Lagavulin 8 Years
The little brother of the 16: younger, bolder and bottled at a higher strength. Smoke with a tea-like aroma, briny sea air, and orange and chocolate underneath. A Lagavulin to taste neat and mix with.
Why younger doesn’t mean less here
Lagavulin 8 Years was released to mark the 200th anniversary of the distillery on Lagavulin Bay, founded in 1816, and has remained in the range ever since. It matures for eight years in European and American oak casks and is bottled at 48%, considerably higher than the 43% of the 16 Years.
The shorter maturation and higher strength give you a different Lagavulin. Where the 16 is deep, rounded and sweet from sherry, the 8 is livelier: the peat smoke is fragrant and reminiscent of tea, the sea air dries your nose, and beneath the smoke are sweetness, chocolate and orange with salty notes. It is still a beautifully full-bodied Lagavulin, but more direct.
In brief
Smoke, sea air and orange
Tea smoke and sea
Fragrant smoke that smells of tea, with dry, maritime aromas that make your nose tingle for a moment.
Sweet, chocolate and orange
Sweet at first, then chocolate and orange, with salty and smoky notes that linger. Bolder and fresher than the 16.
Smoky and briny
A long, smoky finish with salt and a sweet core. The 48% gives it a warm glow.
Tasting profile of Lagavulin 8 Years neat. A few drops of water make the orange and chocolate more pronounced.
Three ways to enjoy the 8 Years
The 8 is bold enough to take water and smoky enough to stand out in a cocktail. That’s where it differs most from the 16.
Neat, then with water
Pour 30 ml into a tulip glass and taste it neat first. Then add three or four drops of cool water: at 48%, it opens up noticeably, and the orange emerges from beneath the smoke.
Tasting glasses →Smoky highball
40 ml Lagavulin 8 with 120 ml very cold soda water in a tall glass full of ice and a strip of orange peel. The bubbles make the smoke feel lighter; a surprisingly fresh way to drink Islay.
Highball recipe →Next to the 16 Years
If you have both bottles, pour 20 ml of each side by side. You’ll immediately taste what an extra eight years of maturation and sherry casks do with the same smoke.
About Lagavulin 16 →Cocktails with Lagavulin 8
The 8 Years is the Lagavulin for mixing: strong enough to come through, and you only need to use a little.
Penicillin
Blended Scotch with lemon and honey-ginger syrup, topped with 10 ml of Lagavulin 8 as a float. You smell the smoke with every sip.
Highball
Whisky and cold soda water over plenty of ice. With Lagavulin 8, a smoky, salty long drink.
Rusty Nail
Scotch and Drambuie over ice. With a peated malt as the base, the honey and smoke make an exciting duo.
Smoky Old Fashioned
Whisky, sugar, and bitters over a large ice cube, with some Lagavulin 8 in the base and an orange zest.The right glass for Lagavulin 8 Years
A tulip glass to bring together the smoke and fruit, a tall glass for the highball, and a heavy tumbler for cocktails.
More Lagavulin flavours
Lagavulin
Where it all began. The brand page tells you everything about Lagavulin: origins, types, and classic cocktails.
Go to Lagavulin →
Lagavulin Feis Ìle 15 Years
Festival bottling with a Moscatel de Málaga finish. Peat smoke, toffee, and cherries; taste with water.
View Lagavulin Feis Ìle 15 Years →Everything about whisky: the types, best-known brands, and cocktails.
Questions about Lagavulin 8 Years
Can't find your question here? Read more on the Lagavulin page or view our cocktail recipes.
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