Lagavulin 20 Year Old Feis Ile 2020 Single Malt Review

Rifling through my sample box again and we are back in Islay with one of the smoky big guns, Lagavulin. Like much of Diageo's whisky in recent years Lagavulin has been subjected to the 'premiumisation' model which has seen quite substantial prices rises that frankly most of the whisky doesn't warrant.

As such the last bottle of Lagavulin I bought was a distillery exclusive at Lagavulin itself in 2023. The core range prices were frankly absurd and meant that I, like many others, looked elsewhere for alternatives....and often times they were much better and at lower price points to boot.

The move to Florida has meant that I still haven't bought a Laga as the prices here are still just to much to warrant purchasing any of the core range. In recent months though I have seen the prices even here start to fall a little so maybe one day I'll be happy enough to purchase a Laga for the whisky room of gloom.

Moving to Florida also meant I finally had impetus to start making notes on the multitude of samples I'd gathered up over the years in Ireland.

So today we have a well aged Laga Feis Ile release from 2020.

Let's taste!

Lagavulin 20 Year Old Feis Ile 2020 54% abv

Refill & PX/Oloroso hogsheads (6,000 btls)

Nose: This smells old – coal dust and peat embers, tobacco and leather. Iodine and bandages. Roasted figs drizzled with hot honey, bbq bacon. Beneath this are tropical fruit notes of ripe bananas and papaya. Dark chocolate, camphor and raisins. Water gives us rubber, hazelnuts and more saltiness.

Palate: Starts with sherry richness – raisins, fudge, dried fig and marzipan before salted caramel, tar, leather and powerful peat smoke. Candied bacon bits and sea spray. Smoked kippers, lemon, dill and cracked black pepper. Water brings out a little more sherry sweetness plus copper and dark chocolate.

Finish: Long with sweet sherry notes, bonfire smoke and salty air.

Score: 8 out of 10

Overall: A banger of a dram with loads going on both in the nose and the palate. Well balanced and thought provoking this is an elder statesmen of a Lagavulin and shows what Diageo can be capable of putting out there. More please!

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