Lagavulin (whiskey distillery)
| Lagavulin | |
|---|---|
 Lagavulin whiskey distillery building |
|
| country |
 Scotland
|
| region | Islay |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 38 '7.5 " N , 6 ° 7' 41.7" W |
| Type | Paint |
| status | active |
| owner | Diageo |
| Founded | 1816 |
| founder | John Johnston |
| Water source | Loch Sholum , Lochan Sholum |
| Washstill (s) | 2 × 12,300 l |
| Spiritstill (s) | 2 × 12,900 l |
| Production volume | 2,250,000 l |
Lagavulin is a whiskey distillery in Lagavulin on the Scottish Hebridean island of Islay . The distillery belongs to the spirits group Diageo (formerly United Distillers). The whiskey is marketed as part of the Group's Classic Malts range .
history
Whiskey has been produced at the current distillery on Lagavulin Bay since 1742 . However, the first legal distillery was not founded by John Johnston until 1816, the following year another was founded by Archibald Campbell: Ardmore , not to be confused with the Ardmore distillery in Kennethmont , to which there is no reference. After both distilleries came into the possession of Donald Johnston, they were merged in 1837 to form today's Lagavulin distillery. In 1927 the distillery became part of the Distillers Company Limited (DCL), which in 1930 delegated operational management to its subsidiary Scotish Malt Distillers (SMD). From 1908 to 1960 there was another distillery on the site: Malt Mill ("Malzmühle"; the place name Lagavulin, pronounced: Lagga-wuulin , from Gaelic Lag a 'Mhuillinn, means "the hollow of the mill") by Peter Mackie. Today the visitor center is located in their malt house . In the past, the distillery was shut down for short periods several times: 1918, 1941 to 1945 and 1952 to 1953.
production
The water for the distillery, which belongs to the Islay region, comes from Loch Sholum and Lochan Sholum , two lakes on the slopes of the 347 m high Beinn Sholum . The malt used is sourced from the Port Ellen Maltings . Lagavulin has a mash tun ( mash do ) (4.32 t) from stainless steel and 10 fermentors ( wash backs ) (per 21,300 liters) of pine wood . Distillation takes place in two wash stills (each 12,300 liters) and two spirit stills (each 12,900 liters) that are heated by steam. Before filling into the 250-liter barrels , so-called hogsheads , for maturation, the new make is diluted to 63.4 percent with water.
Products
Hardly any distillery is as successful as Lagavulin with such a limited range of products. For a long time only the 16-year-old bottling was available, only a few years ago a second regular bottling was added. There are now a few more original bottlings. Independent bottlings of these whiskeys are rare, but if a barrel should reach another bottler, the bottler must choose a different name, as the name Lagavulin may only be used by the distillery.
16 years old
A typical " Islay whiskey ", very strong, peaty and smoky, with a very long finish. The 16-year-old Lagavulin is the oldest and best-selling whiskey in the Classic Malts series and is also used as the base malt in the White Horse blend and its rare deluxe version Logan . In the past, due to the high demand, there were often delivery bottlenecks, so that customers often stood in front of empty shelves in the whiskey shops. In response, the 12-year-old came out cask strength. This bottling is very smoky and therefore especially interesting for friends of the Islay malt. The 16-year-old standard bottling is colored with the food coloring E150a (caramel) and is cool-filtered .
Pedro Ximénez Finished
The Distillers Edition of Lagavulin was stored in Pedro Ximénez barrels. Due to the influences of these barrels and a longer maturation period, the whiskey is deprived of some of its strength, but at the same time it becomes even more complex and versatile.
12 Years Old, Cask Strength
This bottling was only introduced in 2002. One possible reason for this is a shortage of supplies for the 16-year-old Lagavulin, which is due to the extremely increased demand in previous years. By falling back on younger cohorts, such a bottleneck can be overcome in the short term. Due to the shorter storage time and the high alcohol content of approx. 58%, this bottling is even more intense than the normal bottling. In the time before the Classic Malts (1988) there was a 12-year-old Lagavulin with 43%, the predecessor of today's 16-year-old . This was even more intense and appears occasionally at auctions.
21 Years Old, Cask Strength
Original bottling distilled 1985 bottled in 2007 with 56.5% in an edition of 6642 bottles.
25 Years Old, Cask Strength
For a long time the oldest and most expensive original bottling with 57.2% in an edition of 9000 bottles.
30 Years Old, Cask Strength
Original bottling from 2006 with 52.6% in an edition of 2340 bottles.
See also
Web links
- Official website of the Classic Malts Selection (English)
- Lagavulin archive - further bottlings
Individual evidence
- ↑ LearnGaelic - Dictionary. Retrieved November 12, 2019 .
- ^ Information from the Scottish Parliament. Retrieved November 12, 2019 .
Since 1987: Cragganmore | Dalwhinnie | Glenkinchie | Lagavulin | Oban | Talisker
Since 2005: Caol Ila | Clynelish | Glen Elgin | Knockando | Royal Lochnagar
Since 2008: Cardhu | The Singleton of Dufftown (date unknown)