Food & Drink

Review: Lagavulin 11 Years Old Offerman Edition Finished in Guinness Casks

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Nick Offerman, a self-professed “theater actor from Illinois and woodworker” is unreserved in his admission that his work with Lagavulin is pure happenstance. The Parks and Recreation character Ron Swanson was the entree to this famed Islay Scotch model, and as Swanson’s love of Lagavulin grew, so did Offerman’s.

Offerman isn’t a whisky knowledgeable, as he defined reside to a tiny group of journalists on a current Zoom name whereby we mentioned his newest collaboration with Lagavulin, saying, “I’ve no enterprise having such a possibility, however I thoughts my manners and I do the dishes.” And but right here we’re, tasting Lagavulin’s second Offerman launch, one other 11 yr previous single malt like last year’s bottling, solely this one has a twist: It’s completed for over 4 months in Guinness stout casks, which takes issues in a surprisingly totally different route.

As he himself would word, you possibly can’t depend on Offerman’s tasting notes — “avarice… hallucination, tinged with a touch of remorse” — however you will get onboard together with his enthusiasm for the model and this explicit bottling, which I’ve been having fun with for days now. My tasting notes comply with, however earlier than we get there, I’ll go away you with one last phrase from Offerman, probably the most crucial lesson his Sensei Shozo Sato ever taught him: “At all times keep the angle of a pupil.”

Hear, hear.

So, let’s get all the way down to it.

The whisky’s nostril is ashy however fruity, a reasonably basic assault, hinting right here and there at espresso bean and darkish chocolate. The Guinness cask affect isn’t instantly evident, however there’s a touch of one thing spicy and richer beneath it’s mildly pushy, peaty nostril.

The palate is way more unique and wealthy than anticipated, and fairly a shock if you happen to’re anticipating an ordinary expression of Lagavulin. Whereas the preliminary rush is a basic certainly one of smoke and ash, it shortly jumps forward to a giant rush of vanilla and chocolate, espresso bean, and loads of fruit. It doesn’t notably style like Guinness, nevertheless it does have a heavier malty high quality that enriches the physique and livens up the palate with a refined earthiness. I discovered it arduous to place down — and a dramatic enchancment over final yr’s Offerman bottling — fading out for a number of minutes on a refined (but smoky) Christmas spice character that gives notes of gingerbread and baked apples.

Say what you’ll about celebrity-styled bottlings, however with this distinctive launch somebody knew what they had been doing, and for drinkers with even a passing curiosity in Islay I’d categorically suggest snapping up a bottle tout suite.

92 proof.

A / $90 / malts.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]

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Lagavulin 11 Years Outdated Offerman Version Completed in Guinness Casks

$90

Score

9.5/10

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