This week my dear reader I want to take you somewhere mystical. It is a faraway land that is as covered in legend as it as actually fog and rain. Hop on your Lochness Monster and sail with me to the gorgeous Islay island in Scotland. Here, among the rolling green hills and beautiful North Atlantic Ocean we will find a distillery tucked into the majestic landscape. This week I would like to introduce you to Scottish smoke show that is Lagavulin.
Lindsay and my journey to this special whiskey sadly did not include a trip to Scotland. She does love the country and is dying to go back though. Our journey is much closer to home… like Netflix and chill close to home. Weirdly enough we got interested in Lagavulin thanks to a sitcom we love called Parks and Recreation. It's a hilarious sitcom about working in a local government for a small town in Indiana. If you have seen it you know exactly why I am bringing up this show. If you have not seen it then stop reading this and go watch it. This post is on the internet which means it’s forever. We will wait for you.
Okay, are we good? Everyone loves the show now? Perfect! Let’s continue on this journey together with excitement in our hearts!
So there is a character on the show named Ron Swanson and he is amazing. Think if Theodore Roosevelt was a libertarian and you would have Ron. He loves being alone in nature and strongly believes in self-reliance. Most importantly to our story though is he loves whiskey. One brand in particular. While the brand isn’t called out by name until season 6 when he actually gets to visit the distillery, the bottle is shown throughout the series.
Lindsay and I were just starting to explore the world of whiskey when we had started watching the show. We knew we loved Ron Swanson and wanted to try new things so the only logical solution was to try what he drinks. Fun side fact: when you are used to sweeter bourbons jumping right into a smokey scotch is a heck of a jump. We know this because we had tried other types of scotch and they were… how do I put this politely… not to our palate. Like falling into a campfire, face first, not to our palate. Common sense be damned! We wanted to try Ron Swanson’s beverage of choice, neat, like a real man!
We had a local whiskey bar at the time called Dry 85 in Annapolis. Local is a relative term here, it was actually an hour and a half away but it had really good food and an amazing selection of whiskey. With determination in our hearts we bravely… asked the bartender if we would like Lagavulin. She explained to us its characteristics and reassured us that is was better quality than the scotch that haunted our campfire stories. Also if we didn’t like it she would gladly drink it for us so I think she may have been rooting for us not to like it. What a cool job.
Lindsay valiantly ordered a Lagavulin 16 neat, and I bravely ordered Angel’s Envy because I fear change. Being the lovely wife that she is though she did let me try it. Normally real smoky whiskey's taste like you sucked on some charcoal but Lagavulin tasted more like a perfectly charred steak. We were more than pleasantly surprised but very excited we found a new whiskey to enjoy that was so vastly different from the bourbons we focused on. Lagavulin quickly became my wife's favorite whiskey and we always try to have at least one bottle in the house. She loves it so much that it was the biggest thing she missed while she was pregnant. My one job getting ready for our son to come was not anything to do with her or our baby. She made it very clear. My one job was to sneak a flask into the hospital of Lagavulin 16 into the hospital so that we can have some after the baby was born. That kind of determination is why I married her. (I did successfully sneak it in by the way and it was the perfect way to celebrate the birth of a new child.)
That simple trip to Annapolis to try a whiskey we saw on a show taught us a huge lesson about whiskey. Always push your tastes to things you haven't tried before. Every distiller is unique and each whiskey is different. You are risking nothing by trying new things and even if you don't like it you know can further refine your palate to what you do and don't like. There are still plenty of smokey types of scotch we don't like but we still try them because maybe there is another Lagavulin in the bunch. As much as we didn't like ryes, we found Angel's Envy Rye the same way. Both of our favorite whiskeys were because good bartenders dared us to try something new.
Lagavulin is 86 proof and that is perfect for this Scotch. It has enough of a burn to remind you of what you are drinking but not enough to distract you from the flavor. These are the listed notes but as always I am curious to hear what you got.
Appearance: Deep amber gold
Nose: Intensely flavored, peat smoke with iodine and seaweed and a rich, deep sweetness.
Palate: Dry peat smoke fills the palate with a gentle but strong sweetness, followed by sea and salt with touches of wood.
Finish: A long, elegant peat-filled finish with lots of salt and seaweed.
I would recommend a glass of this neat but as always drink it the way you will enjoy it most. If you are not used to smokey whiskey's it may help to put a few drops of water or even a large ice cube to help dilute the smoke. Overall, I would recommend Lagavulin to anyone who is looking to expand their tastes to something new or if they really like Scotch. It is not for everyone though and maybe an acquired taste.
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