The Intoxicologist Is In

Media Release – 2 December 2008- Lagavulin™ 21 year old has been proclaimed top single malt in this year’s Malt Maniacs awards, announced on 1 December. It emerged as the top Gold Medal winner and the overall top scoring ‘Ultra Premium’ whisky out of all 2008 Malt Maniacs Awards entries.

And in the Malt Maniacs ‘Premium’ category, Lagavulin Distillers Edition (released in 2007) won the Best Peated Malt Award 2008

The Malt Maniacs (www.maltmaniacs.org), founded in 1997, are an international, maverick collective of serious independent malt whisky lovers (including professional independent whisky writers and commentators) who sample and assess hundreds of single malt whiskies each year.

Their highly-rated annual awards  -  appreciated by single malt whisky connoisseurs around the globe for their total independence from conventional drinks competitions  -  come after several rounds of blind tastings.

Marks are awarded by an 11-person jury of independent international experts, whose individual scores are amalgamated into an overall score. Lagavulin 21 year old attracted the extraordinary score of 91 points.

Speaking on WhiskyCast (www.whiskycast.com) on 30 November, leading Malt Maniac Serge Valentin described Lagavulin 21 year old simply as “one of the great whiskies”.

Lagavulin 21 year old is a limited-edition natural cask strength special release expression of this famous Islay malt whisky, released in an edition of some 6,000 bottles in 2007. It was an immediate success and within weeks of its release had become difficult to find. A limited edition 12 year old expression of Lagavulin was released in October 2008.

Lagavulin, distilled on the southern coast of Islay, is one of the world’s most celebrated, sought-after and award-winning single malts. In its 16 year old expression  -  which scored 86 points and a Silver medal in this year’s Malt Maniacs awards  -  it is distributed in many world markets, although supply is never ample enough to meet the growing demand.

In 2008 alone, Lagavulin 16 year old and Distillers Edition won Double Gold in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Master in the Scotch Whisky Masters. Lagavulin 16 year old won Best Islay Peated single malt whisky in the World Whiskies Awards. Lagavulin 21 year old, 16 year old and Distillers Edition won Gold – Best in Class in the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Diageo’s Scotch Knowledge and Heritage Director, Nicholas Morgan, said: “Lagavulin frequently wins prestigious awards and is one of our most sought after single malt whiskies. But it’s particularly gratifying when this panel of highly knowledgeable and discerning experts all agree that it is one of the worlds most outstanding single malts. I know that their opinion carries as much weight as the medals we are very proud to win in the conventional competitions each year.”

Further information & images from Pat Roberts: +44 (0)7774 424 410 or +44 (0)20 7733 4108 or cognis.pr@zen.co.uk