Lagavulin 11y/o 'Sweet Peat' 43%abv 30ml
A new expression from Lagavulin designed to be an approachable introduction to peated whiskies for newbies. Its 35ppm so slightly less peaty than the 16 but given it 5 years less in the cask not massively lower peat levels. Its sweet - lots of honey and vanilla from the bourbon barrels. This has been praised as a great value sipper by many. A small minority get an astringent industrial chemical note on the finish - some people are genetically sensitive to certain congeners such as 4-vinyl guaiacol which can taste like smoked salmon and smoky bacon to most people and like burnt plastic to others. Lagavulin 16y/o has increasingly become a shadow of itself and has massively increased in price. The demographic that drinks Lagavulin is aging rapidly and their brand loyalty was mostly won over 20 years ago. This new whisky is pitched at younger drinkers with it's sweeter profile, low abv and lower price point. Its not very complex but it is enjoyable and easy to drink so as a mass market whisky it might be very successful.