Yesterday my girlfriend and I were out celebrating some cool things happening in our life at our favorite whisky pizza bar in Brooklyn, NY called WheatedBrooklyn.
The best part about this bar, is that the owner is very friendly and is always adding new exciting whisky to his collection. He currently has over 560 bottles not counting the duplicates.
He just recently added this bad boy to the list, and we knew we had to pop the cherry by being the first to open this bottle at his bar.
You can say its almost our thing. Opening up a brand new rare bottle with our friends, sharing the dram, is probably the best way to enjoy whisky. No, it IS the best and only way to enjoy whisky, in good company. Although this is a bit on a pricey range for a 1oz dram, it was really worth it.
Before we get into the actual review of the product, I want to provide a bit of preface about this line.
Limited to 8,000 bottles, this special 25 year old Lagavulin celebrates the distillery’s 200th anniversary with a well-matured expression matured exclusively in ex-Sherry casks and with the names of every distillery manager (with dates) etched on the bottle.
This was the natural progression for us. We tried and own the 8 year, the 12 year and of course the very classic 16 year. So let’s dive right in, to this special bottle.
Name: Lagavulin 25 year Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Region: Islay, Scotland
Nose: The nose was very rich and sweet. There were hints of honey and caramel right off the bat. A good amount of sherry and butterscotch. It did not burn, as we know other Lagavulin’s do because of their peat. It was very pleasant.
Palate: The first note you’ll taste caramel, sweet thick caramel, followed by light spicy sherry and oak. Oily dark chocolate and a nice amount of smoked peat. It’s not an overpowering peat, but it lingers there long enough to taste it at the back of the palate. It’s also very savory with almost like prosciutto or smoked meat on the end.
Finish: Very long, rich, complex yet elegant. It’s hard to believe it’s all of those things at once, but it sure is. Oak, dark chocolate, nutty spices roll so delicately across your tongue, that you want it to remain there forever. It ends with a bit of nice heat and dark cherries. Very pleasant.
