Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt Whisky

Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt and a new permanent chapter

Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt arrives as the distillery’s first new permanent expression in nine years, and it’s the kind of release that feels like a confident nod to tradition while still giving longtime Islay devotees something genuinely fresh to chase. Distilled on Islay—where whisky-making is stitched into daily life—Lagavulin has spent more than 200 years building a reputation for craftsmanship, complexity, and balance. With Lagavulin 11 Year Old Sweet Peat Single Malt Scotch Whisky, that balance is the headline.

Aged for 11 years in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks, the sweetness here isn’t a finishing trick or added flourish; it’s drawn entirely from oak and malt, designed to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Lagavulin’s unmistakable smoky character. Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt doesn’t ask you to choose between smoke and softness—it makes the case that the two can be a single, coherent voice.

There’s also real significance behind this bottle beyond the romance of peat and place. Lagavulin, founded in 1816, has a portfolio that includes icons like Lagavulin 16 Year Old, plus Lagavulin 8 Year Old, Lagavulin Distillers Edition, and limited releases that tend to disappear quickly once the word gets out. This new expression joins that core lineup as a permanent option, and it arrives with serious validation: Lagavulin 11 Year Old Sweet Peat and Lagavulin 16 Year Old both earned Gold at the 2025 San Francisco Wine & Spirits Competition. If you’re the type of drinker who appreciates when a distillery plants a flag and says, “This is staying,” Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt is exactly that kind of statement.

Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt and what makes it taste different

A lot of “sweet-smoke” whiskies lean on clever cask finishes or heavy-handed confection notes. What I respect about Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt is that the distillery builds the sweetness the hard way—through process and patience. The spirit starts with heavily peated malted barley, which lays down that classic Lagavulin bonfire foundation, while Atlantic sea air along Lagavulin Bay contributes subtle maritime notes.

The distillation itself happens across four squat, pear-shaped copper pot stills, using a deliberately slow method that has defined the house style for generations. Add in careful fermentation in wooden washbacks to develop depth and texture, and you end up with a full-bodied, structured new make that can carry peat through maturation while allowing the oak and malt to bloom into something rounder and more inviting.

Now, let’s talk flavor, because this is where Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt really earns its name. According to Dr. Stuart Morrison, Diageo Master Blender, “Sweet Peat reflects careful cask selection and deliberate pacing. On the palate, it opens with a gentle sweetness and salinity before bonfire smoke and oak spice come into focus. Notes of honeyed malt and toffee apple build through the mid-palate, finishing long with lingering peat smoke, dark chocolate, and soft vanilla.”

That progression—sweetness first, smoke second, then the long, layered fade—reads like a tasting map for drinkers who want Islay character without getting steamrolled on the first sip. The notes of toffee apple and vanilla feel like the oak is doing what great American ex-bourbon casks do best, while the “gentle spice” and dark chocolate in the finish keep it from drifting into dessert territory.

Jesse Damashek, Senior Vice President of Whiskey at Diageo, frames the bigger idea perfectly: “Pronounced smoke is a defining element of Islay Scotch, albeit one that can feel polarizing to some drinkers. Sweet Peat presents peat in a way that tastes more approachable, while still delivering the depth and complexity long associated with Lagavulin.” That’s the lane this whisky lives in. Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt is not an apology for smoke—it’s a smarter arrangement of it.

Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt at the bar, at home, and on the shelf

Here’s the part whisky enthusiasts often gloss over: how a bottle fits into real life. Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt is positioned as a new way to explore what’s beyond Lagavulin’s signature smoke, and I can see it working for two very different drinkers. If you’re Scotch-curious and Islay has felt like a cliff dive, this is a more rounded entry point that still tastes unmistakably Lagavulin. If you’re already a peat devotee, it’s an alternate angle—same coastline, different light—where the cask selection and 11-year maturation bring forward nuances that reward slow sipping.

It’s also built for the way people actually drink today. The distillery calls out that it’s best enjoyed neat or on the rocks, but the versatility doesn’t stop there. Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt has the structure for classic and contemporary cocktails, including the Smoky Sweet Old Fashioned and the Sweet Peat Tea, both designed to emphasize the whisky’s softer edges and subtle sweetness without muting the peat-driven backbone. That matters if you like your Scotch neat most nights but still want a bottle that can play nicely when friends come over, and someone asks for a cocktail that “tastes like whisky” without melting their palate.

On the practical side, Lagavulin Sweet Peat Single Malt is available at select spirits retailers nationwide with a suggested retail price of $69.99 for a 750mL bottle. For a new permanent Islay single malt expression with this kind of lineage—and with the Gold Medal cred already attached—that’s a price point that feels intentionally welcoming without underselling the category.

About The Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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