This year’s offering for Feis Ile was a Lagavulin 1994.
I’m wondering whether Lagavulin used a Pedro Ximénez or another type of sherry cask for the maturation. They only mention ‘European oak ex-sherry cask’ so I think it’s not a seasoned cask, but no information about the actual type of sherry.
Lagavulin 1994 (52,7%, OB for Feis Ile 2010, sherry cask #3210, 528 btl.)
Nose: almost the same as the ‘Distillery only’ bottling. Sweet and peaty. Maybe a few more coastal notes (boat rope, seaweed). The fruit is present, but it’s more complex and more on dried fruits and less focused on apple juice, I would say. A bit more toffee as well. White chocolate. At first I wasn’t too sure, but after a while I preferred this one. Differences are small though, and I think the NAS could be a bit younger as well.
Mouth: very creamy again. Dark chocolate. More espresso notes than in the NAS. Roasted nuts. Slightly bitter / zesty as well. A very broad spectrum of flavours.
Finish: long, with chocolate and toasted bread.
On the nose, the Feis Ile bottling has a slight advance over the NAS version, but on the palate I prefer the roundness of the NAS version (which is closer to a regular DE). The Feis Ile bottling is certainly more complex though. Original price: € 90.
Score: 91/100