So it’s that week again, Feis Ile Festival has started and just like last year I’m going to review a whisky from each Islay (and Jura) distillery on their open day.
Last year it was a wide assortment of drams but this year we’ll review the series of Feis Ile 2014 bottles. Yes, you read it right, for Feis Ile 2015 we’ll review the 2014 bottlings 🙂
But for every rule there are exceptions, and this year we actually starts with the exception. I already reviewed the Lagavulin 1995 19 yo that was bottled for Feis Ile 2014 following a blind tasting. It was a very enlightening post and you may read it here. Therefor, for this years’ series we’ll review the Feis Ile 2010 bottling, which was a 1994 vintage. How lucky was I to receive it from a friend ah? Thanks Nick!
Lagavulin 1994 16 Year Old (Feis Ile 2010 bottling) (52.7%,€399)
Nose: First word that come up in mind is ‘smooth’. It’s not a powerful nose despite the high ABV but it deliver the notes gently. There’s Oloroso sherry impact with all the whistles and bells meshed with gentle peat that slowly rises up and get stronger but still in balance with the sherry impact. Smoked raisins, dried fruits, traces of cinnamon pastry and vanilla. Continue reading
Nose: sherry impact of berries, a bit dry, sweet honeyed vanilla and caramel, raisins, fruity. Rich and oily and just classic. 
Nose: The wine impact is very strong here. Sweet and rich and definitely not drying. Wine and fruity, I wonder if the refill bourbon casks were 1st fill for max flavors as it does feels like that. After letting it breath in the glass, there’s less wine impact and more Bourbon impact and after adding some water there were still some grapes notes in it. 
Nose: apples,pears, coconut, vanilla custard, spiciness, white pepper at first that it calms down and we get creamy and malty notes. Zesty, some dried fruits in background and sherry spices. 
Nose: A very relaxed nose as the maturation age is noticeable here. The nose harbors some herbal edge, old sweet grain, banana, sweet honey, sweet kumquat, coconut and dare I say there’s even some wax note here. 
Nose: Malt with young fresh berries, cherries, meaty and chewy with light sulphur note of unlit matches, sour apples, all those with sweet forest berries on the side. With water added spices of nutmeg and cinnamon. 
Nose: Big malt note and very spirity at first. After a minute or two in the glass it’s sweet dark golden syrup (Treacle name playing psychological havoc on me) and stewed fruits lurking underneath it all. Not bad at all but I did get annoyed from recurring sprity whiffs. 
Nose: Cereal, creamy, rich fruity notes, soft vanilla, apples, spice, toffee, lively and fresh yet soft,. Overall it has a very rich nose. 
Nose: On first sniff it’s very creamy with lots of malt cereal and light sweet honey. Further on there’s a dash of fragrance/perfume, vanilla, peaches and weak candied oranges. After it spends a few minutes in the glass there’s some white pepper spice.
Whisky Gospel 