One of my all-time favorite fictional characters is Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation,” the American sitcom running from 2009 through 2015, and I know I am not alone in that.

For those who have not had the pleasure, Ron was rather set in his ways: utterly antigovernment, despite working for one, his three passions were eating meat, woodworking, and drinking whisky. On one occasion, when presented with a salad, he remarked in horror, “But this is the food my food eats.”

He was firm on his views. “Any dog under 50 pounds is a cat, and cats are useless.”

“Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets.”

“Dear frozen yogurt, you are the celery of desserts. Be ice cream or be nothing.”

Skim milk was described as water that was lying about being milk.

When it came to whisky, there was one and one only: Lagavulin 16 Year Old. “Nectar of the gods,” he called it.

In a later episode, Ron was mortified to learn that his friends had bought him a ticket to Europe, though it was to visit the distillery. His thoughts were, “All my life I’ve avoided Europe and its multitudes of terribleness, but it turns out, much to my surprise, there is actually one place in Europe that is worth seeing. These tiny islands off the coast of Scotland, where God’s chosen elixirs are distilled, barreled, and prepared for consumption. This is worth the trip.”

And he, fictionally, ended up owning 51 percent of the distillery in the show’s finale.

Lagavulin was delighted by the attention and the joke, as the distillery released a YouTube ad featuring Ron.

Nick Offerman, the actor who plays Ron, is apparently a huge fan in real life.

Ron is far from Lagavulin’s only devoted fan. A friend of mine was recently asked by a grateful client to name his bonus for a job. Whatever he wanted. He chose a case of Lagavulin 16 Year Old.

The Lagavulin 16 Year Old is fabulous!

Lagavulin is from the island of Islay. Malt lovers immediately fall into one of two camps: one group does not enjoy the peaty, smoky, seaweed notes that whisky from this island usually offers. The second group loves those characteristics. Can’t get enough.

No prize for guessing where I fall.

Lagavulin kicked off way back in 1742, but it was not “legal” until 1816 when it became the first recognized distillery on the island. There were around ten distilleries on the island at the time that were, if we may put it as mildly as we can, operating in a regime that was perhaps marginally outside the law.

The flavor of Lagavulin is said to come from the barley, which is malted at Port Ellen very slowly, allowing around 20 times the exposure to peat smoke than, say, a Speyside whisky. The water comes from the Solum lochs, and barrels are both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon. The distillers use pear-shaped pot stills, of which they have four.

The 16 Year Old is undoubtedly Lagavulin’s most famous and most adored whisky, but there are others, also delicious (unless you are one of those strange beings not addicted to that glorious peaty character).

They start with the Limited Edition 8 Year Old, then 12, 16, 21, 25, 30, 37, and a distiller’s edition. The 16 Year Old is bottled at 43 percent ABV, while the 12 is at cask strength. It may seem odd but the 12 is often more expensive than the 16.

The Limited Edition 8 Year Old was released as a one-off to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the founding of the distillery (or to celebrate becoming legal) in 2016.

Back in 1886, when this was a staple of production, the distillery was visited by one of the whisky experts of the day, Alfred Barnard, who described it as “exceptionally fine.” For this Limited Edition, Lagavulin has attempted to recreate that.

It is very pale in color and there are the peat, oysters, and sea breeze notes one expects. Powerful, nicely balanced and with real length, it does not exhibit the refinement of some, but this ruralness and fiery character will appeal to many. It is a bracing 48 percent.

The 12 Year Old is a special release that comes out most years. The latest was released in 2018; mine dates back to 2014. And what a whisky it is. Bottled at cask strength, 54.4 percent, it walks an amazing tightrope between the spirit and fire one expects at that level and the finesse, refinement, and elegance that it offers.

I would never have picked the alcohol level to be anywhere near that if I hadn’t known. This is a sensational whisky, still a pale color, with the smoky characteristics we love, plus fruit cake, spices, and cinnamon. Brilliantly balanced and very complex. Stunning stuff.

My pick of the range, though, of course: the 16 is a perennial favorite.

The 16 Year Old is a superb malt. Much deeper in color, more of the bronzed orange. Smoke, peat, honey, and seaweed are all here. Delicious. Balanced, complex, and very long.

Ron Swanson, you were right on the money!

For more information, please visit www.islaywhiskysociety.com/lagavulin.

* This article was first published on May 1, 2019 at Lagavulin 16-Year-Old Whisky And Why Ron Swanson Was Right On The Money.

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