The Syndicate is synonymous to a series of Lagavulin expressions bottled in the 1990s and 2000s. There are several 14yo, 15yo, 20yo, 25yo, 30yo…
The Syndicate was a group of gentlemen who selected casks they liked and then had them bottled by their friends from the independent bottler Murray McDavid which in turn was related to Bruichladdich, until it was sold in 2013 to the whisky broker Aceo Ltd. The Syndicate’s bottlings are well respected and widely considered to be of very high quality.
There’s also an earlier (1993-1994) version of a Lagavulin 15yo with the same strength but a slightly more rustic label.
Lagavulin 15 yo 1979
(59,2%, The Syndicate 1995, single cask)
Nose: great stuff, you get the current-day Lagavulin style but in a more sophisticated way, with more fruits and more elegance. Quite round, very leafy, with hints of Pu-Erh and moss. Some sweet grapefruit and orange peel. Whitecurrant. Hints of aniseed and fresh mint leaves. Whiffs of tinned sardines. I love the balance in this one.
Mouth: quite huge, with a peat blast that’s bigger than expected, alongside medicinal notes and a kind of thick, rather sweet mint syrup. Tarry notes. Cough medicin, a bit of camhpor and tobacco. Growing saltier towards the end, with a little bitterness of olive brine. A big profile, amplified by the generous bottling strength.
Finish: long, salty, on liquorice, black tea and earthy notes.
I don’t have enough experience to say whether this is one of the better bottlings from The Syndicate, but in any case it is huge and excellent. Around € 400 in auctions nowadays.
Score: 92/100