Comments on: Lagavulin 21 – The best. In theory, anyway.

By: Tasting Lagavulin 21- a real treat | Whisky Israel

Tasting Lagavulin 21- a real treat | Whisky Israel — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:03:04 +0000

[...] tarry,and some blood oranges are more evident. I did not get any sulphur notes as described in the post by Jeff who tasted this one a few months [...]

By: Brora 30 (2007) – Mmm, mmm, …cow stables!? « Scotch Hobbyist’s Blog

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:19:07 +0000

[...] this is what happened when I noted a pungent “dairy farm” component on the nose of Lagavulin 21. At times, it was a bit too much for me. As you’ll see, the Brora 30 does not reach this [...]

By: Best in Blog #12: Tasting Notes and Whisky News on the Web | Whisky Party

Best in Blog #12: Tasting Notes and Whisky News on the Web | Whisky Party — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:53:42 +0000

[...] Hobbyist is less enthused by his sample of Lagavulin 21 than others, though he admits there might be some contamination issues with the little he was able [...]

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:13:03 +0000

Thank-you very much for the link, Ruben. Great find! I’ve put updates in the Other Opinions section, and in my conclusion.

Regards,
Jeff

By: WhiskyNotes

WhiskyNotes — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:17:03 +0000

The link should have been this one: http://www.maltmaniacs.org/malt-111.html#09-06

By: WhiskyNotes

WhiskyNotes — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:16:11 +0000

You may want to read Luca’s part of this E-pistle: http://www.maltmaniacs.org/malt-111.html#09-02 – he’s also picking up the sulphur.

I don’t believe bottle differences can be this radical (sulphur or no sulphur), it would mean Lagavulin had different batches which is very unlikely. It’s true though that spirit can change in the bottle but only after several years. My bottle was opened about six months ago and I don’t notice any changes.

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:27:47 +0000

Hi Tim,
Interesting to hear another mention of sulphur, although it sounds like you and Ruben are commenting on the same bottle. I suppose there could be some variation in the amount of sulphur influence from bottle to bottle.

Sean (the owner of the bottle I sampled from) says that he also gets some “farmyard” notes, but it’s more of a freshly tilled earth and vegetable thing. I get some earthy notes too, but I associate that with the peat.

My house backs up to a small farm that occasionally houses some cattle, and we used to have a bunch of dairy farms around here. The smell I’m getting (sometimes stronger than others) is definitely of the bovine variety, or at least that’s the way my brain processes it.

You mention having tasted some other peaty expressions prior to the Laga 21 your first time around. The funny thing for me is that nosing the other peaty, sherried malts first seemed to intensify the cow smell on the Laga 21.

Thanks,
Jeff

By: Tim F

Tim F — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:23:28 +0000

Funny enough, I tasted this again recently (thanks to Ruben!) and I don’t know if it was because it was after a lot of other things or because I’d been keeping it in its sample for a long time (or indeed because I’d built it up in my head!), but it wasn’t as I remembered it at all – I was pretty disappointed. But is that the whisky, the circumstances, or me? I don’t know.

I don’t have proper notes for my re-tasting of it, but I was pretty surprised that I hadn’t picked the sulphur up first time I had it as it seemed so obvious going back to it. That said, the first time I had it I had tasted some other peaty stuff before hand as well and it really was, er, orgasmic. I’m confused that it can taste so different to me now as I don’t think my tastes / opinions have changed that much in 18 months.

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:52:20 +0000

Hi Ruben,
Thanks for the feedback and the tip! Maybe it is a slight sulphur influence. From what I’ve read on forums about other whiskies that supposedly contain sulphur, it seems like it is something that affects people differently, with some being particularly sensitive to it. Although, I thought Aberlour a’bunadh was one of those whiskies and I don’t have any issues with that one that I can recall.

It’s funny you mention holding back on publishing your notes, as I didn’t want to post mine, either. If I had a whole bottle to spend some more time with, I’m sure I would have put off writing about it until I could understand it better. There certainly is a lot going on with this whisky.

Whatever it is that I’m picking up, I think I kind of ruined it for myself by doing that “comparative nosing” right off the bat. For some reason, that approach really brings out this cow farm element of the Laga 21 nose for me. I think I couldn’t help but look for it after that.

Thanks,
Jeff

By: WhiskyNotes

WhiskyNotes — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:09:34 +0000

What you call ‘farmy’ is probably a hint of sulphur that comes from desinfecting the sherry casks before transporting them from Spain to Scotland. The fact that you mention ‘used matches’ also points in this direction. At times, I think this Laga 21 is fabulous, but then I notice the hints of sulphur and the perfectness disappears (although it’s still very very good). In fact, that’s the reason why I didn’t publish tasting notes myself yet, although I happen to have a couple of bottles in my stock (they’re still available and ridiculously cheap in Spain, just over $200). It’s interesting that it got hugely positive reviews at first, and now some critics seem to rise. By the way, make sure you keep the whisky in the glass for 15-30 minutes before actually nosing/tasting. This helps to minimize any sulphur.