Landscape photograph of Lagavulin distillery.

Distillery · Rank 71

Lagavulin

Lagavulin is a deeply peated south-coast Islay malt, combining dense smoke with maritime weight and a measured, long fermentation and distillation regime.

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Common information

At a glance.

Region: Islay
Location: Lagavulin Bay, Isle of Islay (opens in a new tab)
Date opened: 1816
Volume: 2.45m LPA
Distillery Master: Jordan Paisley · Distillery Manager
Collection records: 2 records
Production rank: 71 of 141 by listed capacity

Production

Distinct house style

Lagavulin is a deeply peated south-coast Islay malt, combining dense smoke with maritime weight and a measured, long fermentation and distillation regime.

Peated malt from Port Ellen Maltings, slow distillation and a deliberately broad spirit cut contribute to Lagavulin's dense smoke, sweetness and long-maturing texture.

Process

The useful details are physical.

Still shape, fermentation, condensation, peat policy and cask selection are treated here as production choices—not as guarantees that every release will taste identical.

House style

Character before marketing.

The distillery character describes the underlying make. Age, batch and cask history can move an individual bottling well beyond that starting point.

History

From its beginnings

John Johnston established the licensed distillery in 1816 in a bay already associated with illicit production. Later consolidation absorbed neighbouring operations into the site known today.

Lagavulin remains an operating Scotch whisky distillery at Lagavulin Bay, Isle of Islay. Its present identity joins the accumulated fabric of the site to an active production tradition, while discontinued bottlings belong to the range history rather than defining the distillery today.

1816

Foundation

The working chronology begins in 1816; later closures, rebuilding or ownership changes are part of the individual history rather than a reason to reset that founding date.

Present day

Continuity is not stasis.

Equipment, capacity and ranges evolve. The identity of the distillery is carried by its site, production knowledge and maturing stock rather than by one frozen historic specification.

Identity

The character

Lagavulin belongs to Islay, but region is only a map reference. Its more informative identity comes from the production decisions above and from the way its spirit responds to maturation.

This distinction matters when reading a bottle: the distillery name identifies the origin of the spirit, while the expression, age, cask recipe and bottling strength describe the particular release.

Place

Lagavulin Bay, Isle of Islay

Lagavulin Bay, Isle of Islay is the operating location recorded for Lagavulin; the map link above opens the site independently of any visitor-centre branding.

Region

Islay

The regional label is retained for navigation and comparison, not presented as a complete prediction of flavour.

Distillery details

Important facts

A distillery is best understood through its permanent site story, working methods and maturing stock rather than through an old award list or one discontinued expression. The range plate below records a particular moment in that longer life.

Distinctive record

One detail worth retaining.

John Johnston established the licensed distillery in 1816. Peter Mackie's later energy connected Lagavulin to White Horse and helped turn the south-coast malt into an international name.

Production signature

A repeatable house method.

Peated malt from Port Ellen Maltings, slow distillation and a deliberately broad spirit cut contribute to Lagavulin's dense smoke, sweetness and long-maturing texture.

Range context

A changing family of expressions.

The final image may include past expressions. It is a visual archive of the whisky family, not a promise that every bottle remains in the current range.

Whisky range

A group of Lagavulin whisky expressions from the editorial archive.

Scotch Whisky Collection

2 records.

Collection photograph filed under the owner-supplied working label “Lagavulin 10”; bottle facts await review.

Islay

Lagavulin 10

Lagavulin

10 years

Islay

Lagavulin 16

Lagavulin

16 years