Lagavulin 12 Year Old Bot.2011 11th Release

Nose

It's very interesting to try this one after the old OB, because there are obvious similarities, especially the seaweedy notes and the coal/motor oil. What I also get in this one - and which I don't seem to have found in earlier incarnations of the 12 CS - is this wee combination of fennel, aniseed and gentian in the background. Quite some brine too but it's a fairly gentle expression so far, no true peat monster. Should we complain? Probably not…

With water: Becomes more tarry and earthy, sooty, dry, medicinal…

Mouth (neat)

Sharp like a blade and sweet at the same time. Lemon drops and kippers, oysters and gentian again. Wonderful earthy/medicinal profile developing after that. Crystal clean, as they say.

With water: It's the fruitiness that got enhanced, with more lemon and grapefruits, as well as more freshly ground black pepper. I feel it's kind of straighter and more peppery than earlier versions once diluted.

Finish

Long and, again, rather less sweet than earlier 12s.

Comments

Sweet when neat, dry when diluted. Excellent in both cases, of course. Closer to the 2009 than to the 2010. SGP:447 - 90 points.

Brought back as an annual limited edition to satisfy the cravings of those who like their peat full-on and never understood why Lagavulin moved to 16 years of age, this is the Kildalton coast single malt at its most boisterous. Aromatically, it blazes a seaweed-strewn, zigzag pathway between sea, shore, and land: bog myrtle and samphire, beach bonfire, sea spray, and melon before, with much-needed water, there's slow-burning Latakia pipe tobacco and Lapsang Souchong tea. 85 Points