Single Malt Diageo Special Release 21YO Bottled
⏳ Drinking Window & Cellar Guidance
As a mature, high-strength single malt Scotch whisky, this bottling is fully matured and ready to be enjoyed immediately. It will remain in pristine condition indefinitely when stored upright in a cool, dark place.
🍽️ Culinary Pairings
Blue cheese, dark chocolate, smoked venison
✨ Technical Specifications
The Lagavulin 21 Year Old, released as part of Diageo's prestigious 2012 Special Releases, is widely considered one of the most legendary bottlings in the distillery's history. Distilled in 1991 and matured exclusively in first-fill Spanish oak sherry casks, this expression represents a sublime marriage of Islay's intense, maritime peat smoke with the deep, resinous sweetness of European oak. The slow, deliberate distillation in Lagavulin's signature pear-shaped stills coaxes out a heavy, oily spirit that spent over two decades resting in warehouses hugging the rugged, wind-swept shores of Lagavulin Bay. The resulting malt is a masterclass in complexity, weaving together notes of dark chocolate, molasses, dates, and thick peat smoke, underpinned by a distinct coastal salinity born of its maturation environment.
🍾 About the Producer
Officially established in 1816 by John Johnston, Lagavulin is situated on the windswept southern coast of the Isle of Islay, Scotland, overlooking the dramatic ruins of Dunyvaig Castle. Today owned by Diageo, the historic distillery is celebrated for its uncompromising dedication to traditional methods, utilising heavily peated malt and remarkably slow distillation in distinctive pear-shaped pot stills. This meticulous process yields an intensely rich, oily, and complex spirit that embodies the quintessential maritime character of southern Islay. Renowned for balancing ferocious peat smoke, brine, and medicinal notes with deep dried-fruit sweetness, Lagavulin achieves its definitive expression in its legendary 16 Year Old single malt.