Feis Ile - Lagavulin
Lagavulin is what started our first ever trek to Islay back in February 2020! Just before lock down, I had a week where I could get away from work and S agreed that going to Islay would be a great idea. In fact, Lagavulin was our very first distillery visit on Isaly back in that trip. We took part in their Sensory Box Tasting, which is a great tasting for those who want to learn more about how whisky nosing and tasting can be enhanced by combining it with different scents (e.g., salt, peat, etc.). It was a fond memory and the tasting was ran by Steph (who still works there).
Different from prior years, there weren’t many people queuing early to get into the opening of the events (for most days). We arrived quite early and stood for around an hour.
The energy of the crowd grew as Colin Dunn came to cut the green Lagavulin ribbon to not only open the day, but also to Open the week of the Feis!
At 10am, Colin cut the ribbons alongside bagpipes playing, asking us if we were ready for the day (of course, we were ready Colin!). We responded eagerly that YESSS we were ready!! So, we walked in and made our way to our first tasting experience with Nicole and Ryan. While we waited for our tour group, we donned these bright green tour jackets (no idea why they gave them to us to keep). And we toured the typical areas of a distillery- the old kilns, the mill (which grinds the dried out barley into 3 parts- the husk, the grits, and the flour… basically breaking it down into its smaller parts so it can steep like brewed tea with water).
Each tray represented a further refined layer of the milling process. We toured further areas of the distillery (where all the magic takes place!) and then got to see the highest point above the pot stills (no pictures allowed). Finally we went to taste!! Here was what we tasted (my notes at the end).
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Nose: Brine and wine hen meatier notes with pungent wood smoke then the influence of the brandy seasoned casks.
Palate: Smooth, viscous texture, powerfully smoky, chili pepper heat. Subtle with softer winey notes and the ever-present smoke.
Finish: Long smoky and drying with spicy heat; a fiercely warming finale. Similar but lighter with water.
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Nose: Mossy and resinous smoke, intertwined with fresh green banana. Underlying richness of cake mixture, sweet vanilla cola, and dried ginger.
Palate: Medium-full bodied. Initial sweetness quickly gives way to a robust smoky crescendo, with waves of peppery and savoury smoke.
Finish: Medium length, The complex array of smoky flavours recedes, revealing a gentle oak spice from the ex-bourbon American oak casks, ending with a subtle palate of dryness.
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Nose: Dry, with an immediate powerful smokiness; much more so than is usual with Lagavulin, with charcoal and fragrant peat massively to the fore, backed by a clean fresh base note that suggests sea air and mineral scents. Much reduced, aromatically, with even a little water, it remains essentially unaltered.
Palate: The smooth lightly oily texture shines with sweet richness; the taste is sweet to start, then takes off with a soaring lemony acidity and a sprinkling of sea salt to add freshness. Mid-palate the fire dries the taste, which flies still higher now in its salty smoky intensity. A dash of water rounds and sweetens but its the smoke that dominates.
Finish: Long, with great waves of peat-smoke, and new fire heights of spiced and smoky intensity that last wonderfully in the aftertaste.
This was our second year attending Lagavulin’s feis specific day and we were elated that they took some of the feedback into account. Last year’s feis event had plenty of tastings and events to take part in, but didn’t really bring the crowds together. This year, our BnB host (let’s call him the Mayor… because he knows everyone and often is in charge of many events on the island in some way or another). The Mayor is a fabulous accordion player, and he and his band-mates jazzed up the Lagavulin feis crowd with traditional dances (ceilidh songs)!
On top of this, we ran into people we know from Edinburgh and have met in prior Feis events. Really, this is the core of feis- community! Bringing people together (those new to whisky, whisky connoisseurs, and those who like whisky but enjoy the atmosphere). Everyone goes for different reasons, but we all make up the feis community.
There were fun games throughout. I fared poorly at putting (and was given six tries twice 🤣) but we still had fun!!
After eating some food at the stands (there was pizza, coffee, seafood, oysters, burgers, and more!), we went off to our second tasting. The Manager’s Big Challenge!! I was excited to take part in this above all because I’d never seen a tasting like this before and it was more about carnival-esque games than knowledge of Lagavulin. It was hosted by Jordan and Colin.
People entering the challenge!!
Let’s get ready to rumble!!!
Sadly, I actually studied and wrote some things in my diary in case we were asked facts about Lagavulin. Nope! We played silly challenges where we fished for cask bungs (with facts about Lagavulin), raced to unlock 4 sets of locks, plunged into a barrel filled with water to collect facts (more facts about Lagavulin), and sucked out enough water in a cask (using a thief) to fill a bottle!
The game is on!!
There were 8 total tables, and they pitted table to table. The right side of the room was pitted against the left side.
Our side won the first round. Then, another gal (from Bulgaria) and I volunteered for our table.
Fishing for bungs
We fished for the bungs and ended up winning. Our side was on a roll, and we ended up sweeping the games! 4 to 0!! Go left side!! Then, we were asked a final question for a chance to win one of Pinkie’s (Iain MacArthur’s) last bottle with Lagavulin. I had actually read this when I studied but failed to write it down. We were asked how much Lagavulin sold for in the 1920s? I knew it was under £1million, but couldn’t remember the exact amount. At that time, the distillery was sold by Iain Ramsay to Peter Mackie for £16,000 (equal to £811,800 in 2023)!!! What a bargain. Today, some single bottles of Lagavulin sell for £2,500!! (One 29 year old at the feis, in particular). Absolute bargain.
During each round of the game, we tasted a new dram! At the start, Colin introduced us to the ‘right way’ to taste whisky. For our friends who joined us on the trip (let’s call them Doctor and Bunny), the right way was quite a harrowing experience. According to Colin, when we remove one of our five senses, the others are heightened. So, we had to close our eyes and keep the first dram (43%) in our mouths (swishing it) for 13 seconds. Bunny’s (new to whisky) eyes watered. Doctor (who is a former neurologist) later told me that this essentially numbs your taste receptors making it possible to taste the whisky without it burning any longer. As I prefer cask strength whisky, I jokingly asked him if I was a masochist. While our first dram was the traditional Lagavulin 16, our other drams were (my tasting notes at the end):
The Manager’s Big Challenge Drams
At the end of the experience, with new friends, and a new bottle of their feis (we wished we didn’t like it because of the price, but we actually did!), Doctor, Bunny, S, and I headed back to Port Ellen for the day (after putting again one last time, of course).
As a bonus (before our departure) about a week later on Sunday we also did a brief festival tasting. I include those notes below as well.
Would definitely go to Lagavulin day again!!
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Nose: Intensely flavoured, peat smoke with iodine and seaweed and a rich deep sweetness.
Palate: Dry peat smoke fills the palate with a gentle but strong sweetness, followed by sea and salt with touches of wood.
Finish: A long, elegant peat filled finish with lots of salt and seaweed
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Nose: Brine and wine then meatier notes with pungent wood smoke then the influence of the brandy seasoned casks.
Palate: Smooth, viscous texture, powerfully smoky, chili pepper heat, Subtle with softer wine notes and the ever present smoke.
Finish: Long, smoky and drying with spicy heat, a fiercely warming final. Similar but lighter with water.
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Nose: Classically peaty, rich with fruit.
Palate: Avery oily texture with notes of ginger, charred wood, and honey.
Finish: An exceptionally long, smooth, and elegant finish.