire, dirt and peat dominate in a very pleasant way. Smokey vanilla and salted cream butter.

The finish is long and offers quite a lot. Obviously peat is responsible for a big part here but hey, it’s an 12yo heavily peated Islay whisky what else would one expect. Furthermore I get quite some tropical fruit influences all of a sudden. Nice touch!

It’s close to being perfect in terms of autumn and winterdrams for me!

First, minerals and iodine, some grapefruit, the smoke is in the background, although a slightly salty BBQ note is already to be guessed. After a while, a nice toffee note develops, which perfectly harmonizes with the still very minerally dry character. A little more time and leather, floor wax and even some freshly ground coffee complete the bouquet. On the other hand, notes of fresh, ripe fruit, peaches, pears and pineapple flash from time to time. Then roasted marshmallows and beef jerky again. You really can not have hunger here. Incredible, freshly grilled burger with sweet relish. Heated, he goes more to the fruity side, with honey, grilled bacon with mango chutney.

On the tongue it is really great, strong without burning with grilled marshmallows, again bacon, dark toffee, coffee drops and behind out a pleasant bitterness, integrated in eucalyptus. A big movie theater!

The bitterness also determines the finish, which is relatively short and salty at the end, after the mineral notes dominate again in the middle.

Strong ashes and sweet campfire smoke hit you immediately after pouring. After just a few moments, strong mineral notes appear, the smoke becomes increasingly phenolic, the sweetness disappears and disinfectants are added. With movement more open flames, more in the direction of coal firing. Put the lid on and wait ...
After a while, a citrus fruitiness can be felt, the sweetness is back in the form of dark toffee, the smoke overall is more subdued and a delicate peach note rounds off the whole thing. The nose is well integrated. Warmth makes it incredibly mineral and phenolic at first, sweetness or fruit can no longer even be suspected. Later, sweetness and now significantly darker fruits come back, while it still remains mineral and phenolic, but barbeque notes also appear occasionally.

In the mouth it is very soft at first, again minerally with a clear peat sweetness, dark toffee and block malt. The mouthfeel is quite creamy, with tart notes clearly emerging towards the back. In the second sip it has a much more mineral effect and also develops a little liquorice towards the back.

The finish is quite long, continues to dry out, until there is only ash on the tongue at the end. It warms up the chest area quite clearly.

Direct comparison 2015 vs. 2016: both very strong, crispy, biscuit, grainy-sweet, vanilla, some white pepper ... salt and smoke are more restrained (compared to 16-year standard bottling), '15 is heavier, sweeter and rounder with licorice and some ricola, '16 is a bit fresher and fruity, has a light apple and lemon twist and bites a bit more and is a bit ashier (Water play tries, but does not hurt very much, you should only if it is really too sharp)

both: very strong, lots of pepper, vanilla, malt, '15 is also sweeter here and looks fatter, fuller, darker, the ricola note is back, '16 is thinner, but also oily, is significantly sharper (white pepper) , rather bitter than sweet, wood, coffee, cough syrup, also smokier / ashier than '15

both long, hot and spicy, '15 rather black pepper, ricola, liquorice, '16 white pepper, coffee, camillan, wood

Sweet, smoke, some tangerine, orange, then medicinal, disinfectant, slightly sour, menthol, fresh, sea breeze

The light body weighs me to safety, but then the Lagavulin hits. The mouth begins to glow, strong astringent, the mouth becomes furry, almost deafened, after a long moment it is then sweet and the smoke shows.
In the second sip it becomes something (but only slightly) gentler, some oak, milk chocolate, some caramel, in the background always smoke

In the finish the whisky leaves me out of the sweatbox and I can breathe again. Bittersweet it sticks to the palate, aniseed, bitter herbs, sage and burned oak. Long.