The smoke hides behind dried oak tree bark and sultanas and the palate with a flavour of cherry drop sweets and black tea.

Joel Harrison 2012, Whisky Magazine, Issue 103, p.103

A true classic in every sense that offers breathtaking depth.

Jim Murray 1999, Whisky Magazine, Issue 6

Lagavulin is a classic example of how smoke isn’t a blunt instrument that covers everything in a fog, but an element that works with all the flavors produced in distillation and maturation. Lagavulin isn’t ‘smoky,’ its peat moves into a weird territory of Lapsang Souchong tea and pipe tobacco, fishboxes and kippers. It smells of laurel and light cereal, but is always sweet. The palate shows more creosote, with hints of kelp and a little touch of iodine. Complex.

Dave Broom, 2012, The Whisky Advocate Summer 2012

A monster truck nose with rich smoke, lychee and unripe pear, with prickly smoke and banana skin notes on the palate, and a superb long dark chocolate and smoky finish.

Dominic Roskrow, Malt Whisky Yearbook 2015, p.149