Lagavulin
Here at the Best of Whiskies headquarters, we’re unanimous passionate about Lagavulin Single Malt, one of the worlds most appreciated single malt whiskies. Lagavulin Single Malt is characterized by its peaty smoke and fruity flavors, just perfectly balanced. The Lagavulin 16 years old Single Malt is Lagavulin’s flagship whisky in its core range, receiving consequently high ratings from international whisky reviewers such as Serge Valentin, who scored this edition with a 90/100 points! The annual Lagavulin Feis Ile editions are highly sought after, and the Lagavulin 37 years old is one of the most expensive whiskies available on the market.
Established in the small town Lagavulin, located on the southwestern shore of Scotland’s whisky capital Islay, the Lagavulin Distillery is probably one of the most picturesque looking hamlets to be found. Lagavulin means “The mill in the valley” and is a malapropism from the Gaelic Lag a’ Mhuilinn, which name’s derived from Lagavulin’s former flour mill. The Lagavulin Distillery was officially established by John Johnston in the year 1816, probably as the result of two small distilleries merging together. The distillery was later controlled by James Mackie, who requested for his nephew Peter Mackie to assist his family with the distillery operations in 1878.
Peter Mackie turned out to be a very clever young man. Not only did he assimilate the tricks and treats of the distiller’s art very quickly, but in addition to that he was a salesman in heart and soul. But clever as he was, Peter Mackie was described by his peers as a brilliant but yet restless man, whose dreams were much bigger than his abilities. This is why he was nicknamed “Restless Peter”. Throughout the years of running Lagavulin, Peter’s combativeness brought him in several conflicts with competing distilleries such as the Laphroaig Distillery, because of this Peter wasn’t always much respected in the Scotch single malt whisky industry. But despite this, Peter Mackie remains the most legendary and most influential man in the legacy of Lagavulin.
Lagavulin is currently owned by the renowned Diageo corporation, who handed out wristbands to the distillery’s visitors during the Lagavulin 200 years anniversary, which was celebrated during Feis Ile 2016. These wristbands were printed with the abbreviation “WWPMD”, which stands for: “What Would Peter Mackie Do?” As a wink to its legendary past.
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