Single Malt Jazz Festival (((Bottled 2016)))
⏳ Drinking Window
Ready to enjoy immediately upon bottling, this stable spirit will maintain its exceptional quality indefinitely when stored upright in a cool, dark place.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roquefort blue cheese, dark chocolate truffles, smoked venison
✨ Technical Specifications
Released to commemorate the 2016 Islay Jazz Festival—which coincided with Lagavulin's historic bicentenary year—this highly collectible single malt Scotch whisky captures the vibrant, improvisational spirit of the annual musical celebration on the shores of Islay. Distilled on the edge of Lagavulin Bay, where the sea spray and peat smoke infuse the spirit, this expression was matured in a combination of active refill American oak and first-fill European oak Sherry casks. The result is a beautifully complex dram that balances Lagavulin's signature intense peat smoke and maritime brine with rich, sweet notes of dried fruits, dark chocolate, and warm spices, reflecting both the festival's creative energy and the distillery's two centuries of craftsmanship.
🍾 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.