Lagavulin 11yo Sweet Peat
Official Bottling | 43% ABV
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
Beats expectations, but holds back on so much promise of what “could be”
Beating expectations.
As a “xillenial,” “elder millennial,” “geriatric millennial” or whatever cultural euphemism is used to describe people my age, I have a distinct memory of watching movies on VHS as a kid, then purchasing those same feature films on DVD in my early twenties.
Many of us did it. Visiting friends or attending house parties in our younger years often meant commenting on someone’s movie collection. It was as much a conversation piece as anything else.
I’m not necessarily an obsessive cinephile, more of a movie “buff”. Regardless, a lover of motion pictures. I once boasted a large library of DVD’s myself. But those stuffed bookcases and towering piles of plastic disappeared from my décor as DVD players gave way to smart TV’s and streaming. They remained in boxes for years before they were finally donated. I’ve purchased some movies a half-dozen times over multiple platforms.
Most of my favorites are from the 1990’s - a truly formative time both for myself and the silver screen. But one of my most beloved films is from a decade before, coming out the year I was born. It’s certainly a cultural touch point for many and I owned it on VHS and DVD (and later downloaded) the 1980 seminal comedy Airplane!
I imagine this particular film would have a warm welcome among the Dramface reader faithful, and how could it not! The movie was groundbreaking. It invented a whole new genre of comedy, and a generation of up-and-coming Hollywood directors and writers claimed it was a massive influence on their style. The movie itself became so popular that few remember the dramatic disaster movies it parodies.
The sight gags, slapstick, visual and verbal word play, and surreal humor all found a warm audience and many of its more famous lines and scenes are still quoted forty-five years later.
The casting was perfect. An entire comedic premise built around deadpan and “straight man” delivery from dramatic actors like Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges while the absurd scenes unfold around them. The film’s success created a new career path in comedy for Nielsen, who previously had been mostly a serious TV actor. Bridges also found success as a comedic actor later in life. Plus, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar… come on!
One particularly memorable sequence has a frightened passenger responding to the latest bout of turbulence by yelling “I’ve got to get out of here! I’ve got to get out of here!” The flight attendant comes over and shakes the passenger saying: “Calm down get a hold of yourself!” A man then comes up behind the flight attendant and says, “Stewardess please, let me handle this.” He then proceeds to shake the passenger even harder, then slaps her across the face. Nielsen’s character, a doctor, grabs the man saying “Go back to your seat! I’ll take care of this.” Then proceeds to yell at the woman louder “Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!” Slapping her again. Then a nun comes behind the doctor, “Doctor you’re wanted on the phone…” The nun then starts slapping the woman repeating, “Everything is going to be alright!” In one of the movie's signature sight gags, the camera pans out to a line forming of folks ready to take their turn on the frantic passenger, a boxer with gloves, a woman with a gun, a woman with a baseball bat, a man with a wrench.
Comedy gold.
The reason I’m mentioning this cinematic masterpiece and this scene was because I was reminded of it when reading Earie’s excellent Diageo exposé a couple of weeks ago on our Lagavulin 8 year old collaboration.
First, some background. As the new Lagavulin 11 year old release was under discussion with the other writers, I volunteered as tribute to purchase the bottle and offer my notes for the benefit of our dear readers and the whisky drinking public.
Before cracking the bottle, my initial expectations were that it would merely be a younger, downsized version of the world famous 16 year - also bottled at 43%, or a cheap counterfeit to the Lagavulin 11 year Offerman editions, which are more craft-presented and bottled at 46% (and I hear are rumored to be now discontinued).
So, like the line of people awaiting their turn to rough up the frantic passenger, my keyboard as my brass knuckles, I eagerly took my place in line following Earie, ready to throw compositional haymakers at the evil corporate overlord of spirits, the big, bad Diageo itself, for what was assuredly going to be a disappointing whisky.
Then I cracked the bottle, poured a dram, and nosed the glass…
”Surely you can’t be serious…”
Review
Lagavulin 11 year old, Sweet Peat edition, first-fill ex-bourbon barrel maturation, 43% ABV
US$60 (£48) paid & wide availability
“I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley.”
What a letdown.
My expectations. Not the whisky.
Damn. Here I was ready to curse this bottle’s contents. Notebook opened, a litany of insults at the ready, thesaurus dog-eared for every combination of “big dumb corporation does big dumb corporation things selling watered-down hooch hoping to squeeze more money out of the poor whisky consuming public.”
But it was not meant to be.
My first reaction was actually “oh!” I immediately texted the Dramface writer’s group my first impressions: “Folks, we have ourselves some potential ‘good stuff’ here!”
I had just had a conversation with a friend too about the power of suggestion in both tasting notes and expectations on certain pours. My approach was honest and I worked to not let myself be influenced by my own presumptions.
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
Beats expectations, but holds back on so much promise of what “could be”
Nose
Initially lots of cookfire smoke. Quite sweet. Pineapple pork adobo. Very fruity with pear slices, lemon-lime citrus, and green table grapes. Also, green bananas and mangoes. Caramel apple. Peppercorns.
Over time I get wood chips, charcoal, and campfire smoke, but also dessert-ey sweetness like caramel flan and apple fritters. Icing sugar. Honeycakes. Berry syrup. Lemon cookies. Green Jell-O. Some faint maltiness like wheat toast. Baked potatoes. A little coastal sea-spray at the end. An enjoyable nose with surprising depth and complexity for a chill-filtered whisky at 43% ABV. No water added.
Palate
On arrival it’s a nice palate. More peppery smoke. Honey lemon tea and Limoncello sparkling water. Glazed ham with pineapple and brown sugar. Less fruity than the nose but still sweet. Angel food cake. Hawaiian sweet rolls. Vanilla tobacco and mango flavored vape smoke. Hints of spiced apple cider. Peppered beef jerky.
Mouthfeel is good, but a little watery. Some medicinal notes in the finish like chloraseptic spray or honey-flavored cough syrup. Thin at the end after another hit of sweet smoke at the finish. Not as enjoyable as the nose, but still nice. Very drinkable whisky. No water added.
The Dregs
To let my “elder millennial”-ness out once more, there’s a Simpsons episode where Marge Simpson, who has been commissioned to paint Springfield’s own evil corporate overlord, Mr. Burns, reveals the painting to him.
His response: “I know what I hate, and I don’t hate this.”
My words exactly. I poured for a friend who also agreed it was good. I’m not imagining goodness here.
But as much as I’m thankful I paid hard-earned dollars for a bottle that’s not bad, I’m a little disappointed I don’t get to take my turn thrashing Diageo with a hard-hitting title like: “Soulless Whisky Behemoth Misses the Mark Again.” Instead, damning with faint praise: “Beating Expectations.”
After my own experience with higher-ABV Lagavulin, the Offerman and cask strength editions, and Wally’s recent special encounter with Woodrow’s Jane Street IB ‘Lagavulin’, we know this spirit really shines at higher-ABV. This bottle is just another example of what could be with one of Diageo’s flagship brands.
The first-fill bourbon casks used here do a lot of heavy lifting, probably saving this whisky. What is just “good stuff”, however, it easily begs the question of how removing the chemical alterations at the point of bottling could soar this expression to the next level.
The price is also fine. $60 for a bottle of 11 year Lagavulin is decent, especially with the 16 year staying stubbornly high and Diageo not getting the memo that prices should be coming down.
Fans of Lagavulin would enjoy this whisky and like the price break compared to the 16, but enthusiasts hoping for more engagement will likely skip this release altogether.
ALL TOGETHER: “Fans of Lagavulin would enjoy this whisky and like the price break compared to the 16, but enthusiasts hoping for more engagement will likely skip this release.”
Sorry, one more Airplane! joke then I’m done.
“Joey, do you like gladiator movies…”
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AD
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At the point of this article’s publication, Lagavulin currently sits in position #20 in the Dramface Top 40.
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