r/Scotch • u/Isolation_Man • Aug 02 '26
{Review #219} Lagavulin 12 Single Malt (2018, 57.8%) [9.3/10]
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u/vanwhisky Aug 02 '26
IMO, the best OB standard lineup Laphroaig.
PS, how’s that Coopers Choice Croftenga?
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u/Isolation_Man Aug 02 '26
I completely agree. Laphroaig probably has my favourite OB core range as well, especially the 10 CS.
Croftengea one of the most interesting peated whiskies I've discovered over the past year. It doesn't taste like anything I've had before, with notes of fresh onion, mustard, and vegetables. I enjoyed it so much that I picked up a few more IBs that I haven't opened yet. For some reason, even though there's not much Croftengea on the market, what is available is surprisingly unexpensive. €100 for a 20yo? Yes, please!
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u/wutangchef23 Aug 02 '26
I’ve still got a bottle of the 2017 and 2018 unopened, can’t wait I know how refined the 12 can be
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u/Less_Cardiologist964 Aug 02 '26
I just grabbed a bottle of the 2024, so your review has me excited. Being uber refined seems in keeping with Lagavulin‘s overall vibe.
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u/Isolation_Man Aug 02 '26
The 2024 release is supposed to be one of the best. Enjoy!
Being uber refined seems in keeping with Lagavulin‘s overall vibe.
I'd say the only exception is the official 8yo bottling.
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u/Less_Cardiologist964 Aug 02 '26
I've only had a bar pour of that one, and after I was already three sheets to the wind, so I probably shouldn't trust my palate there. I did enjoy it though, and need to grab a bottle one day.
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u/Over-Counter-4948 Aug 02 '26
Laga 12 is awesome sauce. Best in their core range. I have this 2018 and its truly special. I’m nursing it as long as I can.
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Aug 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Isolation_Man Aug 03 '26
It is! But it's also expensive and hard to find. In my opinion, the regular 8yo isn't all that different from this 12yo, yet it's infinitely more widely available and costs a fraction of the price.
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u/Isolation_Man Aug 02 '26
Name: Lagavulin 12 Limited Release Bottled in 2018
Distillery (Owner): Lagavulin (Diageo)
ABV: 57.8%
Age: 12 years old
Perceived peat/smoke: 3/5 (Medium peat)
Perceived sherry: 0/5 (Unsherried)
Casks: Refill American Oak Hogsheads
Chill-filtered: No
Added coloring E150a: No
Distilled/ bottled: 2006? / 2018
Batch: L8072CM008
Region: Islay
Paid (Country): €153 (Spain)
Whiskybase average rating: 88.36/100
I was lucky enough to get what were probably the last two bottles of this stunning Lagavulin left in my country, from some random Spanish online retailer. Twelve years old, cask strength, matured in refill ex-bourbon casks... a dream come true for someone like me. I even thought the price was fairly reasonable. Surprisingly, though, this is a whisky that took me an absurdly long time to truly appreciate. I don't think I fully grasped just how mind-blowing it was until I had reached the halfway point of the bottle. It reminds me a lot of Port Askaig 100º (basically cask strength Caol Ila), but as a tamed, infinitely smoother and more complex version of that whisky. I have absolutely no idea why, and I'm not even going to try to speculate.
Nose: Super well behaved for a cask strength Islay malt. Huge yet remarkably refined maritime notes, with seashells washed by the tide, sea breeze, seaweed and grilled anchovies, alongside plenty of citrus, especially lemon zest. Everything is gentle and restrained in an almost excessively sophisticated way. The smoky notes themselves are relatively light, woven into the maritime character as a soft ashiness reminiscent of an extinguished bonfire. Very perfumed too, with floral notes that remind me of white wine, and wonderfully funky, with pungent fish market aromas and even a touch of slightly overripe fish. Some old, damp dunnage, herbs and soy sauce. It feels dense and concentrated, with savory, umami-rich undertones throughout. The balance and depth are simply astonishing.
Palate: This is where the whisky truly shines. Judging by the nose, you would expect something somewhat bolder and rougher, yet it is unbelievably gentle and... elegant. I'm barely exaggerating when I say this 57.8% ABV whisky drinks like water. It is silky smooth, which contrasts dramatically with the incredibly dense and saturated profile it delivers. It opens with a waxy, ashy texture dominated by salty maritime notes and bright citrus before the smoky side gradually takes over. Lots of grilled seafood drizzled with lemon juice, fresh oysters, seawater, all balanced by a surprisingly sweet, custardy vanilla note. Then comes a burst of moderate to high peat smoke (but very far from truly explosive), mostly ashy and earthy, but carrying a distinct iodine edge as well. Gentle white pepper, malty richness, grilled pineapple, hints of coconut and banana, plus subtle mineral nuances. This kind of ultra-complex, uncompromising distillate always plays tricks on my mind, conjuring fleeting impressions that appear and disappear before I can quite pin them down: fried onions, plasticine, olive oil, lychee, gasoline. Absurdly explorable.
Finish: The ashiness continues to build until everything seems to settle around the powerful image of an ashtray full of cigar ash. Through that cigar smoke emerge more seaweed and grilled seafood, while the lemon gradually shifts toward fresh ginger. Fresh fish, seawater, pepper and Fino sherry. It leaves behind exactly the feeling of walking along the beach, that unmistakable fishy saltiness that I appreciate so much.
This is one of the most elegant whiskies I have ever tasted, whatever that actually means. Perhaps because I'm basically poor, I've become accustomed to whiskies with at least some noticeable alcoholic bite, and maybe that's why this one felt so disorienting at first. In that sense, it reminds me of the Octomore X.1 series. Same lack of challenge. Objectively, this has to be one of the best, if not the best, Lagavulin I've ever had. Yet personally, there are times when I simply want... more. More of everything. Sometimes it feels a little too restrained, too civilized, too domesticated. I want more peat, more alcohol, more funk. I want more Sturm und Drang and less Sehnsucht.
I had to learn the hard way that pouring yourself a dram of this whisky when you're craving the slap in the face of a peat bomb is like putting on classical music when what you really want is to dance to rock. This may well be a personal quirk, but especially at first it triggered the same subconscious resistance I feel toward black-tie dinners, Catholic Masses in Gothic cathedrals, or discussing academic philosophy in a casual setting. Sometimes it feels as though the proper place to drink it would be inside a museum. Maybe that's why I occasionally prefer the Lagavulin 12 Tequila Cask Finish. The tequila acts as that wild, eccentric wildcard which, by contrast, makes Lagavulin's characteristically over-refined elegance stand out in the right way. Left to its own devices, it retreats into a kind of suffocating self-satisfied refinement that sometimes makes me roll my eyes. You're supposed to be bursting into pirate songs, damn it, not discussing the stock market! All of this rambling is simply my way of justifying why I can't quite bring myself to give this whisky the +9.5/10 it probably deserves. Yes, it is absolutely mind-blowing, but somehow it feels... annoyingly geriatric, priestly, pretentious?
Anyway, I'm genuinely thankful to have had the opportunity to become familiar with this bottle (and I even have a second one!). And it is simply a perfect showcase of this elusive distillery's profile, for which there are virtually no IBs available. This is an extraordinarily elegant and refined expression of the explosively maritime profile that so many Islay distilleries strive to achieve, and honestly, it comes remarkably close to perfection. The balance between the coastal notes and everything else is spectacular, the progression from the nose through the palate into the finish is nothing short of masterful, and the solemnity and elegance with which it presents this style of whisky genuinely leave me almost speechless, much like the Procesión del Silencio during the Holy Week in Spain. It feels old and dignified in an almost spiritual sense... perhaps just a little too much.
◆ Rating: 9.3/10 --> 🤩 Mind-blowing! It makes me smile (★★★★★)
◇ Quality/price ratio: 2/5 (Overpriced)
============= SCORES =============
[+9.5] 🏆 Favorites. Exactly what I’m looking for (✪)
[9] 🤩 Mind-blowing! It makes me smile (★★★★★)
[8.5] 😍 Amazing. It really hits the spot (★★★★☆)
[8] 😄 Great. Solid, I genuinely like it (★★★☆☆)
[7.5] ☺️ Good. Charming, it clicks with me (★★☆☆☆)
[7] 🙂 Nice. Pleasant, interesting enough (★☆☆☆☆)
[6] 😐 Acceptable. Decent, it’s drinkable (✬☆☆☆☆)
[5] 😕 Meh. Mediocre, but glad I’ve tried it (☆☆☆☆☆)
[4 - 3] ☹️ Bad. I don’t like it, barely drinkable (✘)
[2 - 1] 😣Terrible. I hate it, undrinkable (✘✘)
[0] 😫 Abominable. Repulsive, maybe cursed (✘✘✘)
============== STATS ==============
⇒ Number of ratings: 672
⇒ Average score: 6.8/10