Lagavulin 1995-2013 Official Islay Jazz Festival 2013 Edition 51.9%

An excellent sherry cask Lagavulin, I didn't know something like this existed. Lagavulin LAGAVULIN 1995-2013 Original Bottling Islay Jazz Festival 2013 51.9% The aroma is rich sherry, ripe plums, apricot jam, tree sap, nuts, seafood dashi, faint leather and earthiness, no harshness but strong peat with some iodine. When drinking, it expands aromatically with a pleasant sherry feel, viscosity, plum and apricot jam, rich jam-like sweetness, tightening oak, savory seafood dashi, slightly oily with strong peat, and a long finish. [Very Good/Excellent] Lagavulin releases commemorative bottles for the annual Islay Jazz Festival, and this is the 2013 edition. I've been drinking Islay Jazz Festival bottles every year, but this is the first time I tried the 2013 edition. And I was surprised. Such a great sherry cask Lagavulin exists, I didn't know! As expected from a fine Diageo Select sherry cask, it has a refined sherry character that wraps around the entire profile, different from recent heavily seasoned sherries. Here, Lagavulin's characteristic tree sap-like notes and apricot jam character coexist beautifully with elements like seafood dashi and peat. Subtle earthiness and leather notes typical of older sherries were also faintly present, adding depth to the aroma. Extremely complex and aromatic, with a perfect balance between sweet, rich jam-like sweetness and tightening tannic astringency. It was completely outstanding. I think it hasn't changed much since its release, and if I had drunk this at the time of its launch, I would have surely caused a big commotion searching for it. An amazing sherry cask Lagavulin. With a distillery that produces such exceptional expressions, it's no wonder they could release something like the Bicentenary 25 Year Old.