Just Bottled: 10 Year Old Lagavulin Scotch Whisky

Each and every month here at Gleann Mόr, we like to highlight one of the special casks we've managed to get our hands on and bottle for you.

While there are, as you'll see from our site, many examples for us to choose from, this month we had to draw attention to a rather exciting younger whisky that's just hitting our shelves.

This 10-year old Lagavulin is a very rare find in a market where much of the whisky from this long favoured Islay distillery is used up in blends, owner Diageo's yearly special releases and distillery-own bottlings like the famed 16-year old.

As a brand, Lagavulin tends to release rich, dry, smoky sherried whiskies. So we thought we'd push the boat out and bring you something just a little bit different.

Matured for much of its life in a refill hogshead cask, it is then transferred into an American oak firkin cask to bump up the rich sweetness.

Not an ex-sherry cask in sight, this whisky has all the smoky hallmarks of a Lagavulin, but both its younger age and cask type hint at something distinctly different.

Derek Mair, Gleann Mόr's founder, comments: “It's a rarity to get a hold of a cask of Lagavulin and when the opportunity presented itself for me to bottle this for Gleann Mόr the decision was a no-brainer.

This whisky shows that Lagavulin not only holds up at a young age, but offers a huge amount of complexity and excitement on the nose and palate. I've no doubt it'll hold a special place on any whisky lover's shelf.”

With a lovely hew, this whisky is a punchy little number – a perfect pick-me-up after a long day of work in the heat of summer. On the nose, you can find an initial waft of sweet vanilla, baked citrus sponge, sea water, orange peel and honey, before a burst of smoky phenols and punchy spice.

A sip delivers cream, honey, nutmeg, licorice, shortbread, citrus peel and cigarettes: a beautiful balance between spice, smoke, sweet and zingy freshness.

With its high strength, this whisky grows into its own with a few drops of water, introducing even more candied peel, grapefruit pith and strawberry foams on the nose, and vanilla oakiness and Trebor mints on the palate.

And so, why don't you join us in this indulgence? Here at Gleann Mόr we strive for nothing less than just that: something to light you up, warm you through and linger long in your memory – indulgence indeed.

The Gleann Mόr Lagavulin 10 year old is bottled at 58.2%ABV. Priced at £99 it is limited to 60 bottles.