Tonight a good friend that I don't get to spend much time with due to geography came by to catch up, and we decided to sample a few whiskys while he was here.

As a big scotch guy Lagavulin is one of his favorites, so when I pulled this off the shelf his eyes bugged out. Labeled bottle 4/504 and distilled and barreled in 1998 this is a double matured Scotch that was sure to meet our expectations.

As an "Islay" Single Malt Lagavulin is known for a strong smokey flavor, and this bottle did not disappoint. Straight from the bottle the nose had notes of dried stone fruit and burnt sugar. The taste started with smooth but strong smoke, which was quickly joined by leather and mild tobaccos before fading into smooth caramel and vanilla.

As my readers know by now I'm not typically a single malt fan, but this will stay in my cabinet for special occasions.