Single Malt Distillers Edition (((Bottled 2012)))
⏳ Drinking Window
As a distilled spirit, this bottle does not mature further once packaged and is ready to enjoy immediately. It will remain in pristine condition indefinitely if stored upright, sealed, and away from direct sunlight.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roquefort or Stilton blue cheese, high-quality dark chocolate with sea salt, and smoked duck breast
✨ Technical Specifications
The Lagavulin Distillers Edition represents a masterful marriage of Islay's rugged maritime peat and the luscious sweetness of Andalusian sherry. Distilled in the signature pear-shaped copper pot stills of Lagavulin—where exceptionally slow distillation coaxes out a deep, oily, and complex spirit—this expression undergoes a double maturation process. After its primary aging in traditional oak casks, it is finished in casks that previously held sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry. This imparts a rich layer of sun-dried raisins, dates, and dark chocolate to the distillery's legendary canvas of heavy peat smoke, coastal brine, and Lapsang Souchong tea. Steeped in the history of Lagavulin Bay, where illicit distilling dates back to the 18th century, this expression is a testament to the art of wood finishing, offering a softer, sweeter, yet intensely smoky dram.
🍾 About the Producer
Perched on the rugged southern coastline of Islay, Lagavulin was officially established in 1816 by John Johnston, formalising centuries of illicit distilling along the sheltered cove beneath Dunyvaig Castle. Operating within an unforgiving maritime microclimate, the distillery draws peaty, mineral-rich process water from the upland Solum Lochs. Production relies on heavily peated barley and exceptionally deliberate methods: lengthy fermentations in larch washbacks precede distillation across four distinctive pear-shaped pot stills. Lagavulin famously executes one of the slowest double distillations in Scotland with wide middle cuts and high fill levels, maximizing copper interaction to sculpt a rich, oily spirit imbued with phenolic depth, smoked lapsang souchong, and iodine. Matured extensively in dunnage warehouses washed by sea spray, the resulting single malt balances pungent maritime brine and sweet oak tannins. Benchmark expressions include the iconic 16 Year Old, the cask-strength 12 Year Old annual releases, and sought-after mature parcels within Diageo's Prima & Ultima collection.