{"id":64312,"date":"2025-02-02T12:34:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T12:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alcohol\/ben-bracken-16-year-old-and-lagavulin-16-year-old-are-they-siblings\/"},"modified":"2025-02-02T12:34:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T12:34:18","slug":"ben-bracken-16-year-old-and-lagavulin-16-year-old-are-they-siblings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=64312","title":{"rendered":"Ben Bracken 16 Year Old and Lagavulin 16 Year Old \u2013 are they siblings?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s almost Christmas and that means it\u2019s time to be on the look out for booze bargains. On the whisky front, there is a lot of discussion about one particular deal \u2013 a good whisky, at a good price, with a hidden origin: Lidl Ben Bracken 16 Year Old<\/strong>. But could it secretly be Lagavulin 16 Year Old?<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s a Ben Bracken?<\/h2>\n

The big discounters \u2013\u00a0Aldi and Lidl, especially \u2013\u00a0are both well known for having decent drinks selections. Lidl\u2019s whiskies are concentrated on the Ben Bracken range, which are put together behind the scenes by Whyte & Mackay.<\/p>\n

The Whyte & Mackay connection often leads online commentators to suggest that the whisky is from the company\u2019s distilleries \u2013 Dalmore, Tamnavulin, Fettercairn, Invergordon and Jura. This is isn\u2019t necessarily the case, and probably isn\u2019t in most cases. W&M are a long-established blending company, with stocks of whisky from distilleries across Scotland, obtained through swaps, filling contracts and purchases.<\/p>\n

Basically, all we can say for sure origin-wise is that Ben Bracken is from Scotland.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Ben Bracken 16 Year Old?<\/h2>\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n

The Christmas 2020 splash from Lidl is Ben Bracken 16 Year Old. It\u2019s a 16-year-old single malt whisky from Islay that costs \u00a334.99.<\/p>\n

As Whyte & Mackay own no Islay distilleries, we can\u2019t turn to a simplistic guess of what it is, so need to do some minor sleuthing. First, what does it taste like?<\/p>\n

Nose<\/strong>: Lime zest and sweet, gravelly smoke. Singed pink shrimp sweets, sea-spray-dampened tarred rope and smouldering pine needles. Fruity notes hide underneath, with hints of apple, pear and pineapple poking out through the tar.<\/p>\n

Palate<\/strong>: Much softer on the palate, with a rich, thick and oily texture \u2013 almost syrupy. It\u2019s darker and richer than the nose, with milk chocolate, long-stewed apple sauce, more creamily textured, buttery apple pur\u00e9e and a grind of black pepper.<\/p>\n

Finish<\/strong>: Dark damp oak, tar and polished oak.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good whisky, especially for the price. It is coloured to death and chill-filtered, but that\u2019s not a particular issue unless you are a whisky purist. If you are buying \u00a335 whisky from Lidl, then that\u2019s probably not you.<\/p>\n

It could be you?<\/h2>\n

Now we know what it tastes like, which distillery might it be? Fortunately, there are only nine distilleries on Islay, and only three that it really could be:<\/p>\n

Ardnahoe don\u2019t have whisky yet, Bruichladdich haven\u2019t sold any whisky to other people since they reopened, Ardbeg haven\u2019t for a while, Kilchoman also keep all their whisky for themselves, and it doesn\u2019t taste like Laphroaig or Bowmore.<\/p>\n

That leaves Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila and Lagavulin.<\/p>\n

Most anonymous Islay whisky comes from Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila, and my immediate assumption on hearing that Ben Bracken 16 Year Old existed was that it was from one of the two.\u00a0However, Lagavulin seems to be one of the favourite suggestions in online whisky geek circles. Its 16-year-old a perennial favourite \u2013 it was even the final entry<\/a> in my whisky advent calendar a few years back \u2013\u00a0and finding it for cheap is an appealing idea.<\/p>\n

Is it a Lagavulin 16 Year Old?<\/h2>\n

Releasing an anonymous Islay using Lagavulin stock \u2013 one of the most sought after Islay makes \u2013 doesn\u2019t seem to make sense. However, if Whyte & Mackay has a load of it and didn\u2019t need it for other projects, this would be a perfect place to \u2018get rid of it\u2019:<\/p>\n