Lagavulin 16-year-old (with Free branded watch gift)

The Lagavulin Distillery gets its name from the Gaelic Lag a’ Mhuilinn, meaning the hollow of the mill. It’s located on the Kildaton coast between other legendary Islay distilleries, Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Legal distilling was started here in 1816 by John Johnston and a second distillery on the same site was bought by his family in 1825. By 1837, production was absorbed into Lagavulin. 

The character of Lagavulin whisky is attributed to its peaty water supply, the heavily peated barley, long fermentation times, and slow distillation. The peated barley comes from Port Ellen maltings and the water is sourced from Lochan Sholum.

Fermentation occurs in 10 wooden washbacks, each 21,000 litres in capacity, and lasts 55-75 hours. This produces a 6-8% ABV ‘wash’, a beer-like drink that is then distilled. Lagavulin uses the double distillation method in four squat pear-shaped pot stills and its distillation is the slowest on Islay.

Lagavulin 16 Year Old is aged mostly in American white oak bourbon casks, with a portion matured in European oak sherry casks. The warehouses are all exposed to the sea, but the extent to which that sea air impacts the coastal, iodine character found in Islay single malts, or indeed any whisky that matures by the sea, is the subject of some debate within whisky circles.