by Drrich1965 » Sat May 26, 2007 4:27 pm
Might not be that helpful, since this is about the 1989 version, but I will share my long and droaning narrative with you just the same.
In my scale 88 is highly recommendable, close to greatness (whatever that means). Again, for what it is worth.
88 Sm Lagavulin 1989 Double Distilled (43%, OB) Opened this bottle on our 5th wedding anniversary. We had our first wee dram of it while getting ready for our dinner. It is amazing that Jill loves lagavulin so much, as she often dislikes so many other malts, yet likes the one of the most intense and perhaps least accessible. Yet, this is Jill and why I love her. She is marvelous and honest, she is intense and sweet, more complex and at times not easy to understand. No wonder this is her malt. First notes before a proper tasting, wow, this is nice. Much more distillery character than I had anticipated. Perhaps a bit more restrained than the 16, but very nice. The nose is lagavulin, volcanic, powerful, deep. The mouth was the same, but perhaps a bit dulled down at first. After a few minutes, both open up nicely, and the deep and sweet sherry make there way. Nice balance in my book, the sherry is there and certainly evident, but I can still get a great deal of Lagavulin. It seems that if I concentrate on one element or another, I can easy find it. I look forward to more time with this one. Preliminary score, just shy of the regular 16, lets say an 88 or 89. Re-tasted several times, these notes written after a tasting with Dr. D and hubby Jim. Ok, so I am going to go with 88 on this one. it really is a nice malt, but I tend to feel cheated that there is not more distillery character there. Yes, it is there, but I want more, more, more. Watching Jim's reaction to this one (his favorite malt of the night), this is the ultimate malt for someone who has not tried the regular Lagavulin. Without that expectation, you can just relax into it and enjoy the interplay between the sherry and the peat, the intensity of both, yet the final effect with his almost gentle, warming. A great late night malt.
Last edited by
Drrich1965 on Sat May 26, 2007 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
That will buy 2 and half of the DE's.
