About Lagavulin

Situated on the banks of Lagavulin Bay on the island of Islay, Lagavulin Distillery is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Distilling took place on the banks of Lagavulin Bay as early as 1742, and by the turn of the century, there were as many as ten illicit stills operating in the area. In 1816, John Johnson founded the first legal distillery on the site, and within a year Archibald Campbell had opened a second. After Johnson’s death, Alexander Graham acquired Johnston’s distillery for £1,100 and eventually united the two distilleries together under the Lagavulin name. Since that time, the rich, peaty water that runs down the brown burn and through the Solan Lochs into the hills just next to Lagavulin Bay has served as the lifeblood of the distillery.

Lagavulin is known as one of the most intense, smoky single malt whiskies ever made — the peated barley used to create Lagavulin Single Malt has up to twenty times as much exposure to peat smoke as compared to typical Scotches. Once the grains used to craft Lagavulin Whisky have been harvested and malted, they are dried over a peat and gas fire calibrated specifically to produce Lagavulin’s signature, bold flavor profile. Then, the grains are milled and mashed before being fermented for approximately 72 hours. Following fermentation, the whisky is distilled twice — first through a wash still for approximately five hours and then again through a spirit distill for approximately nine hours. This is the slowest distillation process of any Islay distillery, giving Lagavulin its characteristic round flavors and mellow edges.