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- Suggested retail price: $1,200
- Thursday, December 29 (for as long as it lasts), we're pouring one ounce for $39
Laphroaig and Lagavulin are cousins. Laphroaig is the more boisterous, loud, elbows-out cousin who reeks of a peat fire. Lagavulin is more refined, but still a broad shouldered spirit, a scholar-athlete among whisky.
The name Lagavulin from the Gaelic lag a'mhuilin, means "hollow by the mill." The distillery officially dates from 1816, when John Jonston and Archibald Campbell constructed two distilleries on the site. One of them became Lagavulin. The real history of the site goes back well before the official history. Records show illicit distillation in at least ten illegal distilleries there as far back as 1742.
In the 19th century, there were some legal battles with neighbor Laphroaig, brought about after the distiller at Lagavulin, Sir Peter Mackie, leased the Laphroaig distillery. It was asserted Mackie attempted to copy Laphroaig's style. Their style is quite similar, but since the water and peat at Lagavulin is different from that at Laphroaig, the result was then (and is now) different.
Lagavulin is known for its producer's use of a slow distillation speed and pear shaped pot stills. This may lend it extra elegance and nuance. This 25-year bottling is a rare and special treat. We will open one bottle at 6:30 precisely. I hope you will join us.
Next week in The Spirits Project
Bourgoin "Microbarrique - Single Cask" Cognac 1994 - 22 year