The hollow of the watermill. The Gaelic place name Lag a’ Mhuilinn became the English spelling Lagavulin.
There is a story that the old owner still comes to work at Lagavulin. There is a legend that the ghost of peatr Mackey, called ‘Restless peatr’, roams the Still House and watches over the work. Even now, when strange noises are heard, employees jokingly say, “peatr is here.”
The starting point is malt that has been dried by burning peat. The phenolics in the smoke remain in the malt, creating a strong aroma reminiscent of ash, iodine, seaweed, and sea breeze.
The fermentation broth is slowly boiled in a wash still. The vapor rising up the bulging pear-shaped body turns into liquid, and the sweetness of the malt and the oily peat components are spiritd together.
Lagavulin is known for slow distillation and a restrained flow from the still. Rather than leaving only a lightly refined scent, the heavy and oily texture is preserved in the spirit.
The first distillate is boiled again in the spirit still, and the heart section to be used for actual maturation is selected. This is the step of selecting a center that can retain sweetness and fruity aroma even in strong smoke.
The 16 years on the label means that even the youngest spirit in the bottle has been aged for at least 16 years. Over a long period of time, the oak and air reduce the harsh edges, layering wood and deep sweetness into the peat smoke.
In the finished drink, thick peat smoke, iodine, and seaweed come first, followed by sweetness and oak. The smoke does not disappear after aging for a long time, but the scents that were separated from each other feel like a lump.
Based on Lagavulin 16 Year Old.
The peat and oak axes both extend strongly. Rather than the sharp chemical scent of Laphroaig or the ash-like explosion of Ardbeg, the profile builds dense layers of smoke and oak.
Beneath the smoke is malt sweetness and dried fruit-like depth. The citrus and floral notes are small, but the sweet, rich core lingers longer.
This value is not a public composition table, but rather the sensory impression of the reference bottling transferred to the same six axes.
It is said that there have been traces of several small-scale distillations in Lagavulin Bay since the 18th century. Today, the distillery's official founding year is listed as 1816, when John Johnstone established a legal distillery. Across the small bay are the remains of the medieval Duniveig Castle.
peatr Mackey played a major role in the growth of Lagavulin from the late 19th century. The strong and smoky character of Islay malt became an important ingredient in blended Scotch, and the 16-year-old single malt became the distillery's reference bottling.
The key to Lagavulin 16 is not simply that it has high phyt levels. Peat malt, slow distillation, oily texture and long aging work together. Therefore, it is heavier and sweeter than alcohol with only strong smoke, and the scent of seaweed, salt, and wood lingers for a long time even after drinking.
In Gaelic Lag a’ Mhuilinn, lag means hollow and muileann means water mill. The ‘a’ in the middle corresponds to ‘of’, and as the words that follow change grammatically, the first sound of muileann is written as Mhuilinn. The English name Lagavulin is a translation of this entire pronunciation.