Lagavulin's Second Offerman Edition is a Great Whisky, But Is it a Great Lagavulin?

Lagavulin has historically been, for lack of a better word, one of the stodgier distilleries on Islay. While its sibling distillery Laphroaig relentlessly experiments with every possible combination of cask finish and age statement, and Ardbeg issues bottlings with ever more cutesy names like Wee Beastie and Ardbeg BLAAAACK (sic), Lagavulin generally stands pat with what it’s got. And why not?  Their 16 year old expression is arguably the quintessential Islay malt, a gorgeously peaty, smoky campfire-by-the-shore in a glass.  And apart from a handful of additional expressions — the annual Distillers Edition and Special Releases variations, to name two — they’ve been content to go with what they know.

Which is why it was such a surprise when Lagavulin’s Offerman Edition surfaced a couple of years ago. The 11 year old expression was named for Nick Offerman, the actor whose love of Lagavulin was mirrored by Ron Swanson, the character he played on the long-running TV series Parks & Recreation. Offerman/Swanson helped put Lagavulin on the map for a lot of folks who otherwise wouldn’t have known about it, and to return the favor, the brand invited Offerman to create his own expression. And lo and behold, it turned out that he isn’t just good at drinking whisky — he’s really good at picking barrels, too. Offerman Edition was both an appealingly goofy idea and a fine addition to the small Lagavulin canon. 

Since 2017, Offerman has been making brilliant short videos for Father’s Day for Lagavulin with his dad, Ric. This year, they took things to the next level and collaborated on a father-son whisky. Like its predecessor, this one is aged for 11 years, but it’s then finished for four months in casks that formerly held Guinness beer. Thus, the name: Lagavulin Offerman Edition: Guinness Cask Finish. 

Those four months make a big difference — this is the least Lagavulin Lagavulin I’ve yet tried. The nose retains that delicious smoky, coastal, maritime vibe that’s classic ‘vulin, along with undertones of spice and malt. But on the palate, we get rich, sweet vanilla and nougat morphing into dark chocolate, a hint of fruit, and… beer! It’s like a chocolate stout more than a classic Guinness, but hey, that’s not a complaint, just an observation. The finish is gingerbread and oatmeal cookies and more of that malty beer aftertaste.

This is a delicious dram and another winner from Mr. Offerman… but. My quibble here is not that this whisky is influenced by the beer casks. I’m a big fan of whiskies distilled from finished beer — Glenfiddich does a nifty IPA cask single malt, and on this side of the pond Boston Harbor Distilling and Charbay bottle some winners as well. It’s that this doesn’t taste enough like Lagavulin for my liking. The smoke and iodine and maritime notes that I love about classic Lagavulin are still present in the first Offerman Edition, but here they’re submerged a little too much amidst the Guinness. It’s not to say this isn’t an excellent single malt (and a hell of a gift besides). But if you’re looking for an excellent Lagavulin, stick with the classic 16 or the first Offerman Edition, which should still be easy enough to find.