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Whiskies like Lagavulin 16: smoky alternatives to compare

Peated single malts to try alongside Lagavulin 16, from Lagavulin 8 and Caol Ila 12 to Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Talisker and Kilchoman, with live UK prices.

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The closest whisky to Lagavulin 16 Year Old is Lagavulin’s own 8 Year Old, then Caol Ila 12 Year Old, which shares Lagavulin’s owner and its source of peated malt. For more smoke, try Ardbeg or Laphroaig. For less, Talisker 10 Year Old. “Like” never means identical: each pick below says what it shares with Lagavulin 16 and where it differs.

What Lagavulin 16 is

Lagavulin 16 Year Old (£72.95 at Master of Malt) is a single malt from the south coast of Islay, bottled at 43% ABV. The distillery was founded in 1816 and is owned by Diageo. According to Whiskipedia’s Lagavulin page, it uses malt from the Port Ellen maltings. Its usual specification for that malt is commonly cited at 35 to 38 ppm phenols; for a few weeks a year it uses more heavily peated malt.

So “like Lagavulin” can mean four things: peat smoke, Islay, a 16-year age, or a gentle 43% strength. Most alternatives match one or two of these.

Like Lagavulin 16: each bottle in this guide by peat, place, age and strength. Peat is phenol parts per million in the malt, not the whisky. Lagavulin 16 Year Old: malt at about 36 ppm, its usual specification; south coast of Islay; 16 years; 43% ABV. Lagavulin 8 Year Old: the same spirit; Islay; 8 years; 48%. Caol Ila 12 Year Old: Port Ellen malt, like Lagavulin; Islay, near Port Askaig; 12 years; 43%. Ardbeg 10 Year Old: 50 to 55 ppm; Islay; 10 years; 46%. Laphroaig Quarter Cask: 45 to 50 ppm for its floor-malted share; Islay; no age statement; 48%. Kilchoman Machir Bay: commonly cited at about 50 ppm; Islay; no age statement; 46%. Talisker 10 Year Old: 20 to 25 ppm for its peated malt; Isle of Skye; 10 years; 45.8%. Ledaig 10 Year Old: commonly cited at 30 to 40 ppm; Mull; 10 years; 46.3%. Port Charlotte 10 Year Old: 40 ppm, as Bruichladdich states; Islay; 10 years; 50%.

Peat levels are a guide, not a reading

Phenol levels are measured in the malt, not the whisky. Whiskipedia notes that a significant share of the phenols is lost in production, and distillation and casks change how smoky the finished whisky tastes. A higher ppm figure usually means more smoke, but two whiskies at similar ppm can taste very different. The figures below are commonly cited malt specifications, or the producer’s own figure where it publishes one. Whiskipedia’s page on phenols explains more.

The closest relatives

Lagavulin 8 Year Old (currently unavailable). The same spirit at eight years old and 48% ABV, first released in 2016 for the distillery’s bicentenary. Younger whisky usually shows more direct smoke and less oak.

Caol Ila 12 Year Old (£49.95 at Hard To Find Whisky). Islay single malt from near Port Askaig, 43% ABV, also owned by Diageo and also made with Port Ellen malt. Caol Ila is the largest distillery on Islay and much of its spirit goes into blends.

More smoke

Ardbeg 10 Year Old (£40.52 at Master of Malt). Islay single malt, 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered, matured in ex-bourbon casks. Its malt is commonly cited at 50 to 55 ppm.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask (£47.00 at The Whisky Shop). Islay single malt, 48% ABV, no age statement (NAS). It is finished in small quarter casks of about 125 litres, which give more wood contact. The malt Laphroaig floor-malts on site, about a fifth of what it uses, is commonly cited at 45 to 50 ppm.

Kilchoman Machir Bay (£44.25 at Master of Malt). Islay single malt, 46% ABV, NAS, from a farm distillery founded in 2005. Kilchoman’s standard malt is commonly cited as peated to about 50 ppm.

Less smoke, or smoke from elsewhere

Talisker 10 Year Old (£39.15 at Master of Malt). Island single malt from Carbost on the Isle of Skye, 45.8% ABV. Its peated malt is commonly cited at 20 to 25 ppm and reportedly makes up about three quarters of the mash, and it is known for a peppery character alongside the smoke.

Ledaig 10 Year Old (£39.50 at Master of Malt). The peated whisky from Tobermory distillery on Mull, 46.3% ABV, with malt commonly cited at 30 to 40 ppm.

Port Charlotte 10 Year Old (£54.95 at Hard To Find Whisky). Bruichladdich’s peated single malt, 50% ABV, made from malt Bruichladdich states is peated to 40 ppm.

More peated whisky to compare

Sources and review

Where to go next

Questions

What is similar to Lagavulin 16?
Lagavulin 16 Year Old is a 43% ABV peated Islay single malt made from malt commonly cited at about 36 ppm. Caol Ila 12 Year Old, from the same owner (Diageo), also uses peated malt from the Port Ellen maltings; Ardbeg 10 Year Old and Laphroaig Quarter Cask are drier and more medicinal; Talisker 10 Year Old from Skye is peppery and less smoky. See Whiskipedia on Lagavulin.
Is every Islay whisky smoky?
No. Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old and Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie are made from unpeated malt. Islay’s peated distilleries include Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Kilchoman and Bowmore, and Bruichladdich makes peated whisky under the Port Charlotte and Octomore names.
What does peated mean?
Peated means the malted barley was dried over a peat fire, which leaves smoky phenols in the grain. The level is measured in parts per million (ppm) of phenols in the malt before distilling, and much of it is lost in production. Lagavulin’s malt is commonly cited at about 36 ppm and Ardbeg’s at 50 to 55 ppm. See Whiskipedia on phenols.
Is Lagavulin 8 the same as Lagavulin 16?
It is the same distillery’s spirit, but younger and stronger: Lagavulin 8 Year Old is bottled at 48% ABV against 43% for the 16 Year Old. It was first released in 2016 to mark the distillery’s 200th anniversary, as Lagavulin was founded in 1816. Eight fewer years in oak usually means more direct smoke and less wood.

About the author

John Fegan

· Editor

Hailing from the land of haggis and deep-fried Mars bars, John was always going to find his way to whisky. He has run Uisge Beatha since 2015 and Whiskipedia.com since 2020.