This post has been in the works for a while as this whisky was a bit of a roller-coaster experience.
Back in May 2014, a full Feis Ile bottles share was organized by me and a few buddies led by Chris who did all the hard work of going to Islay and collecting them all (Thanks again Chris!). As whisky geeks, we were curious to taste them all but without going bankrupt (as the average bottle price was about £100). By the time I got my share it was almost unanimously agreed upon, by the other shares members and the general whisky community, that the Lagavulin bottling is the best of them all and it even surpassed the 2013 bottling. As I’ve tasted the 2013 one and it was utterly divine, I was eager to try the 2014 one. I tried a full flight on my Feis Ile 2014 bottlings, keeping the Lagavulin and Octomore to the end, but my palate was tired, so by the time I got to the Lagavulin I only wrote general impression:
Nose: Matured and balanced with peat and sherry.
Palate: Peat and sweet sherry.
Basically it felt balanced and lovely. Good combo of peat and sweet sherry. I then decided to keep the rest of my share for another tasting (where I could take proper tasting notes) later that week. Alas, life and other samples intervened and it didn’t happen and that bottle was gathering dust in my cupboard.
Then the Usquebaugh Society Blind Tasting competition happened.
The Lagavulin Feis Ile 2014 was #17 and these are the tasting notes I wrote down:
Lagavulin Feis Ile 2014 (54.7%)
(Blind tasting notes)
Nose: Bites and punchy, honey, fruits, quite heavy. After a minute or two there is peat and then smoke. With even more time it recedes and we get sweet fruity notes, stone fruits, almonds. Continue reading
Nose: At first nosing it’s very different from the normal 10yo as the nose is very restrained. The high ABV is felt but the lovely plethora of notes that welcomed me with the std 10yo were hard to get here. it felt sherried but restrained, and after a while some chocolate, sweet dried fruits rise, but it stayed restrained so water were needed here. With water it opens up a bit revealing more light sherry and a bit of chocolate. The nose is not as balanced and is less sherried than the normal 10yo. 
Nose: Gentle and flowery honey, at first it’s herbal but soon leans toward flowery. There are vanilla and mild sweet cream, musk & layer of drying heather fields at autumn giving it some earthy side, a touch of dried old leather.It’s not sweet as the 21 yo as the earthy side tone it down. 
Nose: Deep and dark floral & honey smell with underground river of spice. further sniffs reveals red apples, large dash of toffee and fudge, and the sweetness slowly turns herbal. Got to say it’s not very complex but it’s lovely! 
Nose: Light, fresh, sweet honey from wild flowers, grassy, some almonds milk, delicate and fresh. A real nice nose. 
Nose: oh boy, you just can’t hate that old, wet and dumpy peat on the nose. Especially when it comes with old Oloroso sherry. there’s some oak tannins here, raisins and a mix of sour and sweet plums. Overall its very gentle yet powerful and with old library dusty feeling which I could sniff for hours. 
Nose: Hmm, I tend to forget how age diminish the peat impact and so the initial big fruity note caught me a bit off guard but then a gentle peat smoke joins in the background with pine, apples and sweet green melon. there may be even a bit of perfume here. with a few drops of water we also get honey. 
Whisky Gospel 