Lagavulin

Lagavulin stands in a small bay on Islay's south coast, between Laphroaig and Ardbeg, beside the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle. Legal distilling on the site dates from 1816, and the distillery is now owned by Diageo.

Its malt is heavily peated, and the spirit is distilled slowly in pear-shaped stills, a long distillation that gives a smoky but rounded, rich spirit rather than a sharp one. Water comes from the Solan lochs in the hills behind the distillery. Lagavulin has long been linked with the White Horse blend, whose founding family once owned it.

The core range is built around the 16 Year Old, joined by the 8 Year Old and the Distillers Edition, which is finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Each year brings cask strength releases in Diageo's Special Releases, often a 12 Year Old, plus distillery exclusives and Fèis Ìle festival bottlings that are popular with collectors.

Independent bottlings under the Lagavulin name are uncommon, as most of the spirit stays with Diageo. Some casks do reach the market unnamed, for example as anonymous Islay malts, and our catalogue also lists retailer bottlings from Master of Malt and others.