Tasting notes for all LAGG Inaugural Releases at once

Question for the language geeks among us: do we write “LAGG” or “Lagg”? It seems to vary from place to place, so I will make an exception for the headline above this blog. For the remainder of the text, I will use a more regular writing. Lagg is the second distillery on the Isle of Arran, after the now renamed Lochranza Distillery, formerly known as the Arran Distillery. Confusing? Does not matter, both distilleries belong to the same owner. I guess peated production will now cease to exist at Lochranza, as Lagg will be the peated whisky producer. I have to say, I have never been impressed with the peated Arrans, released as Machrie Moor if I am not mistaken.

Lagg Distillery however has been around for only a few years, and released their first official single malt whisky in the second half of 2022. Production started in 2019. We will taste the inaugural releases, of which I previously only tasted the first batch. That one impressed me, but I was truly blown away by the first “regular” releases, the Kilmory (bourbon) and Corriecravie (sherry) editions. Time to revisit Lagg’s first introduction to the world of whisky enthusiasts!

Lagg Inaugural Release, batch 1, bottled at 50 % abv

Makeup: Batch 1 was released from exclusively bourbon matured single malt whisky. It was made from Concerto barley. The peat used was sourced in Northeast Scotland. 50 PPM. 10.000 bottles.

General impressions: The rooms fills with peat smoke as soon as I pour the sample in a glass. That is very telling, since my work space is in the attic, so quite a big room. Big peat, vanilla cream, and smouldering beach fire. These are the big aromas rising from the glass. We have learned from well-informed people that the distillery manager Graham Omand is a Lagavulin fan. This is his homage to the legendary Islay distillery. Returning to the glass, the whisky has become more ashy, and a distinct maritime note now arises. So complex already, remember: this is a 3 year old whisky.

The feeling on the tongue is soft like a glass of warm milk that you make when you can’t sleep. Then an overdose of brine and peated dark chocolate hit you. This should be a hit with Dutch people since it also has a nice dose of liquorice. It is surprisingly delicate, mellow on the verge of being almost too modest. With a drop of water a hint of ozone comes out, but on the tongue it washes away an underlying fruity flavour, so I recommend not adding any water.

Conclusion: A compact and balanced malt. A good batch preparation that seems to have evened out all harshness. Mature beyond its few years of maturation. Impressive.

Score: 87 points

Lagg Inaugural Release, batch 2, bottled at 50 % abv

Makeup: This whisky started off for 2,5 years (30 months) in bourbon casks, before being transferred to oloroso sherry Firkin casks for another 6 months. According to Whiskybase it should be 55 litres casks. Anyway, it was (again) made from Concerto barley. The peat used was sourced in Northeast Scotland. 50 PPM. 10.000 bottles.

General impressions: Not as talkative as the purely bourbon matured brother of this trilogy. The aroma is subdued and more earthy. The peat is covered under a layer of dirt. Except for adding a nice golden hue to the whisky, all this expression does is smother the great, raw spirit of Lagg. On the taste it regains some charm with hints of charcoal, raw steak, lots of bitter wood and, in the end, a glowing finish leaving you dreamy. Still, despite these redeeming qualities, this second batch feels a bit pressure cooked.

I would have opted for a more regular sherry finish, the small casks do not seem to satisfy completely. With water, this time it does improve a little bit, bringing out cinnamon aromas and a sweetened flavour with hints of pineapple.

Conclusion: A nice variation, but ultimately unbalanced and not really an improvement on the original batch.

Score: 83 points

Lagg Inaugural Release, batch 3, bottled at 50 % abv

Makeup: This whisky started off for 2,5 years (30 months) in bourbon casks, before being transferred to Ex-Rioja Charred Red Wine casks. It was (yet again) made from Concerto barley. The peat used was sourced in Northeast Scotland. 50 PPM. 10.000 bottles.

General impressions: This starts off heavily on ozone smells, which may well be the weirdest smell I have encountered in whisky. You know it when you smell it for yourself. As if you set your television set from the 1980s on fire. So peculiar. Yet again, the dominate cask seems to envelop, even hide away, the main attribute of Lagg at this age, which is the beautiful peat smoke. One has to work really hard to get ‘underneath’ the dominate aroma, and pick up some sweet smoke.

The taste brings me a lot of smoky pineapple, which I actually find a pleasant taste. Don’t send this whisky to Italy. They might suspect you of making a liquid version of the Pizza Hawaii, and move you into a dark alley to take care of matters. But yeah, that is what I think of. Cured meat with a touch of pineapple, heavily smoked. Quite interesting, and certainly not the worst wine treated whisky I have tasted in the last few months. With water the whole becomes more accessible, with hints of dark chocolate. I think that after batch 1, the subsequent batches did not make as much of a peaty impression on me. The peat shines best coming from bourbon cask maturation.

Conclusion: From the three batches, this one positively surprised me. I was convinced that I would not like it, since I do not care for wine treatment. But this is a combination that actually works. Well done, Lagg Distillery!

Score: 84 points

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