Lagavulin or House Lannister
We find ourselves in an age where a good product has to collaborate with another great product to further sales and it’s all about sales and the almighty pound / buck / dollar or whatever the currency is where you live..
Take one giant from the whisky world in the form of Diageo and add that to the global success of a tv series by the name of Game of Thrones and you have one hell of a sales pitch.
I know there will be the odd person out there who really does not have a clue about The Game of Thrones phenomenon and they probably don’t care to know about it but this has been or should I say is still one of the biggest series made for the tv..
The story of Game of Thrones is basically the warring fraction between the many families in a fantasy world, the Lannister’s control the south with allies while the Stark’s control the North with allied families.. Then you have the wildlings who live beyond the great Ice Wall.. You always get the feeling this is London v North of England v Scotland with a little help from Wales and Ireland thrown in….
Anyway ,to try keep this short, everyone kills each other, plenty of jealously with heaps of back stabbing, little lies and rumours that destroy friendships so basically it’s just like real life then..
Hear me Roar
So the Lannister household is one of the great households of the seven kingdoms and the strength in the south although their seat is officially in the west at Casterly Rock. Originally the father (Tywin Lannister) daughter (Cersei) and sons ( Jaime and Tyrion) take control after the King is killed and the head of the Stark family is also killed.
The rightfull ( or not) king is supposed to be the son of the dead king ( Robert Baratheon) and the daughter ( Cersei ) of the Lannister family but turns out to be the offspring to a brother / sister relationship.
He is killed by another household and the blame is put to the other Lannister son and his wife who is the stark daughter ( still with me ? ) It’s probably easier to watch the 7 series that have already being aired ( I just finished watching all 7 in order to see what the fuss was all about )
So what has this got to do with whisky ?
Well that clever company called Diageo have collaborated with Game of Thrones and released a expression to match each of the main houses involved within the game of thrones franchise.
The Lannister motto’s are
Hear me Roar
A Lannister always pays his debts
Time to moan
I’ve heard so many people slate this idea and complain about the whisky or should I say most have complained about the prices attached saying these are just the basic expressions with a slightly higher RRP attachment..
Most of these haven’t actually tried the whisky and those who have will surely release that these are mostly different in some way !! The prices are pretty reasonable if you ask me and I really can’t understand all the complaints other than the fact most of those complaining are probably people who just enjoy moaning about something..
Lagavulin
Founded In 1816 by John Johnson this iconic distillery is situated on the famous whisky island of Islay.
With a capacity to produce 2.5 million litres of whisky this Distillery is loved by millions for the heavily peated whisky it produces..
Most of the whisky produced at Lagavulin is matured within ex bourbon casks with an odd Sherry butt ( Pedro Ximénez) being used mostly for the distillers edition.
Lagavulin 9 year old
Distillery.. Lagavulin
Region.. Islay
Age.. 9 years
Cask.. Ex bourbon
This most probably does contain colouring as it is stated on the packaging.
Nose.. Instantly that typical Lagavulin peat smoke hits the senses but surprisingly it’s a lot softer than the typical 8 year old or the 16 year old.. A lovely sweet aroma rises through the smoke and carries with it some gentle spices and a soft fruity note..
Palate.. Bam.. There is the big smoke effect.. Think of a big smouldering pile of wood on a beach, the sea breeze brings in a little salty note, plenty of oily notes, burnt sugars, a peppery spiciness with a bitter citrus peel note.
Finish.. Lingering smoke and spices
Thoughts.. In my opinion there isn’t anything to complain about with this expression.. Take away the “ gimmick “ and you still have a great whisky that is not generally available at 9 years old.. Ok there is an 8 year old out there that was brought back due to high demand and although this might not be quite as good (for me ) this is still Lagavulin, it is a far softer more rounded whisky than the 8 year old which feels more raw and meaty.
I suppose though the real idea is to not compare but to take this as a stand alone whisky that gives us a slightly different look into the Lagavulin Distillery..
At £64 this is a limited edition ( there’s that word again ) is it worth the price.. Yep it is.. Enough said..
ocdwhisky.com 