Lagavulin 12-year-old - The Ink of Legends

This year’s edition is once again very good, although maybe not in the context of previous releases.

Honest 12 Lagavulin. But I think without the tequila or with a classic sherry cask there would have been a lot more in it.

Finally a whisky in this series that did not disappoint, or rather met expectations. A great Lagavulin with everything as it should be. I can hardly feel the tequila finish in it, maybe because I was very afraid of this combination. I don't understand why they couldn't choose a sherry or pure bourbon finish that work great with whisky from this distillery... The aroma is dense, heavy, smoky, iodine, lemon peel, delicate woodiness, espresso coffee, maybe a delicate sealiness in the form of the smell of fish. The taste is distinctly smoky, citrusy fresh, delicate sweetness of cream, delicate oak bitterness along with chocolate bitterness and aromas of roasted coffee beans. At the very end I feel something like oiliness and some aftertaste that probably comes from those Tequila barrels but fortunately it is not too disturbing. The finish is quite dry and turns into bitterness. The alcohol is very well integrated. As a fan of the brand, I am very pleased that we do not have to be ashamed of this year's edition. Well done Laga!

Finally, we have a whisky with a clearly noticeable influence of an exotic barrel! No matter what anyone says, tequila or even artisanal mezcal (because it’s smoked) tastes very good here. Cool whisky! Quite delicate and balanced! 22 22 21 22

Blind taste

I was so looking forward to this. I like tequila, I like mezcal, and I love Laga. The other reviews are sobering. Maybe I need to take off my rose-tinted glasses. Let's go.

Aroma: distinctive, fresh, smoky profile - spices, tropical fruits, honey - it also has a hint of minerality and probably a spicy influence of Tequila, if you are into consuming this distillate as well. Taste: smoky, sweet, spicy - tropical fruit, honey, * Whisky has a long, long finish - This is what a barrel-smoked whisky should look like.

Lagavulin is one of my favorite distilleries. The Diageo 2023 release is another item that I like. With water, it is more delicate in every aspect of tasting, sweet, honeyed with dandelion in the foreground.

This is definitely a good Lagavulin by all means, but the price tag is outrageous. Vegetal peat, lemongrass (cymbopogon citratus), strong charred notes with a dirty edge. Then earthy notes with chilli and ginger. Some chocolate and woodiness towards the end.

Tasted on 12/28/2023 during a tasting of Whisky Club Italia. Despite the many negative opinions on the refinement in ex Tequila I found it very good and I bought a bottle that I will open soon. Aged in ex-Don Julio añejo tequila barrels Color: white wine

It's a nice edition, although it doesn’t match the editions of the previous few years.

the agave influence is prominent, very interesting update: tasted it again. i think the tequila cask provide a shortcut to the overall flavour, and i dont like it behave this way

Blog on www.longpouramour.com on 29 October 2025. My conclusion: "The chatter and reputation were loud, but this Lagavulin is just fine, with a variation on the familiar peaty theme. Tequila and Mezcal can bring something nice to a single malt whisky. There are some off-notes to be found, but I was not too bothered."

Quite OK, but not meeting my expectations

The price is not included in my rating. 81-85 – Wow, really good one

Something new? Yes. Something tasty? Could be much better.

Pleasant smoky aroma interspersed with fruity motifs, soot, peat, sea spray. Neat and delicate. Salty in taste with smoky hints and spices. Peat aftertaste with smoke and salt

One of them strange cases where I taste fabulous dram down the distillery, all-time cracker at 90.00, that mesmerised me with the flavour, while fastly intoxicating but sweet... Then I order and open the same whisky at home and is a pale copy, no kick. I guess my friend kept it at wRm even only for couple of days... Had absolutely the same experience with Ardbeg Hypernova which blew me away on Islay, then won it at an auction and opened it straight away. Probably the previous owner had not kept it so well...

I would say the worst laga of all the SR laga I've tried. No point buying it

The aftertaste is a bit simple.

The herbal hard candy flavor brought by agave is still very obvious, and the overall balance is also good, but it can be expected that this is a more picky one.

It's not as smokey as other incarnations of the LAG 12. Fruiter and lighter with more vanilla. For me, the Tequila hits up front rather than in the finish. Punchy and oily I prefer it with water to get it to 45%. Nice winters dram

Very interesting, I think. Pleasantly musty notes.

Salt, sea, oysters, beautiful interesting batch, really tasty! 21 22 22 22 87

Nose: Nice, strong, and aromatic, but quite young smoke. The whisky is quite narrow. A lot of charcoal, burnt grass, and peat smoke. Taste: The smoke disappears. Acidity and grassiness appear. Yellow fruits and a lot of fresh lemons. The taste evolves towards sweetness. Apples, caramel, grain notes. Finish: Quite long with delicate notes of pepper.

nose is promising, somehow it works quite nice with the tequila cask. Better than 2019 an 2020

Smoky, grassy, herbal Tequila cask is strong, it blends well with the smoke of lagavulin (reminds of mezcals). A sucralose Esq sweetness hangs with smoke in the finish I don’t care for

Yes, I like it. Exactly to my taste! Wonderfully strong, the interplay of flavors keeps things interesting, it's easy to keep yourself occupied. Notes from a blind tasting.

88,00 BLIND TEST

21+21,5+21,5+21,5

Wow indeed. Just opened a bottle, not knowing what to expect having read some "ho-hum" reviews. My previous favorites of the 12 S.E. were a '17 and a '21, and this is going to make the list. The nose is a bit subtle, stick to it and the aromas are like nothing in the world. Fantastic.

A typical Lagavulin in the nose and on the tongue. However, the barrel influence of the Anejo Tequila was very present in the finish and was incredibly well integrated and balanced. I liked that. Anyone who has ever tried a few Anejo quality 100% agave tequila, not salt/cinnamon/lemon/orange, will be able to confirm the beautiful influence. I would probably really like the PX Sherry+Tequila barrel combo.

Maltharry @ Peine Heightland Gathering

The worst Laga 12 Y.O S.E i've ever tasted.

I like the whisky planks in CS LAGO but I don't really like the finish or the barrels this time. It's still a quality distillate but in this set I'm drinking it definitely won't win.

Huh, for me standard 16 is better for half the price... too expensive for what it offers

Slightly weaker than Lagavulin releases of the last 12 years 21-22-22-22

Unclear where the tequila finish went, this is pretty close to other Laga CS I've tasted the last few years. Clear smoked peat lumps, earthy, smoked vegetation, sweet and sour fruits, lemony citrus, a light note of vanilla. Quite some spices like clove and nutmeg in the development, with salty liquorice, black pepper and charcoal in the finish.

Lagavulin 12yo Tequila Finish Special Releases 2023. Sampled at The Whisky Show 2023. Was quite impressed by how clear the tequila influence was and how well it worked. 3.6/86

for me... by far the worst one of the Diageo special releases 2023. and quite a dissapointment, having tasted the Laga 12 Diageo SR 2011, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2022

In principle, I am interested in such barrel experiments, including with Lagavulin. For example, I think the 2023 Feis Ile bottling with Armagnac finish (WB231589) worked well (it was great!), but I am very dismayed by this bottling. The tequila finish is (fortunately) only subtle, but this 2023 special release is only a shadow of what the previous bottles gave us. I had the 2013 special release (WB44384) in my glass for a direct comparison and although the comparison (ten years lie between them) may not be quite so fair, I have to say that there is a world of difference between these two bottlings. The 2021 special release (WB192745), for example, was still really great. Well, this development makes me a little sad. Even if this bottling only cost 60€, I would have to think very carefully (purely based on taste) whether it would be worth the money. I hope for better times and that the Lagavulin sun will rise again, despite Diageo.

over prized but offcorse good. not worth the price.

“Just” a very good Lagavulin.

Full review... https://www.idrinkscotch.com/post/lagavulin-trio

nose: soft, bordering on watery, where is the peat? minty, spicy, peppery mouth: the peat arrives very oily, fruits on the citrus, cooked lime and fresh yellow, intense stable sensation, a slightly carnivorous return, dirty leather, toasted caramel, bitter cocoa the return of wet iodized herbs and algae merge, the iodized side is more expressive final: quite long, on maritime peat, candied citrus fruits and caramel.

A decent dram - not sure what the cask finish adds (perhaps as I'm not a massive drinker of it). Well worth trying if you see it in a bar.

Kilchoman 2012 Vintage Tequila Single Cask, Uniquely Islay Series - An Geamhradh 2022; 10yo, barrel number 823/2012. Distillation on December 11, 2012, bottling on December 12, 2022 (the last 2 years were spent in a tequila barrel); 50PPM, 53.1%. Of course, natural presence. Consistent on the nose and tongue: sea breeze with salt, intense, suffocating smoke; light tropical fruits, pineapple, agave; oak, pine; vanilla, citrus fruits, white grapefruit, lime; caramel sweetness; minerality. Finish: long, earthy, leaving a mineral aftertaste with the sweetness of agave. ________________________________ Lagavulin DSR 2023, 56.4%, maturation in bourbon barrels, and a tequila finish with Don Julio Añejo. Unfortunately, there is no information about the specific time and PPM number. Natural presence. Nose: softer smoke, subtler sea breeze, sea salt; sweeter, bright tropical fruits, pineapple, agave syrup; much less pine and oak; more caramel. Tongue: apart from the nose: heavy, filling sweetness; a mass of charred peat and oak barrel (as if someone had done the STR process), "dirty" peat. Finish: medium, leaving you unsatisfied; the sweetness of agave with earthy, dirty peat. ________ To sum up: both items spent some time in tequila barrels, but you can immediately feel the different approaches. I would recommend Kilchoman to someone who likes strong, strong and suffocating smoke (I will add that it is the smokiest of the items I have tasted so far and beat OCS 2014) with the refreshment of the sea breeze - an amazing feeling of sitting on the beach, next to a lit fire, with the smoke carried by the sea wind it's blowing towards us. Lagavulin, on the other hand, presents heavy peat and sweetness. It is associated with the hot, tropical climate of Mexico and drinking sweet tequila, accompanied by local pastries (they have characteristic cakes with an earthy flavor, but I forgot the name). Unfortunately, the finish is a bit disappointing. Kilchoman 88 vs Lagavulin 87. I would like to point out that in order to maintain the most impartial approach, several were made blind and the notes were verified ???? Ps. After adding a few drops of water, the items smooth out significantly and highlight the origin of the distillate, in favor of the sensations of the tequila finish.

Tequila cask doesn't go well with whisky distillate in my opinion, and this is also the case.

Whisky tasting on 2026 02 14 One of the best peated single malts I have ever had, not the most complex whisky but it is just pure and clean without ethanol. I prefer this expression instead of 2022 version. 87+

Light golden color. Oiliness.

It is the worst special release I've ever had

A light and rich smoky-peaty whisky with a mineral leaning and strong vegetable and earthy inclusions reminiscent of mescal, a wide palette of derivatives, an interesting composition.

The 12th edition was a sure thing for me for a long time. Clear, uncompromising, smoky, dry, with that blend of power and depth that distinguished this series. All the more disappointing, then, is the 2023 edition. "The Ink of Legends" sounds epic – but unfortunately, little of that comes across in terms of taste.

Citrus, smoke, and salt, the aroma spoke of boozy margaritas on the beach with salty rims and plenty of tangy tequila. The cask finish was hard to miss with plenty of earth, agave, vegetal matter, vanilla, and burned wood— a bit like a laser cut wooden puzzle. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, the whisky had a surprising heft and weight. The flavor profile was similar with plenty of tequila coming through familiar smoke, citrus, and sea— again it felt like a margarita with some extra pepper and vegetal notes. A touch of herbal and medicinal spice came late on as mugwort and oregano joined the pepper. The finish was medium-length with plenty of caramel, salt, wood char, and pepper. This was interesting and I am glad I got to try it a few times, but it was not something I could see myself pouring often. It was a “great to experience” but not a “I want to always have this on hand” sort of whisky. The characteristics of Lagavulin were clear and present, but when I crave Lagavulin, I prefer something a bit more pure (or sherried if I am completely honest.) It had some strong tequila cask influence, but left me wanting a margarita rather than another dram. Overall, fun, as a special one off should be.

Additional note: five months after the bottle has been opened, the Islay and smokey style of the dram emerges promptly. Only now, it gets closer to older 12yo cask strength edition, with the Tequila releasing a floral note.

Tropical fruits, alcohol burn Not recommended for the price

Relatively little smoke, distinctly sweet, floral, beautifully drinkable. Grain, ash, summer roaster. Super whisky, I honestly didn't expect that from tequila.

£50? Yes, I’ll take 4! Cask strength 12year old, experimental cask finish from arguably islays best distillery? if it’s bad, I’ll take the risk! Not in the same league at the 16 yo but certainly not bad. Islay (mild Lagavulin) on the nose, (blind tasting would be interesting)not getting tequila but maybe more citrus fruit than traditional Islay. Pungent taste, peppery and yes, getting tequila now! Would suggest water improves taste and brings through the fruit. Beautiful artwork on tube if that’s your thing!

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84,00 blind test

I like a lot how Tequila enhances the dirty side of Laga peat, adding some sweet agave notes. The best dram of 2023 Diageo Release in my scores, but they can do better, much better.

Smoke dominates the nose, it takes a while for other aromas to emerge. But then it becomes somehow interesting. On the palate, it is drinkable undiluted for the high percentage. Not a palate pleaser, has a fairly robust profile.

I happened to have some 2015 Lagavulin 12-year-old on hand, so I compared them. While I enjoyed the 2023 Mexican Girl straight, the difference was quite noticeable: the 2023 was saltier on the palate, with a more pronounced alcohol flavor. Perhaps due to the layering of cask flavors, the lemon acidity wasn't as clean and crisp as the 2015, and it didn't have a very prominent chalky or ashy taste.