Lagavulin 16 Years Review


Country: Scotland 
Region: Islay
Brand: Lagavulin
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 16 Years
ABV:  43 %
Buying Advice: 😋  Totally positive. One of my favourite 2-Go-2 Malts.

Colour: Golden Amber (E-150 is added)

Nose: First impressions are lovely mellow Peat and a Meaty tone that reminds me of drizzling Bacon Fat when you are Char-grilling Pork. The Sea is not far away as well with Salt and Brine coming through along with some Oak. There are some Medicinal Notes as well and even a hint of Rubber but all in a good way. Sweet Barley, Cigar Ash, Soot, Tea, Brown Sugar, Honey, Herbs, Leather, Tobacco, Buttered Toast with Orange Marmalade and Vanilla complete the picture. It is not as wild and exciting as young Islay whiskies like Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10, but it's smooth and inviting. You can certainly tell the extra years. Very nice!

Palate: The delivery is by far not as powerful as I had expected. I hesitate to say it but I found it a bit on the thin side. I believe this dram should have been bottled at 46%. The Lagavulin 16 is actually on the Bitter-Sweet side and a little bit Dusty. I get Peat, Leather, Smoked Fish, Oak, Tobacco, Tea, Malt, Hazelnuts, Caramel/Toffee, Vanilla, Iodine, Cigar Ashes, Smoke, White Pepper, Licorice, Cloves, light Menthol and hints of Dark Chocolate and Espresso. 

Finish: Middle-Long and slightly Bitter with Sweet Barley, Toast, Smoke, Dusty Peat, Tar, Pepper, Cloves, Leather, Tobacco, Caramel, Ashes, Iodine, Menthol and hints of Dark Chocolate and Strong Espresso.

The Lagavulin 16 Years does not improve with added Water although it accepts a few drops.

Rating: 88

Nose: 22.5 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 22


General Remarks: Lagavulin (Gaelic for "The Hollow Where The Mill Is") is one of the oldest distillery sites in Scotland. Around 1816 a local farmer and distiller by the name of John Johnston founded the first legal distillery. Lagavulin is located on the rocky Southern Shore of the Isle of Islay, close to the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle and Port Ellen. Lagavulin receives the slowest distillation of all Islay malts and matures in old Oak Casks. It costs around 75 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: The Lagavulin 16 Years is a very pleasant Single Malt. On the Nose it is really mellow and laid back. The peat smoke is there but it's not dominant. It's more like a cloud that gently embraces the other flavour components. Very well done. The Palate is smooth and well-balanced,but also ever so slightly thin and dusty. It should have been bottled at 46% in my opinion. The Finish is rather short for an Islay Single Malt. But all in all it's a good Whisky of course and a smooth way of entering the Peaty World of Islay. It's certainly one of my 2-Go-2 Islay Malts and I would love to have a bottle around all the time.

PS: I first reviewed this Whisky in March 2013. Last year I bought another full bottle at the Duty Free Shop at Frankfurt Airport and decided to review it again today. I have adjusted the text as I'm better positioned now to describe the Aromas and Flavours. I slightly changed the rating components but the overall score remained the same.

Jan van den Ende                                        March 5, 2013 and March 20, 2017


Glenfarclas 15 Years Review



Country: Scotland 
Region: Highland/Speyside
Brand: Glenfarclas
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 15 Years
ABV:  46 %
Date: 02/03/2013

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Give this dram some time to open up! The Sherry is very present which makes sense as this whisky matured for 15 long years in Sherry Wood. I also get Mineral and Floral tones (Heather, Straw) as well as Caramel, Toffee, Butterscotch, Oak, Malt, Cocoa, Fruitcake with Raisins and Nuts and, unfortunately, some Sulphur. Very light Spices (Cinnamon, Ginger) and hints of Cherries and Honey. It's okay but I had expected more from this Glenfarclas. Sherry and Toffee dominate. It's a bit more complex but slightly less balanced than the Glenfarclas 12.

Palate: Good delivery with Sherry, Creamy Fruitcake with Raisins, Nuts and Citrus Peel, Spice, Cereals, Caramel/Toffee, Rum, Oak, Nuts, Brown Sugar and light Licorice.

Finish: Middle-Long with Nuts, Sherry, Oak, Red Fruit, Mustard, White Pepper and Nutmeg.

I added a bit of water and Blossom, Butter, Honey, Cooked Apples and extra Butterscotch and Caramel make themselves known on the Nose. Palate and Finish do not change too much but become a bit more mellow. This dram certainly accepts some water.

Rating: 84 

Nose: 21  - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 20.5  - Overall: 21


General Remarks: The Glenfarclas 15 Years matured in Sherry Wood. It is believed that a lot of the whisky in the 15 is actually older. It costs around 55 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Sometimes you take a sip and you immediately fall in love with a whisky. That's not the case here for me. Of course it depends a lot whether you like Sherried whiskies. Personally, I love it when the Sweet Sherry enhances the other flavours. But in this case the Sherry dominates the rest and that's not quite to my liking. It's certainly not a bad Sherried Speysider but I would rather recommend Aberlour A' Bunadh Batch 37 CS if you're in to this type of whisky!


Jan van den Ende                                                              March 2013

Tony Joe White Album Review (1971)



Songs: They Caught The Devil And Put Him In Jail In Eudora Arkansas, The Change, My Kind of Woman, The Daddy, Black Panther Swamps, Five Summers For Jimmy, A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox, Traveling Bone, I Just Walked Away, Copper Kettle (The Pale Moonlight), Voodoo Village. 

All songs written by Tony Joe White.

Type of Music: Swamp-Rock/Soul Ballads

Comments:
This is Tony Joe´s third album and his first for Warner Brothers. His first two albums for Monument Records were rough and (swamp)rocking but Warner Brothers coupled him to British producer Peter Asher who had just produced James Taylor.

As a result, this album is of the Singer/Songwriter type, combining Tony Joe´s Swamp Rock with soulful Ballads. The album has a pleasant flow and there are no really weak songs to break the rhythm. Tony Joe White would go on and use this concept for many years to come.

Personally I prefer the Swamp-Rockers here, especially, They caught the Devil…., Black Panther Swamps and A Night in the Life of a Swamp Fox.
They are just great fun and it´s difficult to sit still while listening.

But some of the ballads are good as well, especially The Change, a theme that returned in many songs in the late sixties/early seventies. Bob Dylan started it all with The Times They Are A-Changing. And the Father and Son problems are adequately addressed in The Daddy. All fathers and sons with problems should listen to this song at least once a month! And I Just Walked Away sounds thoroughly sad.

In short, this is a nicely balanced album with good songs and a great voice! The Kind of Album I can safely recommend to everybody.  

Rating: ********( 8 out of 10)
Black = Good Songs
Green = Great Songs
Red = Could Be Better