Review #310 - Lagg Inaugural Release Batch 2
Lochranza's counterpart distillery, which produces heavily peated whisky, entered its production phase in March 2019. While it shares the Isle of Arran with that Lochranza distillery, which falls under the Highland region based on the SWA guidelines, Lagg distillery is actually below the cutoff between the Highlands and Lowlands - this is a Lowland distillery (though many will classify it under the unofficial Islands region). They use short, fat stills to maintain an oily, rich texture and flavor in their spirit.
This bottle was part of their inaugural releases, which came in three batches:
Batch 1 - Ex-bourbon maturation, 36 months old, 50ppm peat, 10,000 bottles
Batch 2 - Ex-bourbon maturation for 30 months, Oloroso sherry cask finish for 6 months, 36 months old in total, 50ppm peat, 10,000 bottles
Batch 3 - Ex-bourbon maturation for 30 months, Rioja red wine cask finish for 6 months, 36 months old in total, 50ppm peat, 10,000 bottles
Batch 2, like the others, is not chill filtered, and there's no artificial coloring added, either. They also bottled these at a solid strength of 50% ABV.
Lagg Inaugural Release Batch 2
Scotland/Lowland - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 155 (2024)
Age Statement: 3 Years
Strength: 50% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon casks, finished in ex-Oloroso sherry casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; vintage 2019, bottled in 2022, batch 2; 10,000 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 2 months; bottles at 50% and 40% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Lots of peat, sharp and ashy - char and barbecue follow, sometimes saucy and sometimes dry. Black pepper and spirity youth add more sharp notes, while oranges and some musty dried fruits add hints of sweetness; there are wood notes and vegetal scents in the background.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel, oily and coating, also quite raw. Spicy jalapenos and red pepper flake heat, young and very spirity, very strong peat, and a strong wood char note, too. Little hints of vegetal character return, and there's a charred orange fruit flavor.
Finish: Medium-long, and the spirit notes begin to tame. The oily texture coats the mouth, and peat is still relatively strong; hints of red and orange fruits are in the background, and accent flavors of moss, wood char, and dry barbecue linger in the aftertaste.
Final Note: Wow, this is packed with flavor, though it's still quite raw and wild. The Oloroso finish did add some subtle fruit notes, but for us, the main flavor focus was the strong peat, musty spirit character, and oily texture, which were all very solid qualities. A good bottle, if a bit unpolished, but that's to be expected at the age of 3 years. Most importantly, this shows that the quality is there in the distillate, which points to excellent releases in the future.
It isn't a cheap bottle - original suggested retail pricing put this bottle at GBP 75, which is about $95 today, but that was a few years ago already. Since these inaugural releases from new distilleries often command a premium in the secondary market, we now would have to pay more than $150 for a bottle, which makes it a mediocre value pick for the flavor.
Our Average Rating: 6.8 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.36
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Isle of Arran reviews:
